Boards info

[BierstiefelAndy]

The board has set a three digit cut off score in order to pass the exam.

You have to pass the two parts, written and practical and score above the cut off in each part. Failure in both or either part means failure in the entire exam. If the cut off is 500 and you pass the written by scoring 501 but failed the practical by scoring 499, you fail the entire exam.

We don't know for sure what percentage of correct answer the three digit score is equivalent to. I asked the proctors in the exam center and they refused to answer me. It can be 50-55%, I assume.

The real question then becomes this...if the cutoff "score" of 500 is constant, does that imply that the % of answers correct is also constant? I am inclined to think not. One can dress it up whatever which way one wants but we know that the ABP determines who passes AFTER everyone takes the exam...and this implies that the % of answers needed to pass could vary from year to year (i.e., the passing mark is not fixed before the exam is administered). So the conversion of % correct to some mystical 3-digit score is a bit pointless because the exam is still in essence "curved" in that your pass/fail score depends on the relative intelligence and test-taking ability of your peers who take the exam with you.

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[Patho2009]

I agree with you. Although they have set a cut-off score of 500, I think it is still affected with the factors you mentioned.

 

[LADoc00]

Okay so did they really close that little convenience shop on the first floor that sold cigars or what? Because that would be a deal-breaker for me ever going back there again....

Did anyone go out afterward to the nightclubs like Blue Velvet etc? (Shout out to the Persian attending from NYC that took me out paryting afterward, PM me, I lost your name and contact #!)

 

[BierstiefelAndy]

Okay so did they really close that little convenience shop on the first floor that sold cigars or what? Because that would be a deal-breaker for me ever going back there again....

Did anyone go out afterward to the nightclubs like Blue Velvet etc? (Shout out to the Persian attending from NYC that took me out paryting afterward, PM me, I lost your name and contact #!)

There is a crappy convenience store on the first floor. I went there because I forgot my shaving razor at home. They had disposable razors of really unacceptable quality at which I decided to say "screw it" and go to Walgreens. I didn't see any cigars there but I wasn't looking out for them either. The cashier in the store was funny...she could barely speak due to heavy, excessive cigarette use probably. Actually, she wasn't funny....she was just as rude as people I frequently encountered in Boston.

 

[HbyHA]

*bump*

 

[splanchnick]

Thank you all for taking the time to post this information - makes me feel a little calmer about the upcoming Spring boards

Oh, and because there's such a cute icon:
Good luck to everyone taking the boards!