I disagree. I sat for and passed two bar exams and also took Barbri. Of course the bar examiners arent going to make the test easier in February and I do not believe any one has suggested that. It is a fact, however, that the bar passage rate is lower for those who have taken the bar and failed. Contrary to your statement, you can look at any detailed statistics on bar passage rates and clearly see this. The Pennsylvania statistics, for example, show this:
http://www.pabarexam.org/Bar_Examina..._Main_Menu.htm
After viewing that, it is clear that the second-timers do not "learn from their mistakes." Therefore, a first time bar applicant would benefit from the inabilities of those repeating the bar. The repeaters historically have lower scores which translates into a higher curve.
The statistics are clear, however, the theory that the bar is "harder" is not. I have never heard that they make the questions harder in February = its just that the applicants are not as smart.