The Supreme Court will recognize examinees who obtained a total weighted score of 85.00% or higher for their “exemplary performance in the Bar examinations” instead of listing out the Top Ten.
TAKING cognizance of extraordinary situation brought by the pandemic, the Supreme Court has adopted a "modified" grading system for the 2020 and 2021 bar examinations, the court announced Friday (August 27)
In an advisory issued by Associate Justice and Bar Examinations Chairperson Marvic Leonen, the SC said it has adopted the modifications considering the "extraordinary" circumstances" engendered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“They [examinees] have been put in a constrained environment, with only a brief window of time to prepare,” he added.
Among the modifications, Leonen said, the Supreme Court will recognize examinees who obtained a total weighted score of 85.00% or higher for their “exemplary performance in the Bar examinations” instead of listing out the Top Ten.
“The names of examinees who earned recognition for exemplary performance shall be made publicly available simultaneously with the list of passers, through the same media. Apart from this, no fanfare shall be devoted in releasing information on examinees who rendered exemplary performance,” Leonen added.
Aside from doing away from Top 10 bar topnotchers, the 2020/21 Bar examinations will also be the first to be held digitally and in at least 24 local testing centers across the country.
"The modifications were adopted to initiate reforms that address the debilities and inequities arising from traditional, competitive mechanisms, as well as the false tendency to associate Bar Examination performance with overal legal acumen and even future professional success," Leonen added.
This year's Bar Examinations are scheduled to be held in November.
Under the new measures, each bar applicant will select their local testing center through the Bar Personal Login Unified System (PLUS).
Venue-matching will not be on a first-come, first-served basis and instead, applicants from remote areas will be prioritized.
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