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what is an average usmle score? is it 85 or 88 ? I am really confused.
Originally posted by BellKicker
OK, I just checked my score report (from August 2002).
It says nothing about average 2 digit scores. I don't think the 2-digit score is considered as important as the three-digit score.
For the record, the mean was 216, SD 21 (ckent must have taken his test really late in the year(?)), SE 6. And yeah, that was for "first time US and Canadian test takers".
No one has been able to explain to me the meaning of the 2-digit score. It seems to be tied directly to specific 3-digit scores, regardless of means and SDs. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
Originally posted by Idiopathic
I thought that it was always a way to relate scores from one year to another...i.e. an 85 in 2000 would correlate with an 85 in 2003, at least in terms of how the population did.
Originally posted by ckent
Actually, I took my test on June 24, 2002.
Originally posted by BellKicker
Yeah, that would make sense but that's not how it works. The 2-digit scores are tied to the 3-digit scores.
On the three-digit scale, most scores fall between 160 and 240. The mean score for first-time examinees from accredited medical schools in the United States is in the range of 200 to 220, and the standard deviation is approximately 20. Your score report will include the mean and standard deviation for recent administrations of the Step.
The two-digit score is derived from the three-digit score. It is used in score reporting because some medical licensing authorities have requirements that include language describing a "passing score of 75." The two-digit score is derived in such a way that a score of 75 always corresponds to the minimum passing score.
Originally posted by Primate
(my scores will be 6+ years old when I apply due to an intervening PhD - and, man, have things changed in terms of scores since I took Step I - so I've asked )