Final say on UWSA1

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
A

aspiringmd1015

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
1,098
Reaction score
102
how much does it overpredict? does it overpredict, if so by how much? i know this has been discussed for the nth amount of times, but just want to see whats my scene.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I was wondering what makes it over predict? Are the questions that much easier than regular uworld questions? not taking it for another couple weeks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
In the Allo section of this forum, there's a thread that discusses this topic. People say that UWorld has readjusted their scale to make it more accurate. Someone even compared the score generated by UWorld for a given percentage between this year and last year, and surely enough, there's a difference.

I thought UWSA1 qs were on par, in terms of difficulty, with the Qbank qs. However, the averages on the UWSA1 blocks are also comparable to the averages on regular Qbank blocks. This makes me wonder, if the Qbank averages consist of multiple passes (people retaking the qs), shouldn't this mean that UWSA-1 blocks "easier"?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
Ibn Alnafis MD said:
In the Allo section of this forum, there's a thread that discusses this topic. People say that UWorld has readjusted their scale to make it more accurate. Someone even compared the score generated by UWorld for a given percentage between this year and last year, and surely enough, there's a difference.

I thought UWSA1 qs were on par, in terms of difficulty, with the Qbank qs. However, the averages on the UWSA1 blocks are also comparable to the averages on regular Qbank blocks. This makes me wonder, if the Qbank averages consist of multiple passes (people retaking the qs), shouldn't this mean that UWSA-1 blocks "easier"?
Click to expand...
so youre saying this year bc of the readjustment to their scaling its more reliable now? i mean, im not quoting you on that but is that the recent consensus?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
aspiringmd1015 said:
so youre saying this year bc of the readjustment to their scaling its more reliable now? i mean, im not quoting you on that but is that the recent consensus?
Click to expand...

Well, that's according to what I read on this forum. We can never be so sure. Just do you what you can and hope for the best, I guess.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I just did UWSA 1 and got a 3 digit score of 230, but my % average over the 4 blocks was 76.5%. Not to sound greedy but I feel this prediction is a little low based on the general vibe I get about what counts as a good % score on uworld. Does this sound about right to you all as a score prediction or are uworld being harsh?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mrwa said:
I just did UWSA 1 and got a 3 digit score of 230, but my % average over the 4 blocks was 76.5%. Not to sound greedy but I feel this prediction is a little low based on the general vibe I get about what counts as a good % score on uworld. Does this sound about right to you all as a score prediction or are uworld being harsh?
Click to expand...

That does sound a little harsh. I scored 252 with 79% correct about 2 weeks ago. I hope they didn't change the scoring again!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ninjaman22 said:
That does sound a little harsh. I scored 252 with 79% correct about 2 weeks ago. I hope they didn't change the scoring again!
Click to expand...
Yeah I also took it two weeks ago and got around 80% which translated to 256, so 76.5% to 230 doesn't sound right. I'll say though that I took NBME 18 later in the week and got a 256 on that as well, so I'm not sure if it makes a difference...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Is it possible they weight certain questions? Otherwise seems they're gradually making the scoring harder, with a massive drop in score prediction between yesterday and today. Either way such variability makes me lack confidence in its accuracy and its not the kind of knock you need 10 days before the real deal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
89 86 84 76 = 84% from 1st to the 4th block, thats a percentage, not percentile and got a 259. seems accurate according to the score changes these guys have gotten.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Something doesn't sound right then. On the new 40 ? block 79% correct= 234. They must have rescaled the test last weekend when they moved it down to 40 questions. Did you guys take the new 40 question block?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Whersmysternum said:
Something doesn't sound right then. On the new 40 ? block 79% correct= 234. They must have rescaled the test last weekend when they moved it down to 40 questions. Did you guys take the new 40 question block?
Click to expand...
When I took it last Saturday, the blocks still had 44 qs. and my score was 10 points higher for 3% less correct. Looks like they rescaled it on Sunday or something. But from the way it looks, the new scale is very very harsh. Perhaps the new scale now UNDERpredicts one's score.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ibn Alnafis MD said:
When I took it last Saturday, the blocks still had 44 qs. and my score was 10 points higher for 3% less correct. Looks like they rescaled it on Sunday or something. But from the way it looks, the new scale is very very harsh. Perhaps the new scale now UNDERpredicts one's score.
Click to expand...
Agreed this would be consistent with my experience taking UWSA1 last week and UWSA2 this week (see Class of 2018 Board Study thread)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I wonder if we can get them to score our old tests with the new scale. I took UWSA 1 on Sunday before the change and I feel like I got cheated if it's not an accurate assessment.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Entadus said:
Agreed this would be consistent with my experience taking UWSA1 last week and UWSA2 this week (see Class of 2018 Board Study thread)
Click to expand...
not sure about underprediction either, from what im hearing iti predicts it to the exacts score +/- 5. so if anything with the new exam changes, but IMO whether you take it before or after, is giong to be your score. IDK if anyone talks to any authoritative person on this let us know.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't have access to UWSA 1 anymore because I took it on 5/1. It was still the 44Q format. I want to say I got like 87ish percent correct? Predicted 263.

UWSA 2 I took on 5/7, 44Q format. 91%, 93%, 84%, 86%. Predicted 265.

It's very similar to my NBMEs.
NBME 12 on 4/30 - 262
CBSE on 5/8 - 97
NBME 13 on 5/16 - 269

EDIT: Added CBSE score
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yea they must have changed the scale when they adjusted the questions. I just took UWSA2 today and ended up with 88% 90% 83% 93%, which is the same exact total % as you and ended up with a 253.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nignogger said:
Yea they must have changed the scale when they adjusted the questions. I just took UWSA2 today and ended up with 88% 90% 83% 93%, which is the same exact total % as you and ended up with a 253.
Click to expand...
Have you done any NBMEs? If so, how did UWSA2 correlate with that?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nignogger said:
Yea they must have changed the scale when they adjusted the questions. I just took UWSA2 today and ended up with 88% 90% 83% 93%, which is the same exact total % as you and ended up with a 253.
Click to expand...
which person are you responding to? and what % did they have
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nignogger said:
Yea they must have changed the scale when they adjusted the questions. I just took UWSA2 today and ended up with 88% 90% 83% 93%, which is the same exact total % as you and ended up with a 253.
Click to expand...
holy **** lol i got 84.5% cumulative and 259...and yours was 88.5 and 253. lol good god, thats not even a minor change. thats major AF
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
aspiringmd1015 said:
cbse as in fred?
Click to expand...

Not sure what that is, but in this context it's the Comprehensive Basic Science Exam from the NBME that some schools require you to take. It's basically just another self assessment that has 46 questions x 4 blocks. They give you a 2 digit score which corresponds to the normal 3 digit score
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yea so last week I did UWSA1 my percentages were 73, 80, 84, 86 and it said it was a 254. I just took UWSA2 this week (w/ 40q blocks) and had 78, 88, 80, 80 which averages out to slightly higher than my first one and the score was a 240. That 254 really got my hopes up ...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MJS4878 said:
Yea so last week I did UWSA1 my percentages were 73, 80, 84, 86 and it said it was a 254. I just took UWSA2 this week (w/ 40q blocks) and had 78, 88, 80, 80 which averages out to slightly higher than my first one and the score was a 240. That 254 really got my hopes up ...
Click to expand...

From what I have been seeing, they cut the scores by 10-15 points when they readjusted their scale.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
They might have selectively removed some of the harder questions between both UWSA1 and UWSA2 which could explain why the higher cumulative percentage does not equal a higher score
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I remember people saying that UWSA would inflate their scores. So is it safe to say that now they're pretty accurate?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If the experience of one person can be generalised I did UWSA 1 and NBME 18 both within the last week and got exact same score on both, but theres a variety of opinions on NBME 18 so who knows how it relates to the real deal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
so for those that took it before the changes occured, literally i think 48 hours before, how to we calibrate our score to the new scale? has anyone tried emailing them?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Can some of you guys who posted percentages and scores please repost your updated score now that it has been changed
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just starting dedicated. Took this as a self-assessment to see where I stood.

Can someone that scored below a 200 chime in? I received an 180 at first, and it went down to a 179 🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nignogger said:
I just opened UWSA 2 and looked at the score report again
Click to expand...
Yeah, it seems like the adjustment was made for those who took the test recently and received an under predicted score. I took the test before they changed it to 40qs so I don't think the new scale affected me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Thoughts on bootcamp for step 1 prep?
Replies
3
Views
5K
coconutlover
C
F
UWSA2 188 Planned on Taking Step 1 in 3-4 Weeks. Should I Postpone
Replies
6
Views
2K
Freddy1
F
S
Scored sub 160 range (162-163) on Step. 3 days before 69% on Free 120 timed.
Replies
2
Views
9K
Rapsidy
Rapsidy
N
Looking for clarity and advice on how to utilize outside resources and study strategies for Step 1 and 2.
Replies
1
Views
2K
Mouzer
Mouzer
S
  • Question Question
Communication and Experiment type questions on Step 1
Replies
0
Views
1K
shoenberg3
S
Top