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I know people taking it the 15th
August 2020 - CBSE
Started by CornFedBeef21
i got it tomorrow. had to postpone due to family stuff
Some students who took the exam at different dates said it was the same exam. After hearing this, someone I know rescheduled it and is now taking it on September 15th. So let's see how they do with all the *hints* from earlier test takers.
D
deleted972255
That's unfortunate that they didn't use multiple forms/versions. May lead to a slightly higher average due to people talking and giving answers to friends.
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If that's the case, the earlier test takers benefit drastically on the curve. In a sense, the test makers can see the trend with certain questions and whether or not those who scored high (August 15th) correlate to those on September (15th). In which case, they can then adjust the points associated with that question.
Maybe I'm naive, but I'd like to think they used different exams. Kinda ****ty to think your seat gets stolen by someone who was told answers. Not really the kind of person you want with you in the OR when things get rocky.
D
deleted913442
It’s precurved based on how the medical students do on those questions, not dental students
Phineas_Gage
Full Member
Can confirm that at least some of the questions were the same
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D
deleted913442
I don't think average will be higher than 60. The exam is still a beast to study for regardless
Agreed. And with the complexity of the questions, I would find it hard to believe that somebody would remember more than 2 or 3 questions in enough detail to make a difference for somebody else
The average for the last exam was 58.
It's not that hard for the average to increase by more than 2 points given the circumstance.
Additionally, people will definitely remember more than 2 or 3. I would say more than 20 especially if they sit together and discuss about it.
Ironically, it's easier to remember hard, weird, peculiar questions simply because test takers get shocked when they confront those type of questions.
If those who take the exam later get those hard questions correct because they knew the answer ahead, their scores will be significantly higher.
While harder questions may weigh less, if a person gets those harder questions correct while almost all others get them wrong, he or she will definitely get a substantial advantage.
But I do agree with you that whoever sharing exam questions should understand that they are seriously risking their career.
people share RQs for boards all the time online. If the CBSE was P/F like boards, this would be a completely different discussion. Nobody is risking their career lol
Like I said previously, would be a real shame to have someone on the OR table next to you simply because they were told answers on the exam.
I'm not saying there weren't some of the same versions of the exam floating around and that some people, by chance, could've gotten the same version, but nobody I've talked to (6 people) so far has gotten the same exam. It would be a valid point to bring up to JL, though and see what he says.
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I mean they're my friends, and I doubt they'd all straight up lie. Again, I'm sure that the NBME administered multiple versions of the exam and it's possible that 2 people taking the exam on different days got the same exam, but I don't think everyone had the same exam. Let us know if JL responds to your email.
I mean that's a bit of a stretch dont you think?
Attendings know this stuff happens tho. There are certain schools that definitely have Qbanks going. But isn't this part of the reason 70+ is considered a good/ "cutoff" score? I feel like you shouldn't worry so much about it tbh
D
deleted972255
Let's see what the average and standard deviation come out to be. I don't think they will be off very much from past exam dates, but we'll know soon enough.
Yeah, I assumed the questions came from a small bank so there were bound to be some repeats. We still know *nothing* for certain just like every year, so I'm hesitant to start rioting quite yet. I would hope that people don't suck enough to cheat, but I also know trying to remember 200 questions to share with a classmate that you're essentially competing with is stupid. I don't have the energy to be mad about cheaters, hope they get what comes around, and I'll just focus on me.
Cowhorn_10
Full Member
If you ask JL to analyze a trend from august to september test takers and there does seem to be a significant difference; I am assuming you'd want a curve to your august score in that case. How then is this fair to september test takers who took it honestly and weren't given answers, who might miss out on that curve?
ain’t that the truth! If you’ve never met her, Karmas a real mofo. I’d like to think for every question you got right because you were told an answer, you got four wrong as punishment for it.
Definitely no good way to go about it, but I guess that’s the theme of this whole pandemic. If people actually got questions from other people, that sucks and I’m sure it’s possible. Let’s just hope that any question sharing was minimal, and that those people were only a small minority of the entire group of people who took the exam
The fairest way I can think of is completely eliminating those questions that might have been shared by people from calculating the score.
Eliminating questions definitely wouldn't be fair. What if I got those eliminated questions right on my exam? I didn't get questions from anyone and I'm sure many that took this exam didn't either. As other people stated in this thread, people are always going to cheat, it's inevitable. Y'all need to relax and wait for the results to come out first lol
Well said - also I can't help but wonder if this reaction is a result of not doing well on the test and blaming external factors in order to better one's own score
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I guess everyone thinks of it differently.
By dropping those questions, I say it is going to ultimately benefit people who did NOT cheat.
Phineas_Gage
Full Member
I’d rather drink arsenic
I understand the frustration, but it's really unfair to September test takers who did not cheat. I for myself, took it yesterday, and got no prior help because I have no friends (that's another issue). If there was a way to find and punish ONLY the cheaters then so be it, but at this point only thing JL can do that is "fair" to everyone is to cancel the entire exam, which I know none of us want. How is he going to find who cheated based on "trend"? If anybody have solid evidence and name, please report them to JL so we only punish the cheaters and not other who worked really hard to study for this exam. Once again, last thing we want is JL to think too many cheating/problem with this test and cancel the whole thing.
Ez 99, good idea
August/September exam is what it is. Let karma handle those who cheated. I think applying to 30 programs and getting rejected from all is good karma. Maybe live in a pit of constant guilt for your career. Nonetheless, the solution is quite simple. February should be one set date. If you have to take it from your couch, you take it from your couch. If my school watches me via zoom while I take a damn quiz, I'm sure there's some software that can track our eye movements from home.
D
deleted972255
They will most likely do the same thing in feb and maybe even next aug-they will have to space out the exam over a month again. Pandemic and social distancing is not expected to end till end of 2021 or early 2022 in the US.
I hope they do it differently in February 2021. It all needs to happen on the same day, or multiple tests have to be issued if the CBSE is given on different days. Does the NBME have a contract with Prometric? I wonder if a combination of testing center companies can be utilized so that all test takers can be accommodated on the same day.
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There was once a time they released a nbme in 2013 I believe that had questions appearing on the cbse. They forgot to retire the questions from the cbse. The average was a 60 for that cbse exam. Aaoms did nothing about that So I doubt anything happens here.
Overloading JL with emails is just gonna take longer for scores to come out and there’s people who really need it. Watch the average and STD be the same anyways.
Overloading JL with emails is just gonna take longer for scores to come out and there’s people who really need it. Watch the average and STD be the same anyways.
D
deleted923283
Guys, take a breather. There is no way to make it fair; life isn't fair. No one is denying it's a wack situation. Regardless of what was going on among others, it is YOUR score, not theirs, which is either going to get you your interview invites or not. At that point, your score ceases to matter. Complaining when nothing can be done is whining.
Not really. Most people after taking an exam will rant to their friends about bs questions. I doubt many people who shared information about the August 15th CBSE knew the exam would stay the same for the entire month. JL concealed this information, which goes to show how flawed the entire thing really is.
Yes. Please let’s not make scores get delayed any more than they already have been.
I agree but the logic of their score vs your score doesn’t really work here. I get what you’re saying, but if 100 people take a test and 95 people have some answers given to them bumping their score to a 90%, while the other 5 do not, and they get an 85%, that difference matters. Even if it’s only a handful of questions that create the difference. When they’re competing for 10 spots why would - program consider any of the 5 with a lower score if they have 95 others to choose from who did better? Overall i agree life isn’t fair, **** happens and everyone just has to deal with it. I don’t really care either way
I really doubt that 95 people are what we're looking at for who allegedly was given answers. I'd assume its just a handful.. and without indisputable evidence that they were handed answers I'm assuming JL cannot do anything. Plus people are applying in 2 weeks so that effectively ruins an entire 2 years for them when considering having to wait to reapply in 2021 and wait again to matriculate in 2022.
Also we're basing this entire discussion off word of mouth - unless there is definitive proof/evidence of mass cheating we should not ruin the chances for those applying this cycle
And 95/100 is a vast overestimate... Tbh it would probably be more accurate to say 95/100 didn't cheat.
And 95/100 is a vast overestimate... Tbh it would probably be more accurate to say 95/100 didn't cheat.
We’ve gone from maybe the exam isn’t fair to it’s probably unfair to 95/100 people knew questions before going in and August testers are in trouble lol. We know nothing yet. And regardless it’s highly unlikely anything will change. I’m of the opinion that it is what it is. Maybe one of the worst parts of the extended testing time is giving highly motivated, anxious, and stressed students a whole month to sit around and worry about what their scores might be.
I get the worry, I took the exam the first date in August. But there is so much at play it’s impossible to say this definitely. Maybe they cheated and got those questions right, while getting other questions wrong, maybe they are a D2 not applying this cycle, maybe the person who told them the question got some details wrong. Maybe a higher average score isn’t evidence of cheating but instead evidence of a longer timeframe to study...we could probably come up with many more...in the end it is what it is
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