Grading in med schools....

[CBG23]

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For schools that have a non- pass/fail grading system (ex. H, HP,LP, P, F) Are the cutoffs for each level set in stone OR are you compared to your classmates and only X amount of people can get H or HP. This may differ from school to school, but I am curious

 

[psipsina]

At my school the cutoffs are set by individual courses . . . so for physio you needed a 75 to pass whereas for neuro you needed a 70.

 

[Hassler]

For schools that have a non- pass/fail grading system (ex. H, HP,LP, P, F) Are the cutoffs for each level set in stone OR are you compared to your classmates and only X amount of people can get H or HP. This may differ from school to school, but I am curious

This depends. At my school (Cincinnati), all first year classes have cutoffs set in stone. However, I heard that some second year classes (such as Path) require us to get one standard deviation above the mean in order to qualify for honors, although the high pass cutoffs are still set in stone (~85%). This is gonna suck.... (this is what I heard from upperclassmen, but I'll find out for sure in one month when school starts)

On the other hand, it probably doesn't really matter because more competition probably pushes you to study harder which translates to better score on the boards....

 

[Reimat]

For schools that have a non- pass/fail grading system (ex. H, HP,LP, P, F) Are the cutoffs for each level set in stone OR are you compared to your classmates and only X amount of people can get H or HP. This may differ from school to school, but I am curious

First year, we had minimum cutoffs that would not be raised for passing (usually 70) and honoring (usually 90) courses. So, you knew if you got a 90 you would honor that course. Often, however, these cutoffs were lowered, particularly when the class average ran in the low 80's. I think most course directors were hoping for almost everyone to pass, and for ~1/4-1/3 of the each class to get honors.

 

[Tiger26]

Our cutoffs are set in stone for the most part and are different for individual classes, but mostly depend on averages over the last ten years or so. With that said, there is some room for adjustment. Our phys class did historically badly on the final this year, so they were generous (sarcasm) and move the high pass cutoff from 80% to 79.5%, although this really was significant for me.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Our school, the pass is set in stone, but the honors are by direct competition with classmates.