Alright, so like, is there something in California’s water that makes the state’s bureaucrats mess up big time? It sure seems like it, considering all the major screwups that have gone down. Many of the state government’s not-so-great moves involve trying to use fancy technology that ends up flopping big time.
One prime example of these high-tech disasters is the Financial Information System for California, also known as FI$Cal. This system was supposed to be a super comprehensive financial management tool, but it’s been struggling for years to actually work right. The constant delays and going over budget showed that even though California is all about tech innovation, the state just can’t seem to get it right when it comes to making systems that actually do what they’re supposed to.
Then there was this whole mess in the court system. The state Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts started a project in 2002 to create a centralized case management system. It was so bad that after more than a decade of wasting over half a billion dollars, they had to give up on the whole thing.
But the cherry on top of all these blunders has to be the Employment Development Department’s attempt to dish out billions in unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 crisis. Not only did they fail to pay a lot of folks who really needed the money on time, but they also ended up sending tons of cash to scammers who were playing the system.
Now, California really didn’t need another epic fail to add to its list of mess-ups, but they got one with the State Bar changing the test for aspiring lawyers. The agency was feeling the financial pinch and decided to make its own test to save some cash. When the test went down in February, it was a total disaster.
The online platforms kept crashing before some folks even got to start the test. Others had trouble finishing and saving their essays, dealt with screen lag, error messages, and couldn’t even copy and paste test questions into their responses like they were supposed to. It was a hot mess, to say the least.
Since then, State Bar officials, test takers, lawmakers, and even state Supreme Court justices have been going back and forth on what to do with the clearly messed up results. Especially after finding out that the agency used artificial intelligence to come up with test questions without telling anyone.
Just last week, the Supreme Court decided to lower the passing score for the February exam and told the State Bar to ditch their new system and go back to the old test format. Good call.
On Monday, the State Bar announced that with the lower passing scores, almost 56% of folks who took the February exam passed, along with 76.5% of those who took a one-day exam. So, now California has 2,436 fresh lawyers on the scene.
At the same time, the State Bar said they were suing Measure Learning, the company that ran the messed up February exam, for fraud. The disaster also led to the State Bar’s executive director, Leah T. Wilson, stepping down. She’ll be out in July when her $400,000 contract ends.
“Despite our best intentions, the experiences of applicants for the February Bar Exam simply were unacceptable, and I fully recognize the frustration and stress this experience caused,” Wilson said. “While there are no words to assuage those emotions, I do sincerely apologize.”
Alright, so like, Wilson’s apology is a nice change from the usual dodging of responsibility that happens after major screwups. It’s a step in the right direction, for sure. But hey, maybe just not making bad decisions in the first place would be the better move. Just a thought.
