My vote is to get rid of the essay on all bar exams.
That will pretty-much kill what little credibility those in law school still advocating for essay examinations still have.
Diversify the grade into several smaller, research papers, projects, and small multiple choice exams (meant to simulate the Multistate Bar Exam). Give a student more chances to succeed - or fail.
The end-of-term essay just encourages self-destructive, last-minute cramming behavior that does not serve students well when they have real clients.
If you want a real idea of what people think of the essay exam method, why not try asking over on the
ABA's Solosez email listserve? I think you'll find that the only place this ridiculous issue is even a real debate is among the closeted world of law school faculty. Just about everyone else in the legal community is baffled why this is even still an issue.
Of course the essay method is ridiculous and utterly divorced from reality. Duh!
Just an aside...
I'm sorry to say that I feel like I learned more about Torts, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Civil Procedure, and the general landscape of American law from a two-week cram course from
Pmbr than I did from 3 years of law school. I talked to a lot of my fellow law students who also attended that class. They felt exactly the same way. That's a terrible commentary on our legal education system.