Experimental question

[maggiejoe]

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So I was checking the mcat discussion board on e-mcat.com
and I didn't realize that the exp questions were not counted, meaning that our scores are actually out of possibly 72 instead of 77

:oing happy dance around the sleeping doggy::

 

[Psycho Doctor]

maybe you got all the experimental ones right..how do you know if it's good or bad since you don't know which ones they were?

 

[Jon Davis]

I think a majority of us know that, but only chopping off 5 questions isnt really gonna help our confidence.
Nice try. LOL

 

[maggiejoe]

someone asked that and I didn't see a clear answer.

 

[snowhard]

Is it just me, or is AAMC really mysterious and sketchy about how they grade the exam?? it seems like there is no clear info..

 

[05med05]

Oh please let the experimental questions be from the 2nd/3rd last passage of PS (er or was that the middle 2 passages??). Heck I can't even remember which set of bubbles I left blank

Oh please let it be! 🙄

 

[kidgorgeous]

This is what really bugs me! If i spend my time on those five questions hoping to get them right, and by doing so end up guessing on some questions that other people got right, then i am f***ked. What kind of grading policy is that. Maybe AAMC should take a raw score and add five right answers or how many you got right on those five questions to your score. I am seriously thinking about suing AAMC, because that's not fair . If you spend time on some questions and you don't get points for it that' bull. Otherwise, they should mark the questions that are experimental. I need a response from aamc person on this.

 

[BisMuOxo]

No one should be happy about the experimental passages. For all you know, the experimental questions might have been the easiest questions on the exam. The reason they ask experimental questions is to find out whether the question is too easy, too difficult, or just right to use again. Don't assume that this is going to help your score.

 

[murphomatic]

This is what really bugs me! If i spend my time on those five questions hoping to get them right, and by doing so end up guessing on some questions that other people got right, then i am f***ked. What kind of grading policy is that. Maybe AAMC should take a raw score and add five right answers or how many you got right on those five questions to your score. I am seriously thinking about suing AAMC, because that's not fair . If you spend time on some questions and you don't get points for it that' bull. Otherwise, they should mark the questions that are experimental. I need a response from aamc person on this.

thats silly, it is public knowledge that some questions are experimental and you still choose to take the exam. This is exactly why we need tort reform in this country. Every time something unfair happens to anyone they sue. Suck it up, life isn't fair sometimes.

besides, even if they added five points to everyone's score, that would change the raw score, but would probably have litte effect on the scaled score.

 

[kidgorgeous]

I am sorry buddy! It is not public knowledge........... I have no intention of getting into an argument with you. But, if it is public knowledge how many questions or the verbal section are experimental?.......... That's right. Nobody f***ken knows. If you are taking an exam at least you have the right to know on how you are going to be tested. And how the exam is graded. At least that's just my opinion.

 

[murphomatic]

well everyone on this board seems to know there are experimental questions and passages on the MCAT. And I think the point of the test is to prevent people from knowing what it will be like and how it is graded to minimize how much help people who are willing to plunk down $1500 (me included) for a prep course get. If you really think it is unfair at least wait till you get your score before taking any leagal action, maybe you did better than you thought. 🙂

 

[kidgorgeous]

I don't like living off false optimism man! I f*****d up on that test, and I know it. It was a hard test. Best of luck to you. I didn't mean to get into an argument with you this morning. Its just that this whole experimental crap ticks me off. The least they can do is be straight with us.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

maybe we should get bonus points for getting them right but it not hurt us for getting them wrong...but wait that would still make it affect the curve...ahhh i can't stop thinking of this...i need to forget it and move on...aaaarrrggghhhh

 

[Chouster]

I certainly hope the titration passage about CO2 was experimental... shiz

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

bah bah experimental! bah bah bah
i try not to think about this too much
and i cant help it...if only they printed the experimental ones in italics so i could move on and have time for sections i could attempt

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Haha kidgorgeous, I would love to hear your argument in court.

"My lack of preperation for a test that I elected to take may have hurt my chances to get into medical school, and the AAMC should pay for that!"

 

[Shrike]

Inclusion of five non-scored questions, not identified as such, in a curved test should leave the expectation unchanged and raise the standard deviation of scores by a bit over 3%. You sure this is a big deal, even to those people who somehow manage not to know the experimentals are there?

 

[kidgorgeous]

I never said I was unprepared. My point is on the grading of the test rather than what's on the test. Obviously, you missed it completely. 😴

 

[jeffsleepy]

I would love to see which lawyer is gonna take your case. When you finally decide to take LEGAL ACTION!!! against AAMC, please let us all know. There is the same probability that the experimental questions will be the ones that you spent time on as the ones you had to guess on. Bottom line, it evens out. The is much more variation with the different forms than with any possible experimental questions. You're not competing with AAMC here, you're competing with all of the other students. Any released information that makes the test easier will make it easier for everyone so in the end it doesn't matter.

 

[Radio Edit]

 

[kidgorgeous]

I intend to represet myself 😀

 

[brynn7]

so actually, most of the grading of the mcat is based on your thumb-print, your 2"x2" picture, and your signatures, oh and how neatly you bubbled your answers. this is why it takes sooooo long to "grade".