interesting Kaplan vs. World statistical analysis

[doctorFred]

---

Members don't see this ad.

so we know that the consensus seems to be that the world qbank is superior to kaplan in terms of preparation for step 2. i actually have both question banks, and have noticed that the kaplan bank is significantly harder than the world bank - my kaplan average is 56%, while my world average is 61%.

interestingly, according to the medfriends step 2 estimator (http://www.medfriends.org/step2_estimator/), which seems to have some empiric value, gives the following numbers:

kaplan 56% average = step 2 score 163 +/- 14
world 62% average = step 2 score 223 +/- 11

those are stark differences, to say the least. and the implication is that the kaplan bank is easier, given that to get an estimated score of 223, you'd need about a 70%.

yet i consistently find kaplan questions to be, on average, more difficult. has anyone else experienced this as well? any theories as to why kaplan scores have to be significantly higher in order to compare with estimates based on usmleworld scores?

 

[FreakofMeds]

My guess is that their data is outdated, and not reflective of current Kaplan Qbank difficulty level.

 

[zedx]

yea...Kaplan recently updated their QBank...also after using both, I'd say Kaplan's is harder because it asks alot of esoteric Qs, many of which I only found in their own review texts.

 

[tfom08]

Kaplan published an entirely new Qbank 1 or 2 years ago. Kaplan used to be much easier than UW but the new kaplan qbank is more difficult. Medfriends has not corrected their estimator to account for this.

 

[doctorFred]

yea...Kaplan recently updated their QBank...also after using both, I'd say Kaplan's is harder because it asks alot of esoteric Qs, many of which I only found in their own review texts.

i've found this to be the case exactly. many of those completely esoteric questions are easy if you read their review books, because they conveniently (and quizzically, since it's such low yield stuff) highlight some of those topics.

my favorite today included beta-transferrin testing for a runny nose to diagnose a csf leak