Andreas Oranje Appointed Managing Director of Assessment Programs at NCBE
Andreas Oranje joined the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) on March 31 as Managing Director of Assessment Programs. Oranje leads NCBE’s development and implementation of the next generation of the bar exam.
Prior to joining NCBE, Oranje held several positions at ETS, most recently serving as vice president of Assessment and Learning Technology Research and Development in ETS’s Research & Development division. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Educational Measurement and was program chair for AERA Division D. He has presented at numerous conferences and has written extensively on large-scale assessment methodology, game-based assessment, and artificial intelligence in education. He holds a master’s degree and PhD in quantitative psychology from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as well as an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
As Managing Director of Assessment Programs at NCBE, Oranje provides critical policy direction and hands-on technical and operational oversight for the NextGen bar exam. He closely collaborates with internal leadership and external constituents to develop and successfully launch the new exam in 2026 and provides information and updates about NextGen to the bar examining community at large. He also oversees test development for the Multistate Bar Exam, Multistate Performance Test, and Multistate Essay Exam.
“I am delighted to have joined NCBE at this exciting time, as it prepares to launch the next generation of the bar exam,” said Oranje. “I look forward to applying my two decades of experience in assessment, psychometrics, and innovation to help build a world-class bar exam.”
About the National Conference of Bar Examiners
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1931. NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions for the benefit and protection of the public, in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. Best known for developing bar exam content used by 54 US jurisdictions, NCBE serves admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. In 2026, NCBE will launch the next generation of the bar examination, ensuring that the exam continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at https://www.ncbex.org.
About the Next Generation of the Bar Exam
In 2018, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) appointed a Testing Task Force charged with undertaking a three-year study to ensure that the bar examination continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. In January 2021, NCBE’s Board of Trustees approved the Testing Task Force’s recommendations and began development of the next generation bar exam, with a timeline of five years for implementation. The new exam, which will launch in July 2026, will place greater emphasis on assessment of lawyering skills to better reflect real-world practice and the types of activities newly licensed lawyers perform. NCBE is committed to ensuring a systematic, transparent, and collaborative implementation process, informed by input from and participation by stakeholders, and guided by best practices and the professional standards for high-stakes testing. For more information, visit https://nextgenbarexam.ncbex.org/.