Is the PCAT getting more complex?

[lavenderhearts]

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I think I have seen some where on one of these forums that the PCAT was going to made harder to take. If this is so please tell me the ends and outs of the new PCAT

 

[pharmnewbie123]

It's still ridiculously easy. Only bought the Pearson Study Guide and got a 99. Hardest part is writing an essay in 30 minutes.

 

[PharmtoCS]

The PCAT is getting easier because many of the students who would have gotten high percentiles have decided to switch to other fields, which inflates the overall score.

 

[y0ssarian87]

The PCAT is getting easier because many of the students who would have gotten high percentiles have decided to switch to other fields, which inflates the overall score.

There's limited truth in this. From Pearson,

PCAT percentile ranks are based on the performance of the current normative sample—all first- time PCAT candidates from June 2007 through January 2011 (n = 68,241). However, percentile ranks obtained prior to July 2012 were based on the performance of the previous normative sample—all first-time PCAT candidates from October 2004 through May 2007. For this reason, the current percentile ranks are not directly comparable to previously earned percentile ranks.

The percentile you receive isn't a true percentile compared to individuals who took the test when you took it. It's based on where you lie compared to a normative sample. Percentiles from individuals who took the test in 2012 are comparable to percentiles for individuals who took the test in 2015. Interestingly I took my PCAT in 2010 (it was a written examination), and my score report stated that I was in the 96th %ile overall. At the time, my score report compared my score to the old normative sample, but I didn't apply to pharmacy school till 2013 when the normative sample changed. Thus, when it came time to submit my score report to PharmCAS, my percentile changed to the 98th %ile because my performance was compared to the new normative sample. Regarding your statement that "students who would have gotten high percentiles have decided to switch to other fields", I don't think that trend of switching to other fields was as prominent back in 2007 to 2011, though there was clearly a shift in the normative sample distribution such that my score increased.

 

[MybuttsHadouken]

I thought they were passages for the chem/bio section. Thought those would make those sections a little more complex and time wasters.