Average Step 1 scores. Source?

[KoalaT]

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I'm looking for average Step 1 scores based on different schools. Specifically, all the Texas medical schools.

I thought a simple google or searching their information would cut it. It didn't. Anyone know where to find it or possibly heard through the grapevine?

I know that UTMB Galveston average (as reported during an interview as of 08/19/16) was 234.

 

[Mansamusa]

You have to search around for internal docs at each school...probably not worth the effort. It seems like 90% of schools are around a 230, 5% are lower, 5% higher.

I think it would be better to ask currents students if they are well-prepared for step and if there are areas where their curriculum is lacking.

 

[wysdoc]

I'm looking for average Step 1 scores based on different schools. Specifically, all the Texas medical schools.

I thought a simple google or searching their information would cut it. It didn't. Anyone know where to find it or possibly heard through the grapevine?

I know that UTMB Galveston average (as reported during an interview as of 08/19/16) was 234.

UTMB most recent average score 238, announced by the dean at UTMB new student orientation yesterday 8/20/2016

 

[Mansamusa]

UTMB most recent average score 238, announced by the dean at UTMB new student orientation yesterday 8/20/2016

Which illustrates what some of the adcoms said on this site...schools can and do fudge averages

 

[gyngyn]

I have not found a verifiable central source for USMLE scores.
Schools give information that tends to reflect well on themselves. The website "data" may exclude those who flunked, those who have repeated the exam or any number of other permutations. The dean's data may be true at the moment it was given, but not contain the scores of late-examinees (who tend to bring down the average).
Some schools may actually be using the unfiltered average but there is no way to know which ones...

 

[Donald Juan]

Which illustrates what some of the adcoms said on this site...schools can and do fudge averages

I have never heard of a school who's average wasn't about 5-10 points above the national average. I'm not sure if it's just all the DOs, FMGs, and IMGs that bring down the score, but it seems more likely to me that they fudge these numbers.

 

[gyngyn]

I have never heard of a school who's average wasn't about 5-10 points above the national average. I'm not sure if it's just all the DOs, FMGs, and IMGs that bring down the score, but it seems more likely to me that they fudge these numbers.

When you consider the thousands of applicants from Caribbean and international schools, I'm not surprised at all.

 

[Donald Juan]

When you consider the thousands of applicants from Caribbean and international schools, I'm not surprised at all.

Very possible, but I know how dean's like to inflate their numbers, just like they do with their match rates. It's probably a combination.

 

[mcloaf]

This is a fool's errand and a really poor way to evaluate a medical school.

 

[gyngyn]

This is a fool's errand and a really poor way to evaluate a medical school.

I can't argue with that.

 

[Mad Jack]

I have never heard of a school who's average wasn't about 5-10 points above the national average. I'm not sure if it's just all the DOs, FMGs, and IMGs that bring down the score, but it seems more likely to me that they fudge these numbers.

The average reported score is for US and Canadian graduates of LCME schools. DOs, FMGs, and IMGs are not included.

http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/transcripts/USMLE_Step_Examination_Score_Interpretation_Guidelines.pdf
The norm table (Table 2) enables you to determine the percentage of first-takers from US/Canadian medical schools testing between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015 for Step 1 and Step 3 and between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015 for Step 2 CK who scored lower than a given USMLE Step Examination score.

 

[Lawpy]

The average reported score is for US and Canadian graduates of LCME schools. DOs, FMGs, and IMGs are not included.

http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/transcripts/USMLE_Step_Examination_Score_Interpretation_Guidelines.pdf
The norm table (Table 2) enables you to determine the percentage of first-takers from US/Canadian medical schools testing between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015 for Step 1 and Step 3 and between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015 for Step 2 CK who scored lower than a given USMLE Step Examination score.

I have never heard of a school who's average wasn't about 5-10 points above the national average. I'm not sure if it's just all the DOs, FMGs, and IMGs that bring down the score, but it seems more likely to me that they fudge these numbers.

So the average Step scores would be lower than ~220 by adding DOs, FMGs, and IMGs? And I find it very hard to believe that every US MD school has a Step 1 average in the 230s.

And why is the mean Step 2 CK score in the 240s?

 

[Mad Jack]

So the average Step scores would be lower than ~220 by adding DOs, FMGs, and IMGs? And I find it very hard to believe that every US MD school has a Step 1 average in the 230s.

That's their published methodology. Given that they are literally the only source with all of the data, I would say they're the authority on the matter. If you do the math, their sample size is around 22,539 per year (it's three years of data with a total of 67,616 points), which correlates pretty well with the number of US and Canadian MD students (approximately 22,000, with 20,631 from the US and roughly 2,000 from Canada). Could give them a call if you'd like to double-check, but it also fits very will with the data available from the Match, in which the average participating US MD senior had an average Step 1 score of 230.2 (which is likely skewed a point or two higher due to people that barely scraped by or failed their Step 1 dropping out of school). This is from 2014, and scores have likely gone up a point or two since, but here is the data from the NRMP:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Charting-Outcomes-2014-Final.pdf

USMLE Step 1 scores are a measure of a student’s understanding of important basic science concepts and the ability to apply that knowledge to the practice of medicine. Although such knowledge is only one facet of applicant qualifications considered by program directors in their selection process, it is the only one that is comparable across applicants and available during the interview season and prior to the NRMP’s ranking deadline. Overall, U.S. senior applicants have mean USMLE Step 1 scores of 230.2 (s.d. = 18.8) and independent applicants have mean scores of 219.3 (s.d. = 19.2), both well above the 2014 minimum passing score of 192. Step 1 scores were available for 95 percent of U.S. seniors and 81 percent of independent applicants.

The average score for most specialties is within a couple of points of 230, with a few exceptions:

People just have a very skewed view of what is average around here because SDN tends to produce superstars that almost universally have 240+ scores that are well above the average USMLE score.

 

[wysdoc]

So the average Step scores would be lower than ~220 by adding DOs, FMGs, and IMGs? And I find it very hard to believe that every US MD school has a Step 1 average in the 230s.

And why is the mean Step 2 CK score in the 240s?

The link posted above by @Mad Jack explains that the percentile ranks are different for the step tests and that even though each test may have a total possible 300 points, a number score on Step 1 is not directly equivalent to a number score on Step 2:
"Although percentile ranks for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 are shown in the same norm table, it is important to note that scores on the three Steps are not directly comparable. For example, a score of 220 on Step1 is not equivalent to a score of 220 on Step 2 CK or on Step 3. A comparison of scores across Steps is not appropriate."