February 2017 Texas Bar Exam Forum

[maztastic247]

Am I the only one that just found out the MBE changed from 190 graded questions to 175 graded questions (out of the 200) thus giving each question more weight? I just found out today and am not sure how I missed this information. I'm kind of freaking out now because the MBE is by far my biggest struggle.

[dtjustice]

I started with July 2016 and am working back as far as time allows....reading every single question/answer.....with P&E/ESSAYS I read over the subject's outline and/or notes/critical pass cards, etc...then take the questions, don't take very long at all thinking of the answer....look at the answers...make more notes....move on. I look at the Critical Pass cards then do the barprephero questions....again, reading every question/choice/answer then on to the next. I have already done so many book MBE questions I burned out years ago on those....so I'm taking on a different approach to actually get through the exam...I'm not getting hung up on percentages, etc...I've taken two bars (long ago) so I know how the questions from different sources compare to the bar exam questions. I also know that no matter how "familiar" I get with Essay topics, it's not going to be as helpful as doing a zillion MBE questions because there's so much room to fluff on essays and if you know the basics of the topic, you can do well. I don't feel guilty spending time doing all the P&E questions because I'm sick of looking at books and they tend to repeat and go in order of the process AND...reading Critical Pass Evidence, CP and Crim cards help with more than one area of the exam.

[vandyclark]

Am I the only one that just found out the MBE changed from 190 graded questions to 175 graded questions (out of the 200) thus giving each question more weight? I just found out today and am not sure how I missed this information. I'm kind of freaking out now because the MBE is by far my biggest struggle.

I hadn't heard this! I know they end up "throwing out" several questions as "bad" if scoring showing poor passing rates & of course they had the 10 test-test questions (190 scored)... Does that mean there are more of those this year? Maybe that's good for us? MBE scores have been getting progressively lower from what I understand over the last several years. I know I struggle with multiple choice tests, so the MBE has always been my Moby Dick...

[maztastic247]

Am I the only one that just found out the MBE changed from 190 graded questions to 175 graded questions (out of the 200) thus giving each question more weight? I just found out today and am not sure how I missed this information. I'm kind of freaking out now because the MBE is by far my biggest struggle.

I hadn't heard this! I know they end up "throwing out" several questions as "bad" if scoring showing poor passing rates & of course they had the 10 test-test questions (190 scored)... Does that mean there are more of those this year? Maybe that's good for us? MBE scores have been getting progressively lower from what I understand over the last several years. I know I struggle with multiple choice tests, so the MBE has always been my Moby Dick...

I read this in another thread on this site yesterday and found this out (the thread is about RAP). I was not sure about the accuracy of this so I went out to the NCBE website and sure enough only 175 are graded the rest are "test questions" so now each question is worth more. Personally I don't think it is beneficial to those of use that struggle with the MBE because there is less opportunity to get questions right but hopefully I am wrong and it will somehow make it easier to get points.
Here is a link for those skeptics like me.

http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe/preparing/

[dtjustice]

I emailed NCBE for clarification since it contradicts the BLE site and they confirmed as of this upcoming exam it's now 175.

[maztastic247]

I emailed NCBE for clarification since it contradicts the BLE site and they confirmed as of this upcoming exam it's now 175.

I emailed the BLE to let them know of the oversite so maybe they can update their website.

[pitted]

Does anyone have a list of which subjects were tested on each bar exam? I'm trying to guess as to whether we can expect to see a trust or guardianship question in Feb.

[BVest]

Does anyone have a list of which subjects were tested on each bar exam? I'm trying to guess as to whether we can expect to see a trust or guardianship question in Feb.

As a matter of fact, I do:



(July 2007 was a trust question I suppose, but really it was more of an attorney breach of fiduciary duty, and potentially constructive trust question. I can't really tell, and the answer explanations from prior to 2009 are no longer available. Definitely the WTF?! question of that year. See question 1 if you want, but really you should ignore it.)

[Feb17TBE]

Am I the only one that just found out the MBE changed from 190 graded questions to 175 graded questions (out of the 200) thus giving each question more weight? I just found out today and am not sure how I missed this information. I'm kind of freaking out now because the MBE is by far my biggest struggle.

I hadn't heard this! I know they end up "throwing out" several questions as "bad" if scoring showing poor passing rates & of course they had the 10 test-test questions (190 scored)... Does that mean there are more of those this year? Maybe that's good for us? MBE scores have been getting progressively lower from what I understand over the last several years. I know I struggle with multiple choice tests, so the MBE has always been my Moby Dick...

I read this in another thread on this site yesterday and found this out (the thread is about RAP). I was not sure about the accuracy of this so I went out to the NCBE website and sure enough only 175 are graded the rest are "test questions" so now each question is worth more. Personally I don't think it is beneficial to those of use that struggle with the MBE because there is less opportunity to get questions right but hopefully I am wrong and it will somehow make it easier to get points.
Here is a link for those skeptics like me.

http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe/preparing/

Yes, MBE is going to be 175 scored questions from now on. I saw this video on YouTube a while ago and compiled this info. If you wanna take a look at the video it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDgspcAqbg
If you'd rather not, I made a handy-dandy outline:
1. Civil Procedure
a. 2/3rd (18) - Jurisdiction and venue; Jury trials; Verdicts and judgments; Appealability and Review
b. 1/3rd (6-7) - Law applied by the federal courts; Pretrial procedures; Motions
2. Constitutional Law
a. ½ (12) - Individual rights
b. ½ (12) - Nature of judicial review; Separation of powers; Relation of nations and states in the federal system
3. Contracts
a. ¼ (6-7) - Article 2 UCC
b. ½ (12) - Formation of K; Performance of K; Breach; Discharge
c. ¼ (6-7) - Remedies; 3d party rights; Defenses
4. Criminal Law
a. ½ (12) - Constitutional protection of accused people
b. ½ (12) - Homicide; Other crimes; Inchoate crimes; General principles
5. Evidence
a. ¼ (6) - Presentation of evidence (refreshing recollection, objections, offers of proof, etc.)
b. About 8 Q’s - Relevancy (reasons for excluding relevant evidence)- Probative rule, probative value, character, expert testimony
c. About 6 Q’s - Hearsay
d. About 5 Q’s - Privileges and writings
6. Property
a. 1/5th (6) - Ownership of real property
b. 1/5th (6) - Rights in real property
c. 1/5th (6) - Real estate Ks
d. 1/5th (6) - Mortgages
e. 1/5th (6) - Titles
* I know these add up to 30 but I'm assuming these are on a 4-6 Q's range
7. Torts
a. ½ (12-13) - Negligence
b. ½ (12-13) - Intentional torts; Strict liability; Products liability ; Other torts

Also, THIS: http://www.ncbex.org/pdfviewer/?file=%2 ... ment%2F201

[Mckay]

Did anyone do the Barbri Simulated Exam? Wondering what is needed to feel good about preparation for the MBE.

[maztastic247]

Did anyone do the Barbri Simulated Exam? Wondering what is needed to feel good about preparation for the MBE.

I took it. Use it more to figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and don't let a low score if you got one get you down. I am a retaker and the MBE was my worst area in July, so really focus on you weak areas and learning those rules and do a bunch of practice questions for that area. You can expect to raise your score about 20 points from the mock MBE to the real thing. However I don't know exactly how it will all play out now there are 175 instead of 190 scored questions and if those same results will carry with the new numbers.


In July I got a 117 on the mock MBE and a 132.2 on the actual exam though in all honesty I didn't really put much work into the MBE after the mock exam so my scores aren't really reflective of someone who puts in work and more just that the curve helped raise my score.

[Mckay]

took it. Use it more to figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and don't let a low score if you got one get you down. I am a retaker and the MBE was my worst area in July, so really focus on you weak areas and learning those rules and do a bunch of practice questions for that area. You can expect to raise your score about 20 points from the mock MBE to the real thing. However I don't know exactly how it will all play out now there are 175 instead of 190 scored questions and if those same results will carry with the new numbers.


In July I got a 117 on the mock MBE and a 132.2 on the actual exam though in all honesty I didn't really put much work into the MBE after the mock exam so my scores aren't really reflective of someone who puts in work and more just that the curve helped raise my score.

Thanks for the quick response. Isn't 117 fairly good for the barbri mock mbe? What score do you need on the real mbe to be comfortable if 132 was not high enough to pass (you said it was your worst area - assume numbers are 190 just for comparison). Thanks again!

[wlp0001]

Hey guys,
Took the MBE simulated exam yesterday. I shot a 141 (top 15 percent). Very happy with that. Barbri says that an average student will score about 20 points higher on the MBE score on gameday, but I can't see shooting a 161.

[Mckay]

Congratulations on the awesome score! That must be a relief!

[maztastic247]

Hey guys,
Took the MBE simulated exam yesterday. I shot a 141 (top 15 percent). Very happy with that. Barbri says that an average student will score about 20 points higher on the MBE score on gameday, but I can't see shooting a 161.

Right! I got a 142 and I dont really see me improving 20 points... but if I had this score on the bar in July I would have passed. It is slightly relieving to know though that my raw score on the practice test (that is supposed to be harder than the actual bar) is better than the scaled score I got on the july bar. The thousands of practice MBE questions have paid off it would appear.

[BVest]

Hey guys,
Took the MBE simulated exam yesterday. I shot a 141 (top 15 percent). Very happy with that. Barbri says that an average student will score about 20 points higher on the MBE score on gameday, but I can't see shooting a 161.

You'd be surprised. In reality you'll get some bump because you're continuing to study and some bump from scaling. (I got a 161 from a lower Barbri simulated exam).

And to those pondering the effect of the additional experimental questions, no, the 175 question test will not make a difference in scores. The two things that matter in determining your scaled score are (1) your percentile, which is your performance relative to fellow examinees across all scored questions, and (2) the equalization, which is the performance of all examinees on this particular exam relative to the performance of all examinees on the July and Feb 2016 exams for repeat questions (i.e. questions they repeated from those past exams so they can compare one exam's difficulty to another).

[TXforeignlawyer]

I took the simulated MBE Friday. i plan to mail my scantron tomorrow to be scored. Is the simulated MBE scaled? Or is your score the actual number of questions answered correctly?

[maztastic247]

I took the simulated MBE Friday. i plan to mail my scantron tomorrow to be scored. Is the simulated MBE scaled? Or is your score the actual number of questions answered correctly?

It is not a scaled score, just the raw score of how many you got correct.

[TXforeignlawyer]

Thanks, what is the score needed to pass the MBE on exam day?

[maztastic247]

Thanks, what is the score needed to pass the MBE on exam day?

There is no "passing score" per se because the test is graded (pass/fail wise) as a whole not per section like some states. A good goal to shoot for would be a scaled score of 137-145 to be in decent shape. You can pass with a lower score than that and you could fail with a higher score than that depending on how well you do on the essays, MPT and P&E sections.

[texas1100]

Got 125 on stimulated; 169 scaled on real thing, fwiw. good luck everybody

[Mckay]

Got 125 on stimulated; 169 scaled on real thing, fwiw. good luck everybody

Thank you. That is very helpful. Hope at this point is a really great thing!

[favrefire4]

Has anyone gotten their Admission Ticket yet? I was reading on the website that we are supposed to have received them by February 1st, which is coming up mighty quickly here! Thanks for the info!

[maztastic247]

Has anyone gotten their Admission Ticket yet? I was reading on the website that we are supposed to have received them by February 1st, which is coming up mighty quickly here! Thanks for the info!

I haven't received mine yet, I believe they are going to be given to us through our atlas account so I expect we will have them tomorrow or Wednesday.

[Mckay]

No ticket here either.