Last year, Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup with the addition of a Touch Bar right above the keyboard — in place of the function keys. Though Cupertino had shown off only a few selected uses for the said secondary display, there has been no dearth of apps being developed to augment the existing experience. But, the capability of the Touch Bar to further augment your workflow has come under the microscope for U.S law students. And especially those who were ready to use their favorite new laptop to appear for the upcoming state bar exam.
This development comes from Examsoft, a test taking software developer, who is of the opinion that the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro can be detrimental to the bar exam process. The company, in its official blog post, has stated that the Touch Bar will display predictive text while a student is taking the exam. This popular feature, which is widely used on the daily, can affect the exam procedures and students can cheat using the same, says Examsoft.
With regards to the doubts surrounding the Touch Bar, the official blog post reads as under,
By default, the Touch Bar will show predictive text depending on what the student is typing, compromising exam integrity.
Further, Examsoft has already suggested that the said secondary display should be disabled before a student appears for the state bar exam via the new MacBook Pro. The recommendation for the same has already been accepted by several states in varying magnitudes. The Next Web is reporting that North Carolina has taken the decision to allow the use of MacBook Pro with Touch Bar disabled. It has also instructed invigilators to examine these devices to check if the feature has been disabled or not. New York, on the other hand, has banned the use of these Apple laptops from the bar exam.
Thus, we will suggest you to check with your local branch of the Board of Law Examiners before reaching the exam center with a MacBook Pro. The board has also decided to waiver the software re-installation fee for students coming for the exam with another laptop. We’ve reached out to Apple for a comment on this development.
