Step II CK score inflation?

[peedr]

The average step 2 ck score has been in the upper 230s for the last few waves of score releases, almost a 10 pt increase from a year ago. I wonder if getting a 237 now is the equivalent of a 220-something score a year ago or if a 237-240 score is still just as valuable (just as impressive?) Any thoughts? Is this just a reflection of better overall performance on this exam by all test takers?

 

[12six]

My impression is that the results from step II skew in an odd way because there are a lot of test-takers who simply don't care about doing well on it because they did well on step I, took step II later in the year, and only need to pass.

That's why step I is also said by some to be the test that continues to be most reliable... because for step I, you know pretty much everyone is trying to do their best.

However, recently, there's been a trend of thought among applicants that step II is now considered "more important" in some of the competitive fields where everyone is 230+ on step I, removing that pool of would-be non-studyers, and thus raising the average even though the test is still constructed and curved to compensate for a low-scoring group that is no longer as large as it was a few years back... I suspect.

But who thinks about these things? 🙂