“How many times did Kamala Harris take the bar exam? Find out the full story behind her two attempts and eventual pass in 1990.”
I’ll Be honest with yourself: the first time I heard this” fact” When I was thrown around I hardly believed it. A future Attorney General, United States Senator, and Vice President of the United States… Failed a test? It felt that way. One Of those internet rumors with which exaggeration is done. Every retweet. So what did I do? any curious person But it does 11 p. M. Also included many open browser tabs— I went down. The rabbit hole.
And what I found turned out to be more interesting and honest. More human, from the meme version of the story.
So let’s acquire this straight, because I know you didn’t come here for the thrill.
Kamala Harris took the California bar exam Twice he failed. Her first attempt I 1989 And passed her second attempt I 1990.
That’s it. He is the headline fact. But like most political trivia which flattens out. A soundbite, There’s a lot of texture underneath- and when you first see it. The full picture, His voice stops a” gotcha” And the sound starts to sound, well, pretty one normal story approx a hard exam.
The Timeline, Simply put
Here’s Sequence of events, taken from spin:
• 1986: Harris’ servant. Her undergraduate degree from Howard University.
• 1989: He graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law( now renamed UC Law San Francisco).
• July 1989: She sits down. The California bar exam to the first time. She doesn’t pass.
• February 1990: She takes it again. The exam.
• June 1990: He is officially hospitalized. The California State Bar.
Do you notice anything? It’s hardly. A year Between the confirmations law school And even obtain a license to practice law a failed attempt Sandwich inside the middle. This is not the situation at all. A story of someone flounder for years. This is more like it. A single stumble But the way To the finish line.
Why the California Bar Exam Is Basically The final boss
If you have never taken the bar exam, Let me paint the picture: it’s Brutal” I didn’t study enough” not brutal- I mean structurally, historically, notoriously brutal, and California’s version is a reputation Seam one I among the most difficult the country.
Contemplate of it this way. Imagine training for a marathon, except the marathon Also determined to happen occasionally twenty- eight miles Instead of twenty- six, Upwards in the rain, And approx half the field doesn’t stop. He is California’s bar exam in a nutshell. About the time Harris Took it, pass rates soared. A range This is what most standardized tests examine like. A pop quiz. I 1985, Approximately 42% For everyone who sat. The exam passed it.
Even between strong law schools, First pass can be changed from anywhere. 70s Very low scarier territory depends on the year And the specific exam session.
And here’s A twist that is usually skipped. ” she failed the bar” Headlines: Population who take it back. The exam— like Harris I was 1990— to pass dramatically lower rates compared to the first time. It’s Not because there are retractors. Less capable; This is because the exam Disproportionately eliminates retest takers for reasons that have more to do with that. Test design and circumstance from raw intelligence.
So when Harris But passed her second try, She beat the odds that were stacked. Against her twice.
Additional Resources:
- Did Kamala Harris Fail Her Bar Exam on First Try? — Snopes: Confirms Harris failed the California bar on her first attempt in 1989 and passed in 1990, citing a 2016 New York Times profile and California State Bar records.
- Kamala Harris — Fact Checks & Biography — PolitiFact:Pulitzer Prize–winning fact-checking outlet’s archive of verified claims and biographical background on Harris, including her legal education and bar admission timeline.
