Feb 2019 CBSE
Started by Orthofanathgnic
another month to study for the same version lots of people just took... can't wait to see the post Feb 9th scores. they should release the averages for those that took it on the 9th and those that took it after. i have a feeling there will be some good improvement from studying and "innocent" chatting with fellow classmates. also what happened to only being able to take it on that date or apparently the day after for religious reasons?
What does the fact of knowing our scores have anything to do with people taking the exam at a later date? There is always people taking it at a later date, it does not make any difference whatsoever.
Is this confirmed for real. Because if it is then we are screwed. How is it fare for the people that took it the first time. People chat and there is a achance the second round people had heard something about the questions. Is the source if the information relatable. No offense to anyone.
I'm going to call them with my concerns. Hope other people do the same if there's any chance of changing things.
I'm trying to reconcile this sentiment from BYU4you and yourself with the post below, who seemingly spoke with AAOMS. Either way, it makes no difference because we aren't in control, but I'm just curious.
Must have been a regional thing where prometric centers were closed in an entire state etc where students won’t be able to really spread information across state lines effectively. However it is an unfair advantage and scores will be a little higher in the retake. I would complain to them and tell them how unfair this all is. Extra time and the knwodlege of a couple of more questions beforehand. Very poorly planned.
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I know someone who took it on sunday and it was for sure a different version. I just assumed they would give the new test takers a different version. Idk why anyone thinks giving the same version is a good idea.
Was it AAOMS that actually said they’d release scores in a month? That just seems odd
The only thing that "kind of" makes sense is that they don't want to release averages until everyone takes it. Which is strange because there couldn't be that many who didn't take it.
What also sucks is you lose a month of studying if you end up having to retake it.
March 1 is the date I am being told (2 fridays from today)
wtf
Hey everyone,
Please consider replying to AAOMS's email requesting for the test to be curved separately for the people who took it on the 9th and those who didn't. It's completely absurd that they curve everyone's exam equally because the data will be positively skewed and our scores will be affected while simultaneously giving considerable advantage to the late test takers, as they'll allow for people to take the exam as late as the 27th.
Please consider replying to AAOMS's email requesting for the test to be curved separately for the people who took it on the 9th and those who didn't. It's completely absurd that they curve everyone's exam equally because the data will be positively skewed and our scores will be affected while simultaneously giving considerable advantage to the late test takers, as they'll allow for people to take the exam as late as the 27th.
How does the curve for the test work exactly?
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I am not aware of the exact math they use, but the higher the mean the higher everyone has to perform to get a decent score.
I called AAMOS and spoke with John London today. He confirmed that individuals have until Feb 28th to take the exam and results are expected March 4th. Supposedly there were Prometric centers that had water pipes burst, individuals not able to make it to testing centers for various reasons, blah blah blah. When I asked if the results would be curved separately due some individuals having nearly 20 additional days to take the exam, he condescendingly said, "Do you really think your scores would have gone up with an additional 2 weeks of studying?" and then proceeded to chuckle. I then explained to him that for some, 20 days was a significant amount of time and that a considerable amount of studying could be done in that time frame. His response, "Well you wouldn't actually be studying the whole time, you have dental school to worry about as well. If you're not ready for the exam, 20 more days isn't going to get you there". To sum it up he said that no adjustments would be made and no separate curve would be calculated.
Needless to say this sucks, but it is what it is.
Needless to say this sucks, but it is what it is.
Yeah, pretty much as I had expected. Hope you used a call ID spoofer when you called..
Why? This is a valid concern. There is no need to hide behind a caller ID. I replied to his first email directly and signed with my name and my school at the end.
Moral of story: doodoo happens. They won’t curve exams separately because the people who took the exam later will complain. They won’t do separate forms because both groups will complain. This situation sucks but it’s a unique situation. If there is a very large bimodal distribution of scores they may do something about it, but I wouldn’t count on it.
tbh, the whole cbse system seems kind arbitrary since we're taking a very outdated test in the first place.
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Anyways, nothing we can do. Let's wait for those scores and hope that all those people were already burnt out or something. Who knows... maybe I'll even be happy with the score I get regardless.
I did bring this to his attention. His rebuttal was that they have 7 different versions of the exam. I'm not sure if this means 7 different versions are administered on a given test day or that they only have 7 versions in existence. Honestly, I think it was just a BS statement to try to justify his argument.
On another note, I can't imagine AAOMS would be foolish enough to give the late takers the EXACT exam. However, even if they get a different exam the topics and general concepts are the same so a different exam doesn't make much of a difference, at least not to me. Personally, I'm more concerned with the additional time to study which would have better prepared us as a whole.
Sounds like they have 7 versions total since we all took the same one on Feb 9, those who took on Feb 10 had another.
It seems like these people taking it later have another version or else why would he mention it?
That being said if they do have a different version there is absolutely no reason to delay our scores as its a different test.
mentioned that there are 5 versions of the exam when i spoke with them
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I'm sure they are taking a different version. I'm speculating that each question in the entire pool has a certain weight, or value. If that is the case they are probably waiting in order have a large enough group to be able to calculate the mean, std. deviations, etc. There is probably only a handful of individuals who delayed taking it, which wouldn't make for a large enough sample size.
please use this form to reach AAOMS with your concerns: Contact Us | AAOMS
perhaps someone else in AAOMS that can help us out. as it seems our words have fallen on deaf ears.
perhaps someone else in AAOMS that can help us out. as it seems our words have fallen on deaf ears.
D
deleted884144
I doubt the people taking it later have the same version.
I’m pretty baffled some people get 3 extra weeks to study haha. It’s probably not that many but that’s a long time and plenty of studying to be done. Oh well
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Curious what you mean by this; I had always suspected that med students also took the CBSE at prometric centers, although I ddn't look into it any further. If this is the case, why are OMFS applicants being restricted to taking it on just two days throughout the year?
I don't think they take it at prometric centers. I think that day is just reserved for us. Every med student I've talked to, their school administers a CBSE for them. Never heard of a med student pay 300, go to prometric on that specific day just to take the CBSE.
Med students take the CBSE at Prometric paid for by the school. some schools pay for the CBSSA (NBME's) which they can take from home
that would make the most sense wouldn't it? but it looks like it will be the same version based on what London has said.
If this is the case then, I still don't understand why we are restricted to two days out of the year. Honestly, AAOMS would probably make more money anyway if they opened up more days when the test could be taken. But I suppose this is just the nature of bureaucrats - set in their ways resistant to change. Tragic really.
I don't claim to know the real answer but kind of thinking out loud here..
If they offered more opportunities to take the test it would lead to inflation, and therefore devaluation, of scores. Reasons:
- applicants with deep pockets or willingness to take on more drops in the GradPlus bucket would get more and more cracks at the exam, only having to report their highest score. Right now it's not super feasible/effective to take it more than twice
- there are only so many versions of the test. What is to stop students from telling each other questions they recall from the test, with students on the receiving end given a chance to take the test a week thereafter
- if scaling takes into account how well you do against people who take the same test, there would be fewer and fewer people each cohort to set that scaling
- people could more easily cater study schedules around their school's break schedules, minimizing he amount of time spent studying on top of clinic and class, further advantaging students with longer breaks
What good is it for 75+ to be easy to get, if everyone gets a 75+?
D
deleted972255
I didn't take the exam this time, took it in Aug-seemed like August's test drew straight from First aid and had lot of basic micro on it. Stats were hard on that test though. What made this exam harder? Less micro more pathophys?
No, I wouldn't say increased number of opportunities, but more flexibility in terms of scheduling. Like WSN alluded to, different schools have different schedules, so if the stars align for examinees from a certain school where they get more time off before their exam, it may improve their scores. I suspect making it easier for examinees to schedule their CBSE in this manner may translate to more people taking the exam, hence more $$ for AAOMS, but I might be wrong. Some of the other concerns WSN brought up are likely why AAOMS is administering the CBSE in the manner that they are, but it doesn't hurt considering new ideas in order to improve the integrity of this testing process. Again, it feels like we are beating a dead horse and the rules are what they are, so we just need to do our best and remain patient.
A lot of curved balls. If you thought "no way they would ask this ****"; it was there. As @White_Sponge_Nevus put it once, at this point let's hope our S5 dermatomes come out unscathed.
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