Real MCAT versus practice tests - why scores don't match

[rocketman]

There has been a lot said lately about why individual's real MCAT scores are lower than their practice exam scores. I believe there are some plausible explanations:

1) The real MCAT is more difficult than any practice exam. For first time MCAT takers, this may come as a bit of a shock.

2) Practice exams vary widely. For example, I found PS sections on Kaplan tests (not the class) to be way too hard and VR sections to be way too easy. Which practice exams are most people basing this on?

3) When people state that they were scoring in a certain range (say 30-32) on practice exams, what do they mean? Which exams? Were they under standardized conditions. Did you run out of time but still continued to answer questions? Was this the case for every practice exam or just most? Did you only take the practice exam once? I personally find it hard to believe that in every single practice exam, people scored in such a tight range. There were some practice exams where I ran out of time in the PS section and ending up doing very poorly, even late in the game. My overall practice test scores varied by 7-8 points.

I believe the AAMC practice exams 3-8 are the best indicator of real MCAT score if taken for the first time, in the time alotted, and under standardized test conditions. But even so, the real MCAT varies quite a bit, is harder, more stressful, and it is definitely possible to score worse.

Any other opinions on the topic?

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[Saluki]

There has been a lot said lately about why individual's real MCAT scores are lower than their practice exam scores. I believe there are some plausible explanations:

1) The real MCAT is more difficult than any practice exam. For first time MCAT takers, this may come as a bit of a shock.

2) Practice exams vary widely. For example, I found PS sections on Kaplan tests (not the class) to be way too hard and VR sections to be way too easy. Which practice exams are most people basing this on?

3) When people state that they were scoring in a certain range (say 30-32) on practice exams, what do they mean? Which exams? Were they under standardized conditions. Did you run out of time but still continued to answer questions? Was this the case for every practice exam or just most? Did you only take the practice exam once? I personally find it hard to believe that in every single practice exam, people scored in such a tight range. There were some practice exams where I ran out of time in the PS section and ending up doing very poorly, even late in the game. My overall practice test scores varied by 7-8 points.

I believe the AAMC practice exams 3-8 are the best indicator of real MCAT score if taken for the first time, in the time alotted, and under standardized test conditions. But even so, the real MCAT varies quite a bit, is harder, more stressful, and it is definitely possible to score worse.

Any other opinions on the topic?

My scores on the Kaplan practice tests went up a point or two each time each time I took them and my real score was one point higher than the very last one. I think that the Kaplan PS is probably harder than the real one, but the BS is probably a little easier (or maybe not easier, but they tend to test on a lot of the same stuff so after you've taken the first couple you do better)

 

[JustR]

There has been a lot said lately about why individual's real MCAT scores are lower than their practice exam scores. I believe there are some plausible explanations:

1) The real MCAT is more difficult than any practice exam. For first time MCAT takers, this may come as a bit of a shock.

2) Practice exams vary widely. For example, I found PS sections on Kaplan tests (not the class) to be way too hard and VR sections to be way too easy. Which practice exams are most people basing this on?

3) When people state that they were scoring in a certain range (say 30-32) on practice exams, what do they mean? Which exams? Were they under standardized conditions. Did you run out of time but still continued to answer questions? Was this the case for every practice exam or just most? Did you only take the practice exam once? I personally find it hard to believe that in every single practice exam, people scored in such a tight range. There were some practice exams where I ran out of time in the PS section and ending up doing very poorly, even late in the game. My overall practice test scores varied by 7-8 points.

I believe the AAMC practice exams 3-8 are the best indicator of real MCAT score if taken for the first time, in the time alotted, and under standardized test conditions. But even so, the real MCAT varies quite a bit, is harder, more stressful, and it is definitely possible to score worse.

Any other opinions on the topic?

Many reasons why scores don’t match
Maybe it is just that the conditions for the tests taking
Are not the same?
Maybe be the timing that we considered
Are not official?
Maybe we don’t feel under same stress
When we take the MCAT at home
Rather than the Academic one.

 

[Mister Pie]

I agree, I think that the AAMC tests are still the best predictor. My breakdown on my real test was the exact same as for AAMC7, which was one of the last tests I took.

As for why people fall out of their range (even when doing the practice under test like conditions), there's probably a lot of reasons, ranging from bad testing conditions to too much jitters, or simply bad luck (in the sense that their particular form contained more unfamilar material than normal).

 

[DD214_DOC]

I think the best answer to why you don't score the same on practice exams and the real MCAT is the random variation of your scores. Unless a score differents by a standard deviation, then it isn't a significant difference.

If your practice exams have you scoring a 26 and you score a 22 or 23 on the real thing, then that is within the range of what you should expect based on the normal deviation of scores (I think a SD is 6, but I don't remember). To get an accurate prediction of where you are and what you should make, you need to base it on the range of your practice scores and not the highest.

Did I make any sense?

 

[angel5]

Well, my highest breakdown was on AAMC 7

P: 9
V: 8
B: 10

27

The real thing:

P: 8
V: 6
B: 8

22

I am so upset!!

I have done all of the AAMC & KAPLAN full lengths. Do you think I should take them over again while preparing for April, or find new resources?

Thanks!

 

[angel5]

Well, my highest breakdown was on AAMC 7

P: 9
V: 8
B: 10

27

The real thing:

P: 8
V: 6
B: 8

22

I am so upset!!

I have done all of the AAMC & KAPLAN full lengths. Do you think I should take them over again while preparing for April, or find new resources?

Thanks!

 

[angel5]

Well, my highest breakdown was on AAMC 7

P: 9
V: 8
B: 10

27

The real thing:

P: 8
V: 6
B: 8

22

I am so upset!!

I have done all of the AAMC & KAPLAN full lengths. Do you think I should take them over again while preparing for April, or find new resources?

Thanks!

 

[NapeSpikes]

I kind of agree with the OP, though I wish I didn't. All of my full-lengths were taken under testing conditions, no extra time, no long breaks, nothing. I had gotten 27s on two AAMC practice full-lengths during Spring semester when I had not even completed Orgo 2, Physics 2, or Bio2.

After completing these courses last Spring, and spending 400+ hours studying just for the mcat this Summer, my practice scores on the rest of the AAMC tests I saved were in the low 30's. I end up getting a 27 on the real thing!!

How do I explain this? The real mcat was way harder than the aamc practice tests, and maybe I had bad luck on test day. What else can you do except accept it and move on, people?

 

[HunterGatherer]

Try to find new sources but I find merit in retaking practice MCATs. I only took the MCAT once but I lterally took 3R 3 times(august last year, march 2005 and summer 2005), and I took 5R in march 2005 and summer 2005. I did not feel like I remembered anything. I skipped the verbal for 3r on the 3rd run and subbed in EK verbal. I also redid about 6-7 EK 101 verbal full lengths. I was planning on taking the apirl MCAT but backed out.

if you got a hold of EK 101 verbal and TPR science workbook you could literally make 11 full length exams. and about 30+ PS and BS exams.

EK mini MCATS are out there. no idea if they are good.

I have done all of the AAMC & KAPLAN full lengths. Do you think I should take them over again while preparing for April, or find new resources?

Thanks!

 

[rocketman]

I don't recommend taking the same test again, especially if you want to get a realistic idea of how you will score. No matter how long it has been, I think you will remember large portions of the practice exams. You will almost definitely score higher the second or third time, but this probably won't be because you have a better grasp of the material.

 

[suckermc]

ill throw my two cents because i mentioned testing ranges in my jump thread.

i took all the aamcas exams and i based my "range" on them. i took tpr diags and still did 5 points better than what i smacked myself with. so even with 6 SD's from the mean? like the other post said, it still didn't explain what i did. practice scores mean dip, there's no way to predict how you will do...is this test a unicorn? ugh.

i was more relaxed, less stressed on the practice ones, nothing can duplicate test day but now i know. so im gonna take it like a g.i. joe and stop whinging.
you got me rocket man. fire me up boy!!!!!!!!!

 

[suckermc]

ill throw my two cents because i mentioned testing ranges in my jump thread.

i took all the aamcas exams and i based my "range" on them. i took tpr diags and still did 5 points better than what i smacked myself with. so even with 6 SD's from the mean? like the other post said, it still didn't explain what i did. practice scores mean dip, there's no way to predict how you will do...is this test a unicorn? ugh.

i was more relaxed, less stressed on the practice ones, nothing can duplicate test day but now i know. so im gonna take it like a g.i. joe and stop whinging.
you got me rocket man. fire me up boy!!!!!!!!!

p.s my range WAS tight. i took three practice ones and got 26 26 26. sadistic right? crime does not pay.

 

[osli]

Don't forget the psychological differences between a practice test and the real thing, even when conditions are closely matched. You could have a practice test under proctored timed conditions and it would still be vastly different psychologically from the real MCAT.

What do I mean? The biggest example is seen in how we approach guessing. We all know "wrong answers don't hurt (relative to not answering), so it is to our advantage to guess when necessary." We all know that there are some questions that we just won't know or be able to answer quickly enough. We all know that the wise thing to do is to quickly assess whether we are likely to work a particular problem to completion (or recall the correct answer) and skip it if we think the chances are low, moving on to other questions where our chances are higher and optimizing the number of "easy" questions we address.

How is this different between practice tests, even those under proctored conditions, and test day? On a practice test you KNOW that the score doesn't really matter. You KNOW that it is only to help you prepare and give you an indication of where your strengths and weaknesses are. You KNOW that after the practice test is over you will get to come back to those questions you decided were too difficult and see/hear explanations of how to approach them. You KNOW that you'll get another chance to face that kind of question again, whether on another practice test or on test day.

When taking the MCAT, and the clock is ticking, suddenly you have the realization that this is the real thing, whether it is startling concious revelation or a subtle unconcious recognition. You KNOW that every single question counts, difficult or not. You KNOW that this time the score really matters, that it gets sent out to all the medical schools. You KNOW that if you skip a question, you definitely get it wrong, but if you at least try to work it you have a chance of getting it right. On test day, ALL the questions seem equally important.

The psychology is different. It just is. Even for people who finished on time you may have distributed the time spent per problem of each difficulty level differently than on your practice tests. For those who found themselves rushing or not completely finishing a section, there you go.

 

[rocketman]

When taking the MCAT, and the clock is ticking, suddenly you have the realization that this is the real thing, whether it is startling concious revelation or a subtle unconcious recognition. You KNOW that every single question counts, difficult or not. You KNOW that this time the score really matters, that it gets sent out to all the medical schools. You KNOW that if you skip a question, you definitely get it wrong, but if you at least try to work it you have a chance of getting it right. On test day, ALL the questions seem equally important.

I agree. Whether subconsciously or not, I definitely treated the questions differently in order to finish them all and finish on time.

 

[PBandJ]

Even for people who finished on time you may have distributed the time spent per problem of each difficulty level differently than on your practice tests. For those who found themselves rushing or not completely finishing a section, there you go.

i definitely noticed this while i was taking the test. under my practice conditions, i was carefully proctored and simulated test-day conditions as accurately as possible, but i always finished every section with a minute or two left. on the real august mcat, however, i made it to the last passage in verbal with a whopping 5 minutes left, even though i thought i had practiced the same pacing that i had been using during practice.

 

[EndSong]

There's not a lot of difference in difficulty between Princeton, AAMC and the real thing although psychological factors do play a role. Also, I took part of Kaplan's course and found the Verbal to be utterly unreliable, Kaplan's verbal is almost similar to reading comp passages you'd see on the SAT and not the MCAT. My score really didn't differ from my practice exams, I actually went up a point on the real thing.

 

[Em1]

I only did AAMC 3R-6R, range 31-34.

A week before the real thing I did 3R again, for practicing strategy again and as a confidence booster- 38.

Real thing- 37.

I think something that helped was that I was confident about my ability to do well (confidence booster test helped). In the few days before the real thing, I was on an adrenaline rush... just had SO much energy b/c I KNEW I was going to kick the mcat's butt! Confidence will help you to not feel bad or dwell on questions you think you missed or sections you think you did badly on.

I agree the psychology of the real thing is much different, but you can't let yourself worry about doing badly, or else you will.

 

[mintendo]

Another thing is the real MCAT has "Experimental Passages" that don't count and they're only there for research purposes. Most of these passages are either hard or weird (long passage, random topic, confusing answer choices, etc). Even though these passages don't count, to me they're such b.s. Imagine having your third passage as an experimental passage. While you're reading about aliens playing tackle football on Mars, all you're thinking about is your dream slipping away. That totally screws up your entire test.

 

[JustR]

I can’t talk about my practice exam scores and my real MCAT; it is because there is a huge difference in between those. First time I took the MCAT, I had seen an increase on my real MCAT scores rather than the ones in the practice. This time I did poorly on the real thing. I think it comes down to the particular day and what you did and what not.

 

[PBandJ]

I only did AAMC 3R-6R, range 31-34.

A week before the real thing I did 3R again, for practicing strategy again and as a confidence booster- 38.

Real thing- 37.

I think something that helped was that I was confident about my ability to do well (confidence booster test helped). In the few days before the real thing, I was on an adrenaline rush... just had SO much energy b/c I KNEW I was going to kick the mcat's butt! Confidence will help you to not feel bad or dwell on questions you think you missed or sections you think you did badly on.

I agree the psychology of the real thing is much different, but you can't let yourself worry about doing badly, or else you will.

i never really thought about doing the same tests again b/c i didn't want to get false hope, but that is actually a really good idea (for a confidence booster). i think i will try that this time around.

thanks for the great advice!

 

[NapeSpikes]

There's not a lot of difference in difficulty between Princeton, AAMC and the real thing...

I beg to differ about AAMC practice tests. TPR's are probably similar to the real thing, but the actual mcat and TPR are much harder than AAMC practices.

 

[Gonzo12164]

There has been a lot said lately about why individual's real MCAT scores are lower than their practice exam scores. I believe there are some plausible explanations:

1) The real MCAT is more difficult than any practice exam. For first time MCAT takers, this may come as a bit of a shock.

2) Practice exams vary widely. For example, I found PS sections on Kaplan tests (not the class) to be way too hard and VR sections to be way too easy. Which practice exams are most people basing this on?

3) When people state that they were scoring in a certain range (say 30-32) on practice exams, what do they mean? Which exams? Were they under standardized conditions. Did you run out of time but still continued to answer questions? Was this the case for every practice exam or just most? Did you only take the practice exam once? I personally find it hard to believe that in every single practice exam, people scored in such a tight range. There were some practice exams where I ran out of time in the PS section and ending up doing very poorly, even late in the game. My overall practice test scores varied by 7-8 points.

I believe the AAMC practice exams 3-8 are the best indicator of real MCAT score if taken for the first time, in the time alotted, and under standardized test conditions. But even so, the real MCAT varies quite a bit, is harder, more stressful, and it is definitely possible to score worse.

Any other opinions on the topic?

I did better on my real exam than on my practices. I think the AAMC practice exams were a VERY good indicator of how well you will do.