I Took the Bar Exam in a Restroom

By Hamid Saahir[1]

The year 2020 has truly been a year for the ages. Society has suffered through the Coronavirus pandemic, the country has been essentially shut down for months, and the world seems to be in total chaos. Surprisingly, people who need assistance with checking their Facebook accounts and need for their grandchildren to explain TikTok decided that unproven testing software would be sufficient to administer the bar exam; the most important exam of the test taker's life.

This is a story of my experience of taking the bar exam. Many issues were resulting from the remote administration of the bar exam expressed by test-takers.[2] This is a true story about my exam experience.

The DC Court of Appeals announced that the DC Bar exam would be held in October and that the exam would be held remotely. At that time in Washington, DC, all libraries including the one at my law school were closed, and taking the exam at home was not an option with my newborn daughter in the room next door demanding my attention.[3] I did have access to space that I used for bar study but it was next door to a construction site located on an extremely busy DC street and not the best place for concentration. I decided to reserve a hotel room to take the bar exam. Instead of staying in a hotel in DC, I decided to book a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I wanted to leave town to put myself in the best position possible to be focused before the exam and not be subject to the inevitable distractions of staying at home. 

It is important to note that when reserving the hotel room, my biggest interest was taking the exam in a quiet location. I had to deal with construction noises throughout my exam preparation, which made it difficult to consistently focus; I wanted to be sure to avoid construction noises. When I booked the hotel room, I specifically asked if there was going to be any construction going on, and the hotel staff told me no. When I first arrived at the hotel, I again asked if there would be any construction occurring at or near the hotel. Not only was I told no but the desk attendant told me that he remembered my previous call asking about construction noises. I tend to think that I am Superman and construction noise under bar exam conditions is my kryptonite.

I arrived in Florida two days before the exam and everything seemed to be going as planned. My hotel room was facing the Atlantic Ocean, the weather was perfect, and I felt focused. The day before the exam to avoid any test day problems I decided to study under exam-like conditions by sitting where I planned to take the exam. I wanted to make sure that I knew what to expect the day of the exam to make any necessary adjustments before test day. I was able to study at the hotel for several hours without distraction which led me to believe everything would be the same when it was time to take the bar exam. 

On the morning of the bar exam, I woke up early before sunrise to pray and to watch the sunrise across the Atlantic. I was unable to the sunrise unobstructed because there were some clouds in the way that partly blocked the sun but it was still a beautiful sight. The sunrise made me think, “Though I was prepared to see the sunrise the clouds (circumstances out of my control) prevented me from viewing the sun rise in full. However, if I prepared myself the next day, I may be successful.”

After visiting the beach, I came back to my room to get my computer ready and take a short nap before the noon exam start time. Everything seemed to be going according to plan—I felt focused and confident that I had prepared myself to have an exam with no distractions.

The first day of the bar exam consisted of the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), a 30-minute break, followed by three essays. The MPT went “according to plan” and everything seemed nice and smooth.[4] I believe that I was on my way to having a successful bar exam.

Fifteen minutes before the essay portion of the exam, the DC Court of Appeals sent an email with the password to start the essay portion of the exam. Shortly before the essay portion began, I sat back down to my computer, entered the password to begin the second section of the exam, but the exam did not begin. Instead, I received a prompt from ExamSoft (the testing software the DC Court of Appeals chose to use for the bar exam) directing me to enter a “proctor code,” a message that had never appeared when testing the software before the exam or even earlier that morning before the MPT. The prompt also strangely provided a “proctor code,” which I then entered. The software replies “The code is invalid.” I doubled check the code and reenter it. The software again replies “The code is invalid.” I looked back at the code then I looked down at my keyboard, clicking each key slowly, ensuring to match the letters that were on the screen. Again, “The code is invalid!”

Somehow, during this moment I was relatively calm while the average test taker would be losing their mind at this moment. Don’t worry I will lose my mind just keep reading. My computer background helped me understand what was required to get the software to properly work. If I did not have this background, I am not sure how I would have reacted to the software inhibiting my ability to take the exam. However, I still needed assistance.

 I called the ExamSoft support line and after following many prompts I was number "50-something" in line of exam takers who needed support.[5] I helplessly sat at my computer on hold for 30 minutes, watching the time slowly tick away until someone answered the phone. I sat thinking, is this my fate? Will I not become a lawyer because the software does not work? Is this happening to everyone? Did ExamSoft know this was going to happen before the exam started?

When the ExamSoft technician finally picked up, they tried to walk me through my issue of the exam not starting. After 20 minutes of troubleshooting, which included a Zoom call, the changing of my computer settings, and a computer restart, I was able to start the essay portion of the bar exam…an hour after the exam was to have begun! The relatively short time that ExamSoft was able to troubleshoot the issue led me to question whether this was an issue that ExamSoft was aware of before the administration of the exam? An issue that could have been communicated to test takers to help them anticipate software issues?

I ended my call with ExamSoft and poised to finally restart my exam. However, I immediately started to hear a loud rattle, something I had not heard in the hotel room before. The rattle was right above where I was trying to take the exam and sounded like a bad car muffler. I come outside the room to find out that a gutter had gotten loose from the wind blowing from the ocean. I call the hotel front desk to ask them if they can fix the issue but unfortunately, the maintenance man is not able to help. I call back to the front desk to tell them the dilemma and as a result, they provide me with another room to continue my exam.

I leave my room holding my computer making sure that it does not close to get new room keys from the hotel's front desk. I am able to get into the new room to restart the exam. So, in the true fashion of the year 2020, what did I hear as soon as I sat down to take the exam, and after I clicked the button to start my exam? Loud Construction Noises! Before when my exam did not start I was annoyed, then when the gutter started to rattle I was aggravated, but now I was pissed! I am about to lose my mind and blow a gasket because I am hearing construction noises.

I spent the next hour and a half freaking out, trying to type out some of a response for the three essays, not close at all to the types of responses I had spent the past three months preparing. I somehow finished the exam (i.e., put an “answer” for each essay prompt), but the real accomplishment was that I did not have a complete nervous breakdown. Well, I guess not exactly—I did have a 20-second period when I could not make out what was going on in my head and kept typing “the exam” three times when I wanted to write “the parties.”

After the essay portion of the exam, I was convinced that there was no way on earth that I could pass the bar exam with that pitiful performance. However, I tried my best to leave the worries of the day behind me, but, of course, it is the bar exam, so those thoughts lingered, nonetheless.

The next morning, I again woke up before sunrise to pray and watch the sunrise. I put myself in the same position as I was the day before to watch the sunrise—I was prepared and ready to see the sunrise, and again my view was obstructed but not as bad as the previous day. The sunrise gave me inspiration – the sun may not rise how I wanted it to rise but nonetheless, I saw the sunrise.

The hotel promised that they would provide me with another room to take the exam. However, the day prior provided enough doubt that the hotel could deliver on such a promise. I called a friend of mine to see if he had space in his office to take the exam; however, it was no luck, as he happened to be in court that morning. I then thought to myself what am I to do?

I looked around my room to try to find out where I could take the exam without distraction, now clearly able to hear the rattling gutter along with the construction noise. I am at a loss. While thinking things over I step into the restroom and I notice that the construction noise is not as loud. I then turned on the fan and I noticed that I could no longer hear the construction noises. I then grab my earplugs (which I was not able to locate when freaking out the day before) and with my earplugs, I could barely hear the gutter. I then closed the restroom door and the gutter noises were no more. I was excited to find a place where I could take the bar exam without distraction and I look down to see a toilet.

I continued with my exam preparation for the day and set my computer up in the restroom along with a table and chair. I received the password to start the multiple-choice portion of the exam. This morning like the previous the exam was able to start without issue. The difference is that I am testing in the restroom while breaking my mother's biggest rule "Don't eat in the restroom!” but eating helps keep me calm. Staying the course of 2020, when I started the second half of the exam, I experienced the same technical issue as I did the day before. However, this time, I knew how to correct the issue and I was able to start the exam with only a 10-minute delay and I completed the exam without further issue. Never would I have thought I would have spent hundreds of dollars to stay in a hotel room to avoid distractions only to find myself secluded in a restroom.

I concluded my stay at the hotel after a few days and eventually, I was able to see the sunrise without obstruction. My dedication to see the sunrise reminded me that taking the bar exam may not have gone how I planned, but I did something that I did not think was possible. Which was take the bar exam in a restroom.

[1] Hamid Saahir is a 2020 graduate of the University of the District of Columbia David A. School of Law and sat for the October 2020 Bar Exam as a first-time test taker. Hamid Saahir is a 2020 graduate of the University of the District of Columbia David A. School of Law and sat for the October 2020 Bar Exam as a first-time test taker. He is a consultant with WCP Communications, a general manager of Artistry Studios, and a law clerk at the Law Offices of Mohamed Bamba.

[2] Colin Lecher, Remote Exam Software Is Crashing When the Stakes Are the Highest, The Markup (October 13, 2020), https://themarkup.org/coronavirus/2020/10/13/remote-exam-software-failures-privacy;

Stephanie Francis Ward, Software provider pulls out of remotely proctored bar exams because of technology concerns, ABA Journal, (August 18, 2020), https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/due-to-technology-concerns-software-provider-pulls-out-of-remotely-proctored-bar-exams.

[3] My law school would later make space available to take the exam, but it was too late to cancel my reservations.

[4] "According to plan" meant that nothing broke while taking the exam.

[5] "50-something" is an urban reference of uncertainty pertaining to numbers between 50 and 59. Not to be confused with 50-eleven which is synonymous with bigly.