MCAT Curve?

[spreebee]

It looks as if some forms (August 2006) were way more difficult than others. Would one say a 1-2 point curve on harder forms would be accurate?

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[Blank00]

deleted

 

[timmah2k]

Hope so. B_ needs all the help it can get.

A_ needs help too...darn fish and ASL!!

 

[Blank00]

deleted

 

[87138]

A_ needs help too...darn fish and ASL!!

I had AR and I don't recall anything about "ASL."

 

[txlioness]

i had both on the CBT

 

[deleted106503]

I had AR and I don't recall anything about "ASL."

I had AS. Last passage was about American Sign Language. I was so glad it was the last passage. I had 5 minutes to read and answer the q's and since I took a class that taught about this, I felt safe guessing.

 

[jasar]

I had AR and I don't recall anything about "ASL."

i had AR, too...ASL was there...

 

[spreebee]

Mecute posted this in the past:

Ok, the OVERWHELMING majority of people at my test center (Forms DK, CK, FK) and the overwhelming majority of all the SDN posters said the VR was EXTREMELY difficult. I was averaging 10-12 on all my EK 101, AAMC, and KAPLAN VR exams (hell I even made a 14 on AAMC 2 adjusting to 3R's scaled score 62/65 questions). So here's my theory on the way the MCAT curve works when the exams are way more difficult than intended:

The "traditional" raw score-scaled score converstions that we have come to know, (75-77 gets you a 15, 74-73 gets you a 14 and so on) are all provided by who else? The AAMC. They released only "model" examinations that will best serve those who need test prep. There's no way in hell they would release these latest batches of forms with the impossible verbal and then release their actual raw score-scaled score conversions because it would
1) wildly differ from the previous "feel" for the mcat that was released
2) discourage test takers
3) give them false sense of expectations, ie. "wow I can miss 25 and still make a 10 on Verbal!"

So what i'm saying is, I think the latest administration of the MCAT will have a generous curve, especially for the Verbal ---and to account for that damn mutant drosophila western blot experiment---but the aamc would never release that test for people to see, nor will they say how they scored it. They only release updated "revised" exams that give the same look and feel that test takers "need" to see in order to prepare.

Or I could just be totally wrong and from now on the MCAT will have lower average scores across the board to make it a helluva lot more competitive to get into med school.

Anyone else wanna chime in on this theory?

 

[deleted106503]

^I personally think the AAMC practice exam scales are harder because the practice takers aren't in a nervous mood. For the real MCAT, people start stressing out and not thinking straight so raw scores will fall. Curves will just bring it back up pending experimental section removals.

 

[zissouintern]

I really hope you guys are right. I've never felt so unconfident after writing an MCAT exam. Hopefully it won't be this rough until the scores are released.

 

[Jsmooth]

wait is it true that they curve it including april's exam? another thread was saying that the april test takers had a really high average and that the aamc might curve the august exam down to match it so that more people at a "medium" score because there are only so many spots for med school and they want the test taker population to have a wider distribution?

any insights??

 

[mdthisyear]

wait is it true that they curve it including april's exam? another thread was saying that the april test takers had a really high average and that the aamc might curve the august exam down to match it so that more people at a "medium" score because there are only so many spots for med school and they want the test taker population to have a wider distribution?

any insights??

As per this link
the number scoring 30+ is roughly equal to the number of 1st year spots. Is that where the most-wanted 30 comes from?
(page 2, last few lines)

 

[physiologyguy]

Mecute posted this in the past:

Ok, the OVERWHELMING majority of people at my test center (Forms DK, CK, FK) and the overwhelming majority of all the SDN posters said the VR was EXTREMELY difficult. I was averaging 10-12 on all my EK 101, AAMC, and KAPLAN VR exams (hell I even made a 14 on AAMC 2 adjusting to 3R's scaled score 62/65 questions). So here's my theory on the way the MCAT curve works when the exams are way more difficult than intended:

The "traditional" raw score-scaled score converstions that we have come to know, (75-77 gets you a 15, 74-73 gets you a 14 and so on) are all provided by who else? The AAMC. They released only "model" examinations that will best serve those who need test prep. There's no way in hell they would release these latest batches of forms with the impossible verbal and then release their actual raw score-scaled score conversions because it would
1) wildly differ from the previous "feel" for the mcat that was released
2) discourage test takers
3) give them false sense of expectations, ie. "wow I can miss 25 and still make a 10 on Verbal!"

So what i'm saying is, I think the latest administration of the MCAT will have a generous curve, especially for the Verbal ---and to account for that damn mutant drosophila western blot experiment---but the aamc would never release that test for people to see, nor will they say how they scored it. They only release updated "revised" exams that give the same look and feel that test takers "need" to see in order to prepare.

Or I could just be totally wrong and from now on the MCAT will have lower average scores across the board to make it a helluva lot more competitive to get into med school.

Anyone else wanna chime in on this theory?

Spreebee I m with you - I was 10-12 on the EK stuff and felt horrible about this verbal! I didnt even get to really think about the last 2 actual questions because i ran out of time - i had only run out of time on 1 or 2 others out of about 20 practice, and those were at the beginning. I think there HAS to be a generous get 40-43 and still get a 10 or so. I thought it was very hard.

 

[karlin009]

A_ needs help too...darn fish and ASL!!

ASL was horrible

 

[Dr. Pepper]

wait is it true that they curve it including april's exam? another thread was saying that the april test takers had a really high average and that the aamc might curve the august exam down to match it so that more people at a "medium" score because there are only so many spots for med school and they want the test taker population to have a wider distribution?

any insights??

I disagree with this theory.

There is no conspiracy, no anomaly, no phenomenon. It seems that the August MCAT was significantly harder than most practice tests. Therefore, most people will not do as well on the actual MCAT than on the practice tests. Accordingly, the only thing that the test makers can do is curve the test so that the scores are reasonable.

Though AAMC might want to keep their annual averages at a certain level, they can't simply sabotage the application of thousands of applicants by having such a difficult test without accomodating by giving a large margin of error.

Of course, I cannot confirm this and I will not try to find a source to support my statements. I'm just speaking from common sense. It's rather simple: easy test has an easy curve...hard test has a hard curve. Much like any standardized test, the MCAT (and the appropriate MCAT score) is subjective, and more importantly, relative.
-Dr. P.

 

[superwillis]

I thought they used the experimental passages of the previous (April) test to determine the curve for the August test.

 

[MitJ]

I think there HAS to be a generous get 40-43 and still get a 10 or so. I thought it was very hard.

No way they'll be THAT generous, don't you think? That usually translates to an 8 or 9 in the past.

Though, I predict ~23 wrong (yeah, it was bad), so I would be more than happy with a 40-43 being a 10 and 37-40 being a 9.