NBDE part I scoring method?

[fjalikes]

Hey guys
Just wondering about how nbde is graded.. is the score compared among all test takers on one particular test date or like one month? Also, is it compared among the test takers in one region or the entire nation? I tried to look for this information but it seems to be not available. Does anyone know?

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[cooliyak]

Hey guys
Just wondering about how nbde is graded.. is the score compared among all test takers on one particular test date or like one month? Also, is it compared among the test takers in one region or the entire nation? I tried to look for this information but it seems to be not available. Does anyone know?

So I have been curious about this as well so I read the NBDE Technical Report of 2014 where it explains the scoring method. Apparently, they don't "curve it" and claim that your score is not based on or campared to or weighted using anybody else. It's called the
Rasch method. There's a huge big mess of an equation that you can look up yourself if you want to know more, but that is where my curiosity stopped. It is based on the belief that "the level of performance required for passing a credentialing test should depend on the knowledge and skills necessary for acceptable performance in the occupation or profession and should not be adjusted to regulate the number or proportion of persons passing the test." This seems to be consistent with their answer in the Q&A section where it asked "are these exams graded on a curve" and the answer is "no."

Here is the link to the document I read if you care to look yourself:
http://www.ada.org/~/media/jcnde/pdfs/nbde_technical_report.ashx