Curve PCATs?

[madawi26]

Does anyone know whether or not the PCAT scores are curved at all? Thanks.

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[foustben]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that is the whole point of scoring in percentiles. The entire test is graded on a curve and you are given a percentile based on where you landed on the curve.

 

[madawi26]

First time PCAT test taker here and I didn't know it was scored in percentiles. Thanks for the helpful response, Einstein. Can you tell me the meaning of the integral of the curve too?

 

[cycloketocaine]

Okay kids, the PCAT is scored using two sets of numbers. One set is a scaled score, and no one, not even Harcourt knows how they come up with that number. The other score is a percentage, which ranks you against everyone else who took it that go round. Say you make a 75%. That means you did better than 75 percent of the people that took it that time. And that's usually the score that everybody look at.

 

[madawi26]

Thank you, cycloketocaine

 

[MattPharmD]

Okay kids, the PCAT is scored using two sets of numbers. One set is a scaled score, and no one, not even Harcourt knows how they come up with that number. The other score is a percentage, which ranks you against everyone else who took it that go round. Say you make a 75%. That means you did better than 75 percent of the people that took it that time. And that's usually the score that everybody look at.

wrong wrong wrong

 

[sASU]

wrong wrong wrong

So whats right right right?

 

[acetyl]

So whats right right right?

I suppose this:

"In addition to the multiple-choice subtest scaled scores, your personal Score Report will list five subtest percentiles and a Composite percentile. The percentile score shown on your personal Score Report indicates the percentage of PCAT examinees that made up the norm group—all first-time examinees that took the test between October 1998 and March 2003—with scaled scores lower than yours. For example, an examinee who earns a Composite percentile score of 70 scored higher than 70 percent of the examinees from the norm group on the test as a whole. No percentile is reported for the Writing subtest."

Your percentile rank falls against a norm group of test takers from 98-03, which I've always thought to be odd since they have since changed the test, but I imagine the statistics are probably still identical.