Comlex/usmle scores..doesn't anyone track?

[Wishbone]

Hi guys and gals,

Does anyone know how to get a hold of the average comlex scores for a school? I know- just call them. Well I have tried.
PCOM and Nova had no clue what their average scores were or % that passed. PCOM couldn't even tell me what residencies their student got into.

I must say TCOM has come through (at least with the % passing) and I had rather a good conversation with several of the people there.

If you are a student a any DO school and know whom I should talk to about the comlex scores/residencies obtained by their students please pass it on.

I am at lost at why a school would not track and/or release such info. How else are prospective students suppose to really know how good a school is?

thanks again- Wishbone

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[drusso]

See this month's JAOA for an overview of average comlex scores. They don't list scores by schools, but you can get a rough idea.

 

[dlbruch]

Thanks for the reference, drusso. Unfortunately, the school names are not listed with the respective pass rates.

Particularly interesting, I thought, was the statistical confirmation that neither undergraduate GPA nor any MCAT section (or total score) were predictors of COMLEX pass rates. A high correlation was found between GPA for the first two years of med school and COMLEX pass rates. It seems fair to infer, then, that undergrad GPA and MCAT scores are not valid predictors of success in the first two years of med school.

This makes me wonder if the medical school application process needs to be completely revised. How can admissions committees justify using GPA or MCAT scores when it seems that they offer no indication of a students medical school success?

 

[unsure]

I thought MCATs had the highest correlation to success (grades+boards) in med school- .65 and undergraduate grades were something like .19 (0 having none, and 1 being perfect correlation) And out of the 3 MCAT sections, the verbal reasoning sections was the strongest predictor (b/c it supposedly tests critical thinking) It think this study was done through the AMA, but I don't see why it wouldn't apply to DO schools.

I admit the MCAT is far from perfect, but what else can med schools do? There has to be some kind of entrance requirements

By the way, I had a hilarious Stewart Smalley quote and it got deleted. There wasn't anything offensive about it. The moderators need to lighten up a little.

[This message has been edited by unsure (edited 05-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by unsure (edited 05-11-2000).]

 

[cholecalciferol]

Unsure:

Where did you get these numbers? Which issue of the JAMA? I'd like to see the article myself.

Originally posted by unsure:
I thought MCATs had the highest correlation to success (grades+boards) in med school- .65 and undergraduate grades were something like .19 (0 having none, and 1 being perfect correlation) And out of the 3 MCAT sections, the verbal reasoning sections was the strongest predictor (b/c it supposedly tests critical thinking) It think this study was done through the AMA, but I don't see why it wouldn't apply to DO schools.

 

[unsure]

I got those #s off another board, it turns out the GPA correlation was low (guess you can't believe everything you read on these forums) But I found a website which explains the study and gives references. The mcat correlation is still higher than gpa(especially verbal), and the highest correlation between med school success is of couse gpa+mcat. The biggest difference seems to be with USMLE step 1; mcat-.72, and ugpa-.48. It is probably worthwhile to check the raw data, I just finished biostats this semester and the one thing I learned is data can be presented in many diferent ways.

The website is:
http://www.unifr.ch/ztd/ems/berichte/b3/the_medical.htm

And what up with that selectivity index they mention, if an official one exists I wonder if med schools use it.

[This message has been edited by unsure (edited 05-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by unsure (edited 05-12-2000).]

 

[drusso]

MCATs and GPA's do predict board scores and success in medical school, but they're not the end all and be all. Many believe that other factors also contribute substantially:

TITLE: Evaluating the predictive validity of MCAT scores across diverse applicant groups.
AUTHORS: Koenig JA; Sireci SG; Wiley A
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC 20037-1127, USA. [email protected]
SOURCE: Acad Med 1998 Oct;73(10):1095-106
CITATION IDS: PMID: 9795629 UI: 99011721
ABSTRACT:

PURPOSE: To examine the predictive validity of MCAT scores, alone and in combination with other preadmission data, for medical students grouped by race/ethnicity and sex. METHOD: This study included two samples: 1,109 students who entered in 1992 any of the 14 medical schools participating in the MCAT Predictive Validity Study; and all 11,279 students who entered medical school in 1992 and took the USMLE Step 1 in June 1994. Criterion measures included each student's cumulative GPA in the first two years of medical school and his or her pass/fail status on Step 1. Differential predictive validity was examined by comparing prediction errors across racial/ethnic and sex groups. For cumulative GPA; residuals were compared, and for Step 1, classification errors were studied. RESULTS: The patterns of prediction errors observed across the groups indicated that, on average, (1) no difference between the sexes in prediction errors was evident; (2) performances of the three racial/ethnic minority groups tended to be overpredicted, with significant findings for Asians and Hispanics; and (3) Caucasians' performance tended to be underpredicted, although the magnitude of this underprediction was quite small. When USMLE Step 1 scores were the criterion for success in medical school, the majority of errors were overprediction errors. CONCLUSION: The authors caution that although MCAT scores, alone and in combination with undergraduate GPA, are good predictors of medical school performance, they are not perfect. The authors encourage future research exploring additional predictor variables, such as diligence, motivation, communication skills, study habits, and other relevant characteristics. Similarly, they indicate that high grades and Step 1 scores are not the only indicators of success in the medical profession and call for studies examining other important qualities, such as integrity, interpersonal skills, capacity for caring, willingness to commit to lifelong learning, and desire to serve in underserved areas.

 

[ryanpj]

The last few lines of the last post says it all. When the going get tough, the tough get going.

 

[RBorhani]

"Relationship of preadmission variables and first and second-year course performance to performance on the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners? COMLEX?USA Level 1 examination." can be found on:
http://www.aoa-net.org/Publications/JAOA/jaoa.htm