Performance Tasks

Scope

This file explains the NextGen UBE's performance tasks — the closed-universe written item type that NCBE describes as testing fundamental lawyering skills in realistic situations — covering NCBE's official description, the two performance-task subtypes (standard performance tasks and legal research performance tasks), timing, count, score weight, what NCBE's two released sample performance tasks show, and New Jersey's timeline for administering the exam. It does not cover the legacy MPT's full mechanics in depth (see the module's MPT topics), the standalone multiple-choice or integrated-question-set item types (see the sibling topics on those item types), the full content-scope outlines, or New Jersey-specific registration and test-day logistics.

Legal Explanation

What a performance task is (NCBE/national). NCBE describes NextGen UBE performance tasks as closed-universe items that pose a question or a series of questions about a single client matter [S1]. They require examinees to demonstrate their ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in realistic situations, completing tasks appropriate for a newly licensed lawyer [S1]. Each performance task begins with a memo that introduces the client, identifies the matter, and lists each document in the file and each legal resource in the library [S1]. For the standard subtype, NCBE states that the task includes "a file, which presents all relevant case facts, and a library, which presents all of the legal sources that examinees need to respond to the writing assignment" [S1]. This is the same testing model NCBE describes for the legacy Multistate Performance Test, which NCBE says "is designed to test an examinee's ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation and complete a task that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish" [S6] — the NextGen description tracks that language nearly verbatim [S1][S6]. NCBE's site labels the MPT "the performance test component of the legacy UBE," which NCBE states is administered through February 2028 [S6], and states that the NextGen UBE "will replace the legacy Uniform Bar Examination as the basis for score portability between participating jurisdictions" [S3]. One caveat: NCBE's performance-task pages do not themselves use the word "successor" — the continuity with the MPT is shown by NCBE's own descriptions, not by an explicit label on the pages checked [S1][S6].

The two subtypes (NCBE/national). There are two types of performance tasks: standard performance tasks (PTs) and legal research performance tasks (LRPTs) [S1]. Standard PTs focus on written legal-analysis skills and consist of one extended writing assignment [S1]; from the file and library materials, the examinee "will engage in legal analysis about a client matter and produce a written product, which may be a portion of a memo, brief, or other common legal document" [S1]. LRPTs focus on legal research and analysis skills and consist of a series of multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by one medium-length writing assignment [S1]. Each administration of the NextGen UBE will include three performance tasks [S1]. NCBE estimates roughly 60 minutes per performance task [S1] and states that approximately a third of the exam time will be devoted to performance tasks [S1] — consistent with three tasks at about 60 minutes each within the 540-minute, one-and-a-half-day exam [S1][S3].

Weight, schedule, and scoring (NCBE/national). Performance tasks make up 30% of the total NextGen UBE score, compared with 49% for standalone multiple-choice questions and 21% for integrated question sets [S2]. The exam is administered over one and a half days, with two three-hour sessions on day one and one three-hour session on day two [S3]. Like the legacy bar exam, the NextGen UBE is administered, and the written portions graded, by the individual US jurisdictions [S3]. Official scores are reported as a single number on a scale from 500 to 750, with each jurisdiction establishing its own passing score within that range [S3]. For comparison, NCBE states that jurisdictions that administer the legacy UBE weight the MPT component 20% [S6].

Content reach (NCBE/national). Standard PTs may assess skills through subject areas that are partially or fully outside of the Foundational Concepts and Principles, but the question provides the resources the examinee needs to give a complete answer — for example, a PT may include aspects of state trusts and estates law, with the library providing all necessary law [S4]. NCBE further states that, from July 2026 through February 2028, family law concepts will appear on every NextGen exam in a performance task, and that trusts and estates concepts will appear on every NextGen exam in a performance task from July 2026 through at least February 2028; during this period both areas are tested with legal resources provided [S3].

The released samples (NCBE/national). NCBE has published two sample performance tasks on its website, and they are the best free ground truth for the format (checked 2026-08-20) [S4][S5]. The sample standard PT, In re Johnston (© 2024), puts the examinee in the role of an associate asked to draft an objective memorandum in a will contest: the file contains an excerpted transcript of a telephone interview with the client, an affidavit from a witness to the will, and the handwritten will, while the library contains excerpts of the (fictional) Franklin Probate Code and two decisions of the (fictional) Franklin Court of Appeal [S4]. The task memo — addressed "Memorandum to Examinee" — directs the examinee to analyze only specified issues (whether the decedent suffered from an "insane delusion," and two of the four elements of undue influence) and to include only the Discussion section, following the firm's office guidelines reproduced in the sample [S4]. NCBE states the sample should take approximately 60 minutes to complete and links a "Standard Performance Task Sample Scoring Guide" [S4]. The sample LRPT, In re Jane Smith (© 2025), asks whether a cardholder is liable for credit card charges her sister made: the file contains an interview transcript and a file note, the library contains excerpts of the (fictional) Franklin Truth in Lending Act, excerpts of the Restatement (Third) of Agency, and two (fictional) Franklin court decisions, and the task comprises four multiple-choice questions, one short-answer question, and one medium-length writing assignment, to be completed in approximately 60 minutes [S5]. The cases cited inside both samples belong to NCBE's fictional "Franklin" jurisdiction and are not real cases [S4][S5]. NCBE notes that the NextGen sample questions are protected by US copyright law (the Performance Task is © 2024 and the Legal Research Performance Task is © 2025) and are for personal use only [S1].

New Jersey context (NJ-specific). New Jersey adopted the NextGen UBE by Supreme Court notice dated November 17, 2025, with the first New Jersey administration in July 2028; the legacy UBE continues in New Jersey through the February 2028 administration [S7]. The notice announces no NJ-specific performance-task design; the PT item type is part of the national NextGen UBE design that New Jersey adopted [S7]. New Jersey's NextGen passing score has not yet been set [S7]. In the meantime, New Jersey administers the legacy UBE — adopted beginning with the February 2017 administration — with a passing score of 266 [S8]. NCBE states that between July 2026 and July 2028, most jurisdictions will transition to the NextGen UBE [S3].

How candidates should approach performance tasks (editorial; beyond NCBE's published guidance). Three practical implications follow from the official materials. First, everything needed is in the packet: because PTs are closed-universe items with all facts in the file and all law in the library, the opening memo's list of file and library contents doubles as a reading map [S1]. Second, mind the assignment's scope: the sample PT explicitly limits the issues to analyze and the sections to include, so responsiveness to the memo's instructions is the core of the task [S4]. Third, budget time: at roughly 60 minutes per task and three tasks per administration, a performance task is a full hour of the exam day, and the item type carries about a third of exam time and 30% of the score [S1][S2]. Candidates can practice with NCBE's two free samples and the linked sample scoring guide [S4][S5].

Currency note. NextGen exam details are still evolving. Every claim in this file was checked against the cited NCBE, New Jersey Courts, and New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners pages on August 20, 2026, and reflects those pages as of that date [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] At the town's Junior Detective Club, kids earn the "Cold Case" badge by working practice cases. Each detective gets one sealed red envelope. On the outside, a cover letter from the Chief says: "This is the Martin case. The envelope contains everything in the case file and every page of the Detective Handbook you are allowed to use. Do not open any other book." Inside are two smaller folders: one holds the case file — witness statements, photos, the note found at the scene — and the other holds the relevant pages of the Detective Handbook. The club offers two kinds of tests. In the big one, you write one long report: "Explain whether the evidence shows Martin took the bicycle, using only the facts and rules in the envelope." In the quick one, you first answer five multiple-choice questions and one short question about what the handbook says, and then you write a shorter report. The club runs three case drills on badge day, each about an hour long — a third of the day. The envelope is the whole universe: if it is not in the envelope, you do not need it; and if it is in the envelope, you may use it even if you have never heard of it before.

Translating back to the real rule: the sealed envelope is the NextGen UBE performance task — a closed-universe item in which the cover letter is the task memo that introduces the client and matter and lists every document in the file and every resource in the library [S1]; the case-file folder is the File, presenting all relevant case facts [S1]; the handbook pages are the Library, presenting all legal sources the examinee needs [S1]; the one-long-report test is a standard PT's single extended writing assignment, which may be a portion of a memo, brief, or other common legal document [S1]; the quick test is a legal research performance task, with multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by one medium-length writing assignment [S1][S5]; the three hour-long drills are the three performance tasks per administration at roughly 60 minutes each [S1]; and the "use it even if you've never heard of it" rule reflects that PTs may test subject areas outside the foundational concepts, with all necessary law supplied in the library [S4]. The badge test itself is the NextGen UBE, where performance tasks are approximately a third of exam time and 30% of the total score [S1][S2] — and for New Jersey candidates, the first badge day is July 2028 [S7].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision addresses the design, weighting, or grading of the NextGen UBE's performance tasks — the item type is defined by exam specifications and administrative adoption orders, not by litigated doctrine. The governing authority for what a performance task is and how it is scored is NCBE's official NextGen materials: the About Performance Tasks description [S1] and the NextGen UBE Blueprint [S2], as illustrated by NCBE's two published sample performance tasks [S4][S5]. For New Jersey, the governing action is the New Jersey Supreme Court's November 17, 2025 notice adopting the NextGen UBE, effective with a first administration in July 2028 [S7]. The cases cited inside NCBE's samples — Thomas v. Anderson (Franklin Court of Appeal, 2007), Ramirez v. Ramirez (Franklin Court of Appeal, 2020), Departure Lending Inc. v. Superior Airways Inc. (Franklin Supreme Court, 2017), and Edito Holdings Co. v. Spartan Lending Co. (Franklin Court of Appeal, 2019) — are part of the samples' fictional "Franklin" jurisdiction and are not real cases [S4][S5].

Key Takeaways

• A performance task (NCBE/national) is a closed-universe item about a single client matter, opened by a memo that introduces the client and matter and lists every file document and every library resource; all relevant facts are in the file and all needed law is in the library [S1].
• Two subtypes (national): standard PTs (one extended writing assignment producing a portion of a memo, brief, or other common legal document) and legal research performance tasks (multiple-choice and short-answer questions plus one medium-length writing assignment); each administration includes three performance tasks [S1].
• Timing and weight (national): roughly 60 minutes per task, about a third of total exam time, and 30% of the total exam score — up from the legacy UBE's 20% MPT weight; the exam runs one and a half days in three three-hour sessions, with written portions graded by the administering jurisdiction [S1][S2][S3][S6].
• Content (national): PTs may test subject areas outside the foundational concepts, with all necessary law supplied in the library; family law (through February 2028) and trusts and estates (through at least February 2028) will appear in a performance task on every NextGen exam, with legal resources provided [S3][S4].
• Samples (national): NCBE's released standard sample is In re Johnston (objective memorandum in a will contest, fictional Franklin jurisdiction) with a linked scoring guide; the released LRPT sample is In re Jane Smith (four multiple-choice questions, one short-answer question, one medium-length writing assignment); both are roughly 60 minutes, and their cited cases are fictional [S4][S5].
• New Jersey-specific: first NextGen administration July 2028 (Supreme Court notice dated November 17, 2025); the legacy UBE continues in New Jersey through February 2028, currently with a passing score of 266; New Jersey's NextGen passing score is not yet set [S7][S8].

Sources

• [S1] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About Performance Tasks (NextGen UBE sample questions)," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/performance-task (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S2] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Blueprint, July 2026–February 2027" (PDF, prepared June 2, 2025), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCBE-NextGen-UBE-Blueprint_5.pdf (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S3] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About the NextGen UBE," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/about-nextgen (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "Sample NextGen UBE Standard Performance Task (In re Johnston)," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/performance-task/sample-pt (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S5] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "Sample NextGen UBE Legal Research Performance Task (In re Jane Smith)," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/performance-task/sample-research-pt (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S6] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About the MPT," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpt/about-mpt (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S7] New Jersey Courts, "Notice — Supreme Court Adopts the 'NextGen' Uniform Bar Examination — First Administration in July 2028" (Nov. 17, 2025), https://www.njcourts.gov/notices/notice-supreme-court-adopts-nextgen-uniform-bar-examination-first-administration-july-2028 (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S8] New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners, "Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) Information," https://www.njbarexams.org/ube (verified 2026-08-20).

Not Legal Advice