Word: bartlette
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...Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Marilyn Bartlett, an aspiring attorney who had failed the state's bar exam on four occasions, was entitled to special accommodations during the exam. In the suit, Bartlett argued that her previous failures were due to a learning disability and that the New York Bar Association acted improperly when it denied her requests for extra time, permission to tape-record her essays and the right to mark her multiple choice answers in the test booklet rather than on that pesky answer sheet...
...said it denied Bartlett's requests for special testing arrangements on the recommendation of an outside expert, who reported that she suffered from no identifiable disability. Her scores on a reading test were not high, but the expert felt they were well above the range of disability. (In fact, Bartlett reads better than 30 percent of the population.) Not surprisingly, for the trial Bartlett was able to hire her own expert to contradict the bar expert's diagnosis; this was enough for the court to rule in her favor...
Before the Bartlett ruling, the New York Bar granted special testing accommodations to more than 80 percent of those who requested them. If the Bar's clinician had been out to deny the truly disabled their rights, he or she had not been doing a particularly good job. It seems more likely that the clinician was trying to weed out those seeking an excuse for low performance from those with legitimate claims. Now that that discretion will lie with people on the payroll of the applicant, you can be sure that the number of "necessary accommodations" will balloon...
...Bartlett case is just one more boost to the great American tradition of fudging. If at first you don't succeed, try to bend the rules. If you fail to meet a standard, either of morality or competency, there's always room to maneuver...
...remains unclear whether President Clinton's web of excuses will save his job. But it seems likely that Marilyn Bartlett's court victory will not be enough to her earn her a passing grade. In 1993, when her lawsuit was first filed, the Bar permitted her to take the exam with the accommodations she requested--on the condition that the results would be withheld until the court issued its judgment. Afforded extra time, provided with tape recorders and freed from that pesky answer sheet, Bartlett failed for the fifth consecutive time. Rest assured, she will try again...