NBDE I pass rates?

[DMD_DREAMING]

Does anyone know approximately what percentage of students pass the NBDE I first time? And how difficult is the examination? Can the average student pass relatively easily with proper studying? Just curious?

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[ItsGavinC]

The pass rate is very high, due to the curve on the exam. The test is created so that if you've attended class you will be able to pass. To do well, however, is another matter. It is difficult to do really well.

So, if you simply want to pass you shouldn't have any trouble at all. For example, on some sections you only need to get 30-40 questions correct out of 100 to pass (a scaled score of 75 is a pass).

To get a 95 on that same section, however, would probably require you to get 90-93 questions correct.

 

[DMD_DREAMING]

The pass rate is very high, due to the curve on the exam. The test is created so that if you've attended class you will be able to pass. To do well, however, is another matter. It is difficult to do really well.

So, if you simply want to pass you shouldn't have any trouble at all. For example, on some sections you only need to get 30-40 questions correct out of 100 to pass (a scaled score of 75 is a pass).

To get a 95 on that same section, however, would probably require you to get 90-93 questions correct.

Thank you, Gavin

 

[tinker bell]

Gavin, with that said, how many questions can we miss for a 90% and 94% ?

Thanks

 

[ItsGavinC]

Gavin, with that said, how many questions can we miss for a 90% and 94% ?

Thanks

Well, I don't know, and nobody really knows. All we have as a reference are the past released exams (with their score converters).

The latest released exam with converter was from 1998. And, the # necessary to earn a certain score, say a 90, is the same for three of the sections and then quite a bit higher (10+ questions) for the dental anatomy section.

Reasoning behind that is that nearly everybody does very well on the dental anatomy section, so a 90 on that section might be getting 88-89 questions/100 correct, while a 90 on microbiology (or the other sections) would be getting 75-80 questions correct.

And, the scores are judged against the scores of other test-takers, so while the numbers never work out exactly the same, the trends certainly do hold true. That's where the validity of the test is based.