SQE final design revealed as two pilots show significant difference in results between BAME and white candidates
updated on 11 June 2020
The final design of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) has been revealed, with the introduction of the new ‘super exam’ in 2021 confirmed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). But despite initial claims that the SQE will help to make a career as a solicitor more accessible, the results of two pilots indicate that the new system will do little to reverse the trend of BAME candidates receiving lower marks than white students.
The SRA confirmed the following details about the SQE’s final design:
- SQE1 will comprise two exams of 180 multiple-choice questions each.
- SQE1 will cover functioning legal knowledge only and will not involve a skills element – all skills testing will take place in SQE2.
- SQE2 will be a uniform assessment, meaning that all candidates will sit the same exam. An optional model had been considered but it was decided that this approach would not guarantee fairness.
- SQE2 will involve 15-18 practical exercises or tasks covering five practice areas. Candidates will be awarded a single overall mark for SQE2, but the assessments will take place over multiple days.
- The SQE will be available in both English and Welsh.
- The cost of taking SQE1 and SQE2 will be between £3,000 and £4,000.
The findings of both pilots found that “there was differential performance by binary ethnicity (white/BAME)”, with the SQE2 pilot report noting that the gap in attainment “is consistent with current experience in assessments in the legal sector and more widely”. There was no difference in results by gender or disability.
An updated diversity and inclusion risk assessment concluded that there is “no evidence that any of these assessment methods used in the SQE are intrinsically biased or that the outcomes are worse than those seen in the current LPC system”.
The SRA and Kaplan, the organisation running the SQE, have said they will commission research to understand the causes of the attainment gap, and introduce measures to ensure the SQE is as fair as possible, including the recruitment of a diverse group of assessors, unconscious bias training for assessors and appointing independent external expertise.
The regulator said that it will shortly publish a diversity report on the SQE by the independent Bridge Group.
