last year's inservice

[Jimmy LaRoux]

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What was 2006's passing score for the inservice exam?

 

[bubalus]

It's typically around 32. But a 32 on the intraining exam does not necessarily equal a 32 on taking-it-for-real written boards. It may be more like +/- 1.

 

[VolatileAgent]

But a 32 on the intraining exam does not necessarily equal a 32 on taking-it-for-real written boards.

yes it does. (and, last year it was a 35.)

your individual percentile, though, is calculated based on what year of training you are in. for example, if you are taking it for the first time and you score above 23, you are in the 99th percentile for your training level. however, whenever you get an overall passing score, you get a passing score. the difference is that, because you're not board eligible yet, it doesn't count as a "pass" for you. a passing score counts only when you take after your program says you are board eligible.

 

[bubalus]

I had a discussion about this with my PD shortly after the scores came out--what constituted passing, how was it scored, etc. What he told me is basically what Gern Blansten said in this thread:

http://gasforums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=397121

I did not go into as great of detail as I could have, as it had been done by Gern in the above thread. Unless you can show me some ABA documentation to support your statement (after all, in medicine we tend to put greater faith in evidence than in "because I say so"), I'll stick with my PD.

 

[VolatileAgent]

I had a discussion about this with my PD shortly after the scores came out--what constituted passing, how was it scored, etc. What he told me is basically what Gern Blansten said in this thread:

http://gasforums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=397121

I did not go into as great of detail as I could have, as it had been done by Gern in the above thread. Unless you can show me some ABA documentation to support your statement (after all, in medicine we tend to put greater faith in evidence than in "because I say so"), I'll stick with my PD.

this is just simply not correct. let me clarify. your two-point score is distributed across all test takers. the percentile score is weighted across everyone at your training level taking the exam. if your two-point score is high enough to pass the exam, then technically you would have passed it had you been eligible. the percentile simply shows you how you did against other residents in training at your same level.

each year, the ABA "adjusts" the passing score to accomodate the distribution across test takers. they use complex psychometric analysis of the test to determine what should be the passing score. for example, on a particular question that should be fundamentally known by all practicing anesthesiologists, a higher percentage of test-takers should get that question correct. if you do, it doesn't weight your score higher, but you get "dinged" more if you get it wrong.

the test score is built-up based on different levels and layers of test questions as well as how you do individually within the test. in this way, the test is, in theory, constructed to truly test your limit of knowledge. the analysis of your answers should tell where your knowledge gaps are, as well as internally (ie, within the test itself) validate what you know. for instance, if you get a bunch of the tough test questions right by guessing, the validating questions you are not likely to get right by guessing. the pychometric analysis accounts for this, and it is all factored into your final score. likewise, you may have gotten an "easy" question wrong by filling in the wrong bubble (etc.), and the validation question should be able to determine whether or not you really did or did not know the material. while you are taking the test, you should realize that there are subject matter and "themes" that are covered more than a couple of times. that's why.

that two-point score reflects this, and the minimum passing score describes the minimum level of knowledge needed, as validated by the test, to independently practice anesthesia. feel free to show this response to your program director. he/she will confirm that i'm correct. 🙂

 

[bubalus]

Your description of scaled scores and corresponding percentiles is correct. A score of 35 at beginning of your CA-2 year will be a higher percentile than it would be at the beginning of your CA-3 year. And as you said, the corresponding percentile is based on your year in training. However, "if you are taking it for the first time and you score above 23, you are in the 99th percentile for your training level" is not correct because the percentiles are based on your years of training, as you previously said and not whether it is the first or second time you are taking the exam because they are not necessarily the same. It is possible to not take the exam until the beginning of your CA-2 year if you come in outside the match after the ITE registration deadline.

Your summary of the Angoff method and psychometric aspects of test grading are very good, and I am not arguing that issue. The point Gern made in the referenced thread is that only a subset of the ITE questions are used for board certification purposes. However, your ITE score measures your performance on the whole exam. Hence it is possible that your score on the whole portion may differ from your score on the subset of questions used for board certification.