Bar Exam Software Examplify Not Compatible with Intel’s 12th Gen CPU

Law students who want to take the Bar exam digitally may run into a serious problem because offline testing application Examplify said that its software is not compatible with Intel’s latest generation of processors.

Examplify is an assessment program that enables exam takers to securely take examinations downloaded to their own laptop computers by blocking access to files, programs, and the Internet during an exam. The software is used in over 150 U.S. law schools for computer-based testing.

On Twitter, one user posted a screenshot of a notice from ExamSoft, the company that owns Examplify, sent to bar applicants. According to the notice, “new Windows devices containing the Intel 12th generation chipset are triggering Examplify’s automatic virtual machine check. These are NOT currently supported. Therefore, they cannot be used for the upcoming July 2022 bar exam.”

It is unclear if bar applicants had any other warning beyond the ExamSoft notice.

The Verge reported that the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is aware of the issue, but it said that it’s essentially up to the individual jurisdictions administering the exam to figure things out. NCBE spokesperson Valerie Hickman said that each state is responsible for choosing the exam software.

“While NCBE is not directly involved in the administration of the exam, it is aware of ExamSoft’s communication to examinees regarding Windows devices with an Intel 12th generation chipset,” Hickman said in a statement to The Verge. “Examinees with questions should reach out directly to ExamSoft or to their jurisdiction.”