Your Course Progress and Performance Goals
Welcome to your Kaplan Bar Review Course! Before you get started, we want to take the
opportunity to share our expectations with you. Successful completion of your bar review course
requires you to track two types of goals: progress goals and performance goals.
Achieving your course progress goals will ensure that you are completing the work assigned
and will keep you from falling behind. Falling behind will decrease your chances of completing
your course work prior to the bar exam, which decreases your chances of success on the bar
exam.
Achieving your performance goals puts you in a position to pass the bar exam with confidence.
Take some time at the start of your course to familiarize yourself with the course goals set forth
below. Throughout your studies we will be checking in with you on your progress towards these
goals and providing you with additional insights, guidance, and support as you work toward your
course goals.
Your Course Progress Goals:
● Strive to complete all work assigned by the end of each week
● Complete the Mid-Term as scheduled and use the Reflection Exercise to assess your
performance as you watch the review videos
● Complete the Simulated Practice Exam as scheduled and use the Reflection Exercise to
assess your performance as you watch the review videos
● Complete and submit all essays assigned for grading before essay submissions close
(10 days before your exam)
● Complete all essays as assigned and self-assess
Your Performance Goals:
● Aim to score roughly a 65% or above on your MCQ practice quizzes
● Aim to score above a 110 on the Mid-Term Exam
● Aim to score above a 114 on the Simulated MCQ Practice Exam
● Aim for scores in the yellow and green ranges on any graded essays
● Aim to complete essays under timed exam-like conditions
Knowing your goals from the outset of your studies allows you to set performance and
completion expectations for yourself from the beginning. Setting these expectations early on will
help you more accurately assess the progress you are making and provide you with motivation
as you work towards concrete goals throughout your studies.
Status Check
Simply knowing your goals is not enough. You should also be checking to see whether you are
reaching your goals. If you aren’t, it’s critical to assess and regroup, so that you can get back on
track.
• Are you reaching your course progress goals?
o If yes, GREAT JOB! Keep up the good work.
o If no, ask yourself why not. Some considerations:
▪ Are you prioritizing work that is not assigned on your syllabus?
• Remember that your bar course was designed by learning experts to
maximize your chances of success on test day. Following the syllabus is the
best way to prepare for your bar exam!
▪ Are you taking significantly longer than estimated to complete your assignments?
• Consider why this is, and if it is something unavoidable, build in time during
your week to compensate.
▪ Are you having trouble focusing and working consistently each day?
• Create a comfortable workspace.
• Minimize distractions.
• Remind yourself of your ultimate goal - becoming a lawyer!
• Surround yourself with positive affirmations.
• Build breaks and rewards into your day.
• Are you reaching your course performance goals?
o If yes, GREAT JOB! Keep up the good work and try to avoid resting on your laurels.
o If no, ask yourself why not. Some considerations:
▪ Are you achieving your course progress goals (i.e., are you behind in your
studies or have you skipped certain tasks, such as lectures, MCQ practice, or
essay practice?)
• Remember that course progress and performance often go hand in hand.
▪ Are you studying and practicing in a good work environment?
• Try eliminating distractions like tv, music, and interruptions whenever
possible.
▪ Even if you have not reached your performance goals, are you improving over
time?
• Did you do better on this Real Property quiz than you did on the last one?
• If so, that’s great! Celebrate incremental goals.
• New interim goal: Be at a better place this week than you were last week.
▪ Do you need to learn the law or do you need to work on test-taking skills (or
both)?
• If you are struggling with an area of the law, look to the Memorization
Workshop for ideas on how to move information from short to long term
memory.
o Focus on areas of weakness in the most highly tested topics within each
subject.
o Look up murky legal concepts in your Subjects Outline book or your Bar
Notes and then make flashcards for them.
• If you are struggling with test-taking skills, focus on slowing down and
understanding where you are going wrong.
o Review the MCQ Skills Workshops and focus on ways in which you can
more strategically approach each question.
o Look for patterns in your performance (scores going down or plateauing
in a particular subject/topic, timing issues, etc.)
You can do this! Studying for the bar exam takes time, perseverance, dedication, and self-
discipline. You have spent three years preparing for this exam and this is simply the final hurdle.
Best of luck in your studies!
