The July 2026 U.S. bar exam marked the first administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), and it presented a unique challenge for bar candidates and bar prep providers alike.
Students across the country prepared for an exam no one had ever taken before. There was no history to study. No years of score reports to analyze. No real-world testing data to inform what the exam might feel like.
For bar prep providers, there was the tough question: Could a course be built that prepared students for the brand-new exam format before any results existed?
BARBRI now has the answer.
Feedback from BARBRI students who sat for the July NextGen UBE reveals a clear progression—from learning and practice to performance and true readiness for every major component of the new exam.
The Learning Experience: BARBRI's Faculty Set Students Up from Day One
Success on a new exam starts with understanding what the exam is designed to test. That's where strong teaching provides the foundation. Everything else builds from there.
From the beginning of the NextGen transition, BARBRI focused on helping students build that understanding through expert instruction and in-depth analysis of the skills and legal concepts at the heart of the new format.
That investment in teaching quality is reflected in how students rated BARBRI's Deep Dive faculty lectures. Students gave these lectures a 4.12 out of 5 rating for content quality.
This measure tells us that our faculty and curriculum came through for students when they were preparing for an exam without precedent. Students needed guidance from instructors they could trust, and BARBRI's deep-dive into key topics delivered. The short, expert-led lectures were infused with scenario-based context, detailed explanations, and a clear roadmap for mastering NextGen's new testing formats.
“Excellent lectures presented in a very engaging and easy to follow format. The professors helped to highlight the areas we need to focus on.” — Amina J.
Practice: The Materials Worked Exactly Where It Mattered
Learning concepts is only the first step in bar prep. Students also need tools that help them apply, reinforce, and retain what they have learned.
BARBRI NextGen Bar Review was designed to create a seamless connection between instruction and practice. Students could move directly from faculty-guided Skills Scenarios into targeted exercises that reinforced key concepts and skills. This was largely made possible through the Course Companion that helps bridge the gap between absorbing information and applying it.
Eighty-five percent of students found the Course Companion helpful or very helpful in reinforcing what they learned.
This core aspect of the BARBRI Bar Review course allows students to acquire substantive knowledge in a flexible manner — either by using the Course Companion alongside the Deep Dive Lectures, or as a standalone tool for actively working through problems as they read.
Students also had access to BARBRI's extensive practice resources, including content from the NCBE (three licensed question sets inside the course and one additional question set delivered through the NCBE’s testing platform) and BARBRI-authored NextGen-style questions designed to reflect the skills and reasoning required on the evolving exam. Together, these materials created a consistent learning experience that allowed students to maximize exam familiarity and build confidence before test day.
BARBRI has long recognized that when preparation materials are doing their job, students spend less time wondering if they are studying the right way and more time making meaningful progress.
Performance: Students Were Prepared for the Real Thing with BARBRI's Performance Tasks
Students were aware that performance-based tasks would play a critical role in the NextGen format. What they didn't know, however, was exactly how those tasks would look on exam day. BARBRI addressed that uncertainty by developing materials that mirrored the demands of NextGen and aligned with NCBE-drafted content.
Eighty-four percent of surveyed students said BARBRI's Performance Tasks closely mirrored what they saw on exam day.
This strong indicator of our course design shows that students were not simply practicing performance-based legal work during their BARBRI bar prep. They were practicing with materials that reflected the experience they ultimately encountered during the actual test.
In a first-of-its-kind exam environment, that alignment matters. It helps students focus on demonstrating legal analysis and problem-solving skills rather than adapting to unfamiliar formats under pressure.
“What was being asked and instructions on the exam were clear and mirrored BARBRIʼs [Performance Tasks].” — Jennifer A.
Readiness: It Showed on Exam Day
The goal of bar preparation is not to provide mastery of a single question type. It's to develop confidence across the full scope of the exam. The NextGen Bar Exam delivered three major testing formats. Students needed to feel ready for all of them.
According to the survey results, they did.
More than three out of four students felt prepared for every section of the NextGen Bar Exam after using BARBRI.
The confidence students reported in each testing format represents the payoff of the entire preparation journey with BARBRI: expert instruction, effective study materials, and realistic practice experiences working together to build comprehensive exam readiness.
“BARBRI helped me improve my speed and strategy.” — Melanie L.
A Different Exam. The Same BARBRI Confidence.
The inaugural NextGen Bar Exam asked students to prepare for the unknown. BARBRI responded by creating a course built specifically for that challenge.
Students learned from highly rated faculty instruction. They reinforced concepts through course materials designed to connect learning with practice. They completed Performance Tasks that closely mirrored the real exam experience. And they walked into exam day feeling prepared across every major component of the new format.
When it's your turn to prepare for the bar exam, BARBRI NextGen Bar Review will make it familiar, make it manageable, and make you confident in exam day success.
Start your bar prep journey today or explore BARBRI NextGen bar prep for free. No commitment required.
Disclaimer: Results were based on BARBRI's July 2026 NextGen Bar Exam post-course survey. Results were self-reported by survey respondents and may not be representative of all students. Faculty lecture rating was based on 94 respondents. Course Companion feedback was based on 100 respondents. Preparedness and Performance Task findings were based on 99 respondents.
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