The performance test or "PT" is a section of the bar exam that is intended to mimic a real-life legal task that future lawyers may face. Of the three parts of most states' bar exams -- MBE, essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

, and PT -- the PT is probably the most reflective of how well a candidate will perform outside of an academic setting.

A performance test may include tasks such as writing a legal memorandum

Memorandum

A memorandum is from the Latin verbal phrase memorandum est, the gerundive form of the verb memoro, "to mention, call to mind, recount, relate", which means "It must be remembered ..."...

, drafting an affidavit

Affidavit

An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...

, or drafting a settlement

Settlement (law)

In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...

 offer letter to opposing counsel

Counsel

A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...

.

Performance testing

Performance testing

In software engineering, performance testing is in general testing performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular workload...

 as part of a technical specification is covered on a different page.

California PT

Probably the most difficult PT is that of the California bar exam. The three-day California bar exam, which has the lowest pass rate in the country, includes two performance test sections, one the first day and one the last day. Each PT lasts three hours.

Multistate Performance Test

This is a test drafted by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), modeled after the California test and intended as a supplement to NCBE's Multistate Essay Examination. NCBE currently offers three different performance tests, each 90 minutes long (as opposed to 3 hours in California). As of July 2007, 33 jurisdictions use the MPT.

Sources

• California Bar Exam
• National Conference of Bar Examiners Tests (click on link for Multistate Performance Test for more information)