1. Are MCAT test writers banned from applying to med school?

[Frank Hardy]

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2.What about their kids/ family?

3. Who are the mcat test writers?

4. Does anyone know one? 😀 PM me please

Sorry if this has been asked b4, just wondering.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I'd imagine the people who write the exams aren't allowed to apply to med school, though they very well might be people far enough along in their career that they'd probably have no desire to do it.

Can't say about their kids though. I can't imagine the odds that a child would actually get a passage or question their parent wrote. Perhaps the writers are contractually bound to not release any of the content the write?

 

[surfstarj]

Thanks for the lolz, boss.

 

[Frank Hardy]

I'd imagine the people who write the exams aren't allowed to apply to med school, though they very well might be people far enough along in their career that they'd probably have no desire to do it.

Can't say about their kids though. I can't imagine the odds that a child would actually get a passage or question their parent wrote. Perhaps the writers are contractually bound to not release any of the content the write?

I not implying they'd have access to specific questions but just understanding how the test writers form their questions and traps. If you know why they choose their answers you can easily demolish the VR at least. And if one of them ever leaked the information I'm sure the company would have to remove that portion of the exam or at least change their "algorithms."

 

[surfstarj]

If you know why they choose their answers you can easily demolish the VR at least. And if one of them ever leaked the information I'm sure the company would have to remove that portion of the exam or at least change their "algorithms."

There aren't algorithms. Just reasoning. You can demolish the verbal section by being a quick and effective reader and thinking. Just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's all a trick.

The people who "write" the test, don't write the articles in VR. They are taken from outside sources. They only write the questions.

 

[DrZaius]

I don't see why it would matter. If you thought about the MCAT 40 hours a week for the last 5 years you'd probably do pretty good on it.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I not implying they'd have access to specific questions but just understanding how the test writers form their questions and traps. If you know why they choose their answers you can easily demolish the VR at least. And if one of them ever leaked the information I'm sure the company would have to remove that portion of the exam or at least change their "algorithms."

Other than getting specific questions/answers that'd be on the MCAT, I doubt a "test writer" could give you any more information than, say, a Kaplan or Princeton Review course could. I mean, they've pretty well dissected the test and can help you figure out how to score better.

 

[ohhowiwish]

I had a professor (now retired) who used to write questions for both the GRE and MCAT and he used to point out things during lecture that he used to focus on when he was thinking about questions- but these were all the general topics so the pointers were about as helpful as anything you would have gained from say a test prep book.

No one person writes the bulk questions of any part of the exam, and the questions they submit may not even be used during the year they submit it (or even at all) so your second question is not really a big concern

 

[nu2004]

There aren't algorithms. Just reasoning. You can demolish the verbal section by being a quick and effective reader and thinking. Just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's all a trick.

Correct. Everyone thinks Verbal is some huge conspiracy. Makes my head explode.

 

[gujuDoc]

There aren't algorithms. Just reasoning. You can demolish the verbal section by being a quick and effective reader and thinking. Just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's all a trick.

The people who "write" the test, don't write the articles in VR. They are taken from outside sources. They only write the questions.

Exactly. Actually I remember last time one of my VR passages was about evolution and I could pinpoint the author without even seeing his name there, because his style is so distinct. It was Stephen Jay Gould's passage. I think most verbal passages are taken from a range of different types of sources and then someone writes a few questions about it.

 

[JA Prufrock]

I would think the test writers for the MCAT were already doctors

 

[carwreck]

I would think the test writers for the MCAT were already doctors

I doubt many current doctors would know much about the content tested on the MCAT. I remember a few I work with commenting that they would probably score well under 25 if they were to try to take the test now (just some anecdotal words).

 

[surfstarj]

Correct. Everyone thinks Verbal is some huge conspiracy. Makes my head explode.

Same. God forbid you have to read and analyze something you haven't been told to memorize yet.

 

[riceman04]

I'd imagine the people who write the exams aren't allowed to apply to med school, though they very well might be people far enough along in their career that they'd probably have no desire to do it.

Can't say about their kids though. I can't imagine the odds that a child would actually get a passage or question their parent wrote. Perhaps the writers are contractually bound to not release any of the content the write?

Yeah...my immunobio prof at Rice wrote questions for the MCAT...she's a much older lady!!!...who loves "24" might I add🙂

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Other than getting specific questions/answers that'd be on the MCAT, I doubt a "test writer" could give you any more information than, say, a Kaplan or Princeton Review course could. I mean, they've pretty well dissected the test and can help you figure out how to score better.

When I was hired to teach Biological Sciences for TPR MCAT prep, the master instructor (or whatever the hell he was called... the guy who trains the teachers) told us that if we did it long enough, we'd get such a good feel for the test that we'd be able to own the MCAT with minimal studying. His point wasn't that we'd learn the subjects so well, but we'd learn the test.

 

[Frank Hardy]

So what all of you are saying is that they devise the answer choices on each test for VR a unique way? That's hard to believe. Of course the question types can be predicted, what I'm trying to get at is that are the answer types as predictable? They must have some guidelines otherwise how could they come up with 14 or however many exams each year and make each one as challenging as the last?

 

[Frank Hardy]

My other thought is that while there are many writers for that portion of the exam, they must be discussing amongst themselves why one answer works and another doesn't. This is the "inside information" that might be useful for prep. purposes and access to it could increase scores dramatically.

There isn't some "braniac 1.5" deciding which writers questions and answers to use and which ones to discard.

 

[surfstarj]

My other thought is that while there are many writers for that portion of the exam, they must be discussing amongst themselves why one answer works and another doesn't. This is the "inside information" that might be useful for prep. purposes and access to it could increase scores dramatically.

There isn't some "braniac 1.5" deciding which writers questions and answers to use and which ones to discard.

When they write a question, they write the answer for it. Plain and simple. then they can make 3 other choices that are not quite the answer. It's not as if these questions appeared on a stone and the test writer divined the correct answer. It's the correct answer because they wrote it to be the correct answer. They made it the correct answer because it answers the question that they wrote. The "inside information" you need is the ability to think rationally.

Any of the prep courses have spent enough money analyzing the test to give you all of the help you might need if you're deficient in your thought process. There is no advantage, other than innate intelligence to understand the reasoning, you could have by being able to write the test questions.

 

[Frank Hardy]

When they write a question, they write the answer for it. Plain and simple. then they can make 3 other choices that are not quite the answer. It's not as if these questions appeared on a stone and the test writer divined the correct answer. It's the correct answer because they wrote it to be the correct answer. They made it the correct answer because it answers the question that they wrote. The "inside information" you need is the ability to think rationally.

Any of the prep courses have spent enough money analyzing the test to give you all of the help you might need if you're deficient in your thought process. There is no advantage, other than innate intelligence to understand the reasoning, you could have by being able to write the test questions.

I understand. Maybe my questions aren't clear but you're making a strawman argument. HOW do they come up with alternative choices? Is the method the same from one test to the next?

 

[jebus]

you two are making the same argument.
can't you see that you love each other. gah.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I understand. Maybe my questions aren't clear but you're making a strawman argument. HOW do they come up with alternative choices? Is the method the same from one test to the next?

There are typical mistakes that are made. Getting the wrong Purpose/Theme for the passage, confusing detail with the author's aim, etc. The same way they come up with BS and PS wrong answers... They know the common mistakes and put those as choices.

 

[Frank Hardy]

you two are making the same argument.
can't you see that you love each other. gah.

😳

There are typical mistakes that are made. Getting the wrong Purpose/Theme for the passage, confusing detail with the author's aim, etc. The same way they come up with BS and PS wrong answers... They know the common mistakes and put those as choices.

Thanks.

 

[FrickenhugeMD]

My physiology teacher writes questions for the MCAT. He would even show us a few that he had written in class (these were retired questions, that were no longer used for testing).

He is an MD/PHD at 80 years old, and looks very much like Santa 😛

 

[majik1213]

their "algorithm" is statistics .. they put questions that have already shown to be effective at producing curves by people who have taken them before. There is no way around this; nothing we can do. Anytime we as test takers become smarter, they will simply find again questions that produce a curve.

 

[Frank Hardy]

You're all so defeatist. You're going to make excellent doctors. 😛