Of course prospective lawyers should clear a certain level of knowledge before they are allowed to practice, but the passing rate is puzzlingly low. CA law schools, as a group l, really only prepare such a low number of their students to practice?
The bar is hard for CA because we go to school for the theory and then no one really teaches you the formulaic way to answer bar essays. Add on top of that it's a lot of memorization and study. Most students I went to school with had egos and thought they had it in the bag only studying on the weekends.
also, gatekeeping has a negative connotation because it is usually used when it seems unwarranted. If only schools with high quality education are passing students, that doesn't seem like a problem with the gate, but instead with the other schools. I absolutely want lawyers and doctors to be required to pass certain criteria.