Thank you! I think you have made my point more than you know. It only takes one student to pass the Baby Bar and General Bar the first time to prove my point, it doesn't have to be a majority, and that one student doesn't pass by luck, when all things are constant in the equation except for the student's perseverance, cognitive and intellectual skills. Thanks for the Stats!
Let me try throwing a different spin on this.
The basic dings against standard classroom education are that it is very time-intensive, inconvenient and that there are better ways for people to absorb the material.
I don't think anybody ever said that classroom education is the absolutely optimal way for everybody to gain their highest level of mastery.
It's sort of like a factory: takes a large number of people and educates them in a manner that the vast majority meet some minimal standard at the end. Some small number get really, really good, probably due to individual initiative. Some small number fail, probably due to lack of ability or individual initiative.
However, MOST people gain the minimal level of competency that the classroom experience was meant to provide. Most brick and mortar schools, near as I can tell, have a bar passage rate of 80-90% or thereabouts. One school here in Ohio just had a 100% bar passage rate. I'm sure it's not the only one.
However, when you have an educational experience where the MAJORITY of students do not pass tests of minimal competency, that is a pretty severe indictment of the process that educated them.
Yes, some will pass. Hey, people are smart. People are dedicated. Frankly, you could probably find some segment of the population who would find a way to pass the baby bar and bar with no law school, whatsoever.
We're not talking about the students here. We're talking about the process that educated them.
The current 3 years of law school in a classroom is a system that, no doubt, could be refined. Maybe it shouldn't take that long. Maybe they should re-introduce pre-law required coursework in undergrad. Maybe different classes could be introduced. Maybe a greater reliance on internships.
However, GENERALLY SPEAKING, the current process produces 80-90% success at passing the bar exam, and thus being admitted to the bar.
Again, I don't mean to be cruel. I don't think of myself as an elitist. However, if brick and mortar schools need improvement, good lord, online education, frankly, needs to be scrapped and built up from scratch. The amount of worthwhile stuff in online education is very small. The amount that needs a complete overhaul is huge.
What's it to me? Honestly, I don't care. If you want to get your education this way, more power to you. I sincerely hope you find what you're looking for. However, I wouldn't advise anybody I know to pursue this route.
It's a shortcut. People recognize that. Prospective students are attracted because they like the idea of a shortcut. Employers are turned off because they generally don't want employees who are looking for the easy way out or a way to avoid paying their dues.
The results are pretty clear: it's a shortcut to nowhere.