Thank you for your interest in participating in the NextGen prototype exam. The prototype exam is a research study that will play a crucial role in launching the next generation of the bar exam. As a prototype exam participant, you can make an important contribution to the future of the legal profession.
Signing Up for the Prototype Exam
Potential participants will be contacted directly by email with instructions for signing up. After you submit your sign-up, watch for an email from NCBE with the subject “Action Requested: Complete the Next Steps to Participate in the NCBE NextGen Prototype Exam.”
You must complete all the steps below by the deadline shown in your email; if you do not complete them by the deadline, your sign-up will be canceled, and you will not be able to participate in the prototype exam.
Review the personal details and prototype exam dates and location provided in your email; if any of the information is incorrect, contact NCBE Candidate Services.
In order to issue your $1,500 payment, we need your personal payment information. To provide this information, go to your prototype exam sign-up, follow the prompts to register as a payee, and complete the payment setup process. (You will need a valid, US government-issued Social Security number and be able to legally complete a W-9 form, which will be used to process your payment.) If you previously provided your payment information as part of your participation in the NextGen field test, you do not need to provide it again; please contact NCBE Candidate Services to confirm that your information is still current.
You will take the prototype exam on a laptop using an application called SecureClient. Ensure that your laptop meets these minimum system requirements (scroll down to SecureClient for Windows or SecureClient for Mac), then follow the instructions below to install SecureClient. You will be required to take the prototype exam on the same laptop you download SecureClient on and take the mock exam on to ensure a functioning machine on prototype exam day.
If you are taking the prototype exam using assistive technology, refer to the list of available alternative testing arrangements to find out whether you will use SecureClient. If you have any questions about installing SecureClient, please contact NCBE Candidate Services.
Use SecureClient to take the required short mock exam. The mock exam will provide an opportunity to make sure your laptop works with SecureClient and to familiarize yourself with SecureClient and with the types of questions you might see on the prototype exam. You do not need to answer all the mock exam questions or answer the questions correctly. The mock exam should take you approximately 15 minutes; once you begin it, you will have several hours to finish.
Refer to your email for your eight-digit keycode and, if applicable, six-digit PIN. Because your computer will be securely locked down during the mock exam, you should write down your keycode and PIN before you open SecureClient.
(If you are taking the prototype exam using assistive technology, refer to the list of available alternative testing arrangements to find out whether you will use SecureClient, and follow the instructions in your email for taking the mock exam.)
To take the mock exam, complete the following steps:
- Open SecureClient.
- Enter the eight-digit keycode you received by email (Mac users may also need to enter a six-digit PIN) and click OK to download the mock exam content.
Note that the practice test available on this screen is different from the mock exam and contains question types and features that are not included in the prototype exam. To prepare for the prototype exam, continue with the steps below to complete the mock exam.
- Your name and exam details will be shown. If they are correct, click Confirm; otherwise, click Cancel and contact NCBE Candidate Services for assistance.
- Review the Terms of Use for the mock exam, then check the box next to “I accept these terms” and click Continue.
- Review the instructions provided, then click Continue the Test to review the question types and familiarize yourself with SecureClient. You do not need to answer all the questions or answer the questions correctly.
- To finish the mock exam, click Finish Test in the top right corner of the screen. You will be asked to confirm that you want to finish the test.
- You will see confirmation that your mock exam has been successfully uploaded. Click Exit Test to close SecureClient.
Preparing for the Prototype Exam
In the weeks before the prototype exam, please monitor your email for important information from NCBE and your testing location.
Closer to the date of the prototype exam, you will be asked to download files to your laptop. Before the prototype exam, please also review the participant agreement that you consented to when you signed up.
You will take the prototype exam on your own laptop using SecureClient, the exam delivery application used by NCBE. The exam will be administered over two days in three sessions of three hours each (six hours on a Friday and three hours on a Saturday). You should expect to spend eight to nine hours at your testing location on Friday, including a break for lunch, and up to four hours on Saturday. You will receive additional instructions and information, including information about check-in times, directly from your testing location closer to the date of the prototype exam.
For participants requesting certain extended-time or other testing arrangements, the exam will be administered over either two or three days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday); these participants will be contacted individually with information about their exam schedules.
For information about alternative testing arrangements for the prototype exam, visit NextGen Prototype Exam Alternative Testing Arrangements.
Each session of the prototype exam will include two integrated question sets, approximately forty multiple-choice questions, and one performance task. For more information about each type of question and sample questions you can use to prepare, visit NextGen Bar Exam Sample Questions.
Compensation for participants who made a good faith effort to answer the prototype exam questions will be issued within 60 days after the prototype exam. You can log in to your NCBE Account to check your payment status.
Information about your performance is expected to be posted in your NCBE Account File Cabinet within a few months after the prototype exam.
Please adhere to the participant agreement that you consented to when you signed up for the NextGen prototype exam. Remember that, just as bar exam candidates agree not to disclose the content of the exam they take, you may not communicate with other participants or anyone else about the prototype exam contents.
