California Board of Pharmacy Investigates Jurisprudence Exam Cheating Scandal

The California State Board of Pharmacy (Board) administers the California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE), or pharmacy law exam, for pharmacists to ensure each pharmacist possesses the requisite skills necessary to safely practice pharmacy. To become licensed in California, pharmacists must pass the CPJE, along with a national exam that focuses on the clinical pharmacy skills.

In September 2019, the Board received credible information indicating the validity and reliability of the CPJE may have been compromised. As a result, the Board launched an investigation and announced that CPJE scores would not be timely released.

Earlier this week, the Board announced all CPJE test scores since July were invalidated after the Board determined more than 100 test questions were shared online.

The ‘wide-scale subversion’ of the exam leaves over 1,400 new pharmacy graduates unlicensed and unable to work as licensed pharmacists. The Board, however, is offering the CPJE applicants to retake the test in November 2019 at no charge and will expedite the results.