[blindlaw] Bar Exam Accommodations

[AZNOR99 at aol.com]

Hi Everyone,
 
I wondered if those of you who've already taken the Bar Exam can give me  
some advice.  I'm scheduled to sit for the exam this February in  Illinois.  
Until recently, all the plans for accommodations seemed to be  going fine.  Last 
week, the Board of Admission to the Illinois Bar rep who  handles ADA matters 
contacted me to let me know that I would be allowed to use  my Jaws-enabled 
laptop to write the essay portion of the exam with the condition  that my 
computer be wiped of everything except one word processing program and  Jaws.  I 
wrote back to ask her to be more specific about their  requirements.  For example, 
who would be doing the wiping - the Board or  myself?  Do they literally want 
everything wiped and all programs  uninstalled, or do they want to just make 
sure I don't have any BarBri/PMBR  documents or law school files that would be 
useful for cheating purposes?   Obviously, I am not willing to waste valuable 
study time to wipe my computer,  and I certainly lack the expertise to figure 
out what is crucial and what is not  for my laptop to operate.  Also, I don't 
think I want to wipe five years of  work and programs for one day's use.  If 
they want to do the wiping, I'm  not sure I trust anyone with the personal 
information I have on my computer, and  again, depending on how long they need to 
do it, it might interfere with  valuable study time.
 
In Illinois, the Board gives students who don't need accommodations the  
option to type the essay portion of the exam using software called  SofTest.  The 
software works as a word processing program, and it also  lockes all other 
applications so the user can't access anything but  SofTest.  I can't use SofTest 
because it would lock Jaws out and also  because there are concrete time 
limits on each exam, meaning I would not have  extended time. 
 
As an alternative, I suggested the Board get a copy of Jaws and install it  
on one of their own machines so they'd be able to regulate what is on the  
machine themselves.  The rep said they'd consider that option, but they  believe 
that it would probably be cost prohibitive.  
 
What did you all do about the essay portion?  I've never used a live  reader 
before on an exam, and I don't think the Bar Exam is an appropriate time  to 
experiment with one.  If I had concrete examples of how other states  deal with 
this issue, it might help convince Illinois to find a sollution that  works 
for all of the parties involved.  
 
Thanks,
Ronza
 
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Hi Everyone,
 
I wondered if those of you who've already taken the Bar Exam can give me some advice.  I'm scheduled to sit for the exam this February in Illinois.  Until recently, all the plans for accommodations seemed to be going fine.  Last week, the Board of Admission to the Illinois Bar rep who handles ADA matters contacted me to let me know that I would be allowed to use my Jaws-enabled laptop to write the essay portion of the exam with the condition that my computer be wiped of everything except one word processing program and Jaws.  I wrote back to ask her to be more specific about their requirements.  For example, who would be doing the wiping - the Board or myself?  Do they literally want everything wiped and all programs uninstalled, or do they want to just make sure I don't have any BarBri/PMBR documents or law school files that would be useful for cheating purposes?  Obviously, I am not willing to waste valuable study time to wipe my computer, and I certainly lack the expertise to figure out what is crucial and what is not for my laptop to operate.  Also, I don't think I want to wipe five years of work and programs for one day's use.  If they want to do the wiping, I'm not sure I trust anyone with the personal information I have on my computer, and again, depending on how long they need to do it, it might interfere with valuable study time.
 
In Illinois, the Board gives students who don't need accommodations the option to type the essay portion of the exam using software called SofTest.  The software works as a word processing program, and it also lockes all other applications so the user can't access anything but SofTest.  I can't use SofTest because it would lock Jaws out and also because there are concrete time limits on each exam, meaning I would not have extended time. 
 
As an alternative, I suggested the Board get a copy of Jaws and install it on one of their own machines so they'd be able to regulate what is on the machine themselves.  The rep said they'd consider that option, but they believe that it would probably be cost prohibitive. 
 
What did you all do about the essay portion?  I've never used a live reader before on an exam, and I don't think the Bar Exam is an appropriate time to experiment with one.  If I had concrete examples of how other states deal with this issue, it might help convince Illinois to find a sollution that works for all of the parties involved. 
 
Thanks,
Ronza