NBME online test and correlation to the real thing? If any...

[MS05']

I just took the online (test A) assesment test for step 1 from the NBME (after shelling out $45) and am wondering how well it correlates (or as the case may be, how well it doesn't) to the real test for those of you who have survived the real thing. About the same difficulty, same question types? Thanks in advance!

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[kcrd]

I took both sections, and I just took the real thing yesterday. I thought that these tests were exactly like the real test. the only difference I can think of is that the assessment is perfectly balanced in terms of question mix, and the real test randomizes the questions, so that you can randomly get a very unbalanced section - I got one section in which half of the questions were micro, and one which was very heavy on pharm and physio. the other 5 were very balanced, though.

I think it is worth it to take both. Take the second one 4-5 days before the test and try to brush up on your weak areas.

 

[secretwave101]

Do any of you have a link to this assesment test? I can't find it thru the search engines.

 

[kcrd]

here you go...

https://external1.nbme.org/nsasweb/servlet/mesa_main

 

[longwoodguy]

anything similar for step2 out there?

 

[kcrd]

according to the nbme website,

http://www.nbme.org/programs/sas.asp

the step 2 online assessment will be available in september

 

[JP2005]

how do the self assessment items compare to the released items that we can DL from their home site....or is it the same thing?......

 

[kcrd]

They are not the same thing. I thought that the released items were easier and more straight forward. There was a gibbs free energy question on the first one, and a few tricky molecular questions on the second one - I don't think there were any questions like those on the release set.

 

[JP2005]

oh ok..well its too late for me now..my test is this thurs and along with doing rotations this week its gonna be hard to set aside time for 400 questions...i did the released items...scored high 70's consistently.....and been getting low 70's on q bank....i hope that will be enough to pull me through on thurs....

i am expecting it to be harder than COMLEX, but better written than COMLEX.....we will see what happens...

thanks for the feedback....

 

[kcrd]

Now that the scores have been pouring in, I was wondering if those of you who have taken the online assessment could tell me how well your score correlated with your online assessment score.

 

[Hercules]

The NBME assessment that I took 3 days before my test was a little more than 1.5 standard deviations lower than my actual Step 1 score.

 

[secretwave101]

Wow, that's quite a difference. So, safe to say accd. to your results, it was more difficult that the real thing?

How did you compare the scores, they're on two different scales, aren't they?

 

[toofache32]

I got my scores this weekend. I scored 510 on the NBME assessment (part A), which is scored on a scale from 200-800 with a mean of 500 and SD of 100. That put me right around the mean. I also got 216 on Step 1 which had a mean of 217. I thought the NBME test was almost exactly like the real deal, and I saw at least 2 repeat Q's. They say it's not supposed to be used as a predictor of performance on step 1, but that's just their lawyers speaking, because I thought it was right on. By the way, my final Qbank was 59%, but that's skewed a little because by the end I was averaging about 65%.

 

[secretwave101]

Was your ending Qbank average ~65% on un-unused, all-subject tests?

 

[toofache32]

Yes. I never repeated a question. However, I noticed that the more difficult (for me) topics ran out of q's earlier, like Molec.Bio and genetics.

I got a 216 using only 3 books: First Aid, and High Yield Pharm & Biochem. Also, I took the classes 4 years ago, because I took them in dental school and had to re-learn in all, because I'm in an oral/maxillofacial surgery program where we take just step 1 and do the 3rd and 4th years of med school. I only wanted to pass, because I've already been through the match, so my perspective may be a little skewed from the rest of you guys.

 

[ntxawmx]

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone know if there is a huge difference between the 2 forms of assessment? I did horribly on one (but that was before really studying) and then did average on the second one (after studying). I suppose I should have done the same one to see how I improved but I figured they should be similar. Does anyone know?

Thanks! : )

 

[Kris2c]

Hi,
Can anybody pleeease explain me how can I corelate the score from NBME with the 3 or 2 digits score?
Because on this test (NBME) they only give us 200 questions in 4 block.
x.e If I have 400 what is that suppose to be in a 2 digit score?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jed2023]

Originally posted by Kris2c
Hi,
Can anybody pleeease explain me how can I corelate the score from NBME with the 3 or 2 digits score?
Because on this test (NBME) they only give us 200 questions in 4 block.
x.e If I have 400 what is that suppose to be in a 2 digit score?

Thanks in advance.

You'll have to use z scores, the means of each test, and standard deviations, to convert from one scale to another. In fact, similar questions can show up on the USMLE, so it's probably worth knowing how to do.

Anyways,

NBME assessment: mean=500, standard dev=100
USMLE step I: mean=216, standard dev=24

(the mean and sd's differ btwn step I administrations, so these are only approximate; over last summer, the numbers I heard were mean=216, sd=24; the year prior they were 215 and 20 for mean and sd, respectively)

So, let's say you get a 600 on the NBME test, which is 1 SD above the mean, or a z-score of 1.0. Assuming equal performance relative to your peer group, that would translate into an equal z-score on the USMLE. So, add 24 to 216 and you get 240.

Conversely, if you got 400 on the assessment that would be equivalent to 192 on step 1.

 

[Kris2c]

thanks a lot for this explaination,
I really appreciate it

kris.

 

[Guiac]

I haven't actually started the assessment as yet, but I have a question for those who may know........

are correct answers and explanations provided for the nbme test questions at the end of the blocks? if not, is there a way to get them, say, through the website or something?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[12R34Y]

I can't seem to open up the webpage that KCRD supplied....proxy server error or something.

is this NBME assessment free? does it grade it for you?
i don't get it.

later

 

[Guiac]

Originally posted by 12R34Y
I can't seem to open up the webpage that KCRD supplied....proxy server error or something.

is this NBME assessment free? does it grade it for you?
i don't get it.

later

It was working the other day, but doesn't seem to be right now.

Anyway, the assessment is not free. It comes at a cost of $45. for 400 questions.

You can go to http://www.nbme.org for detailed information. Under the heading On-Line Services, click on the link that says NBME Self-Assessment Services and you will be taken to a page with the info.

 

[12R34Y]

Looks like great practice!

HUGE QUESTION?? Do you get to see explanations at all or do you get to see what you missed in your score report?

thanks

 

[Kalel]

I was told to take the practice tests (for free, not at the test center where you have to pay them that fee to use the same questions) the day before the actual exam because an upper year told me that he had questions repeated on his actual USMLE test that were in the practice test. I did this, but didn't notice any repeated questions; whereas I noticed that q bank had many "copied" questions. I think that the practice tests that the nbme provide are comparable in difficulty to the actual test, but so is q bank. They are worthwhile to do, but I wouldn't pay the fee to take the test at the actual testing center unless you are really unsure about the center. Most prometric sites are pretty standardized though (quiet, same computers, etc), so I wouldn't worry about the site too much. You may want to practice taking q bank using ear plugs since those are provided for you when taking the actual USMLE, and if it gets noisy (ie other test takers start chewing their pens or something), you may need to put those in.

 

[mjl1717]

Can someone answer the question.? With those nmbe test qs that you pay for .Do you get to see answers and explanations or do they just evaluate your strengths and weaknesses???? ( The ones that you pay $45. for 200 or 400 questions)Thx

 

[Hercules]

Originally posted by mjl1717
Can someone answer the question.? With those nmbe test qs that you pay for .Do you get to see answers and explanations or do they just evaluate your strengths and weaknesses???? ( The ones that you pay $45. for 200 or 400 questions)Thx

No answers last year. Just strengths and weaknesses. I didn't think it was worth it or accurate in its predictions. Others felt differently.

 

[trouta]

No answers now either... just your score report at the end of it all.

 

[Stinger86]

I haven't actually started the assessment as yet, but I have a question for those who may know........

are correct answers and explanations provided for the nbme test questions at the end of the blocks? if not, is there a way to get them, say, through the website or something?

Thanks in advance.....

The only way is to take the exam on "self-timed" mode (4 hrs per block) and look up the questions as you go. The exam is purely for assessment so they won't give you answers or explanations (just a performance chart and arbitrary score for that particular exam)

 

[souljah1]

I mentioned this on a thread that I started, but I'll include it here as well.

I took both NBME practice exams. The first about a week before my test, the other about 3 days before.

NBME #1 - 570
NBME #2 - 600

On the real thing I got a 241/97 so my scores on the NBME self assessments wound up being very similar to how I performed on the real thing. With a mean of 217 and a standard deviation of 24, I scored exactly one standard deviation above the mean, just as I did on the 2nd NBME exam.

For what it is worth, when I was taking step1 I found it to be very similar to the NBME exams. I was really glad that I took both of the assessments b/c Qbank was starting to annoy me b/c they seemed to ask about the same topics after a while. For instance, how many times can you get asked about pheochromocytoma before you know all the different angles. I also did not get one repeat question on the real thing. Meaning, out of all the qbank and nbme questions i did, none of them showed up on the real thing.

 

[bigfrank]

Just finished Test I of the NBME practice test and got a 700. With Test II, got a 710. Hope it correlates.

Best wishes to all

 

[mountaindew2006]

question on teh self ass q's

so the only way still to do these is on TIMED mode ? cuz i was thinking of shelling the dough out but trying to look up answers as i go .... but obv if its timed i wont get through all of it..

is it still timed ?

thanks

 

[trouta]

You can set the timing up for either one or four hrs per block of 50qs. 4hrs should give you enough time to look things up.

 

[mountaindew2006]

thanks! wow..fastest reply ever

 

[Spang]

Bump.

Anyone care to add? I'm freaking a little with 3 days to go!

Spang

 

[Med4ever]

I am freaking out. FREAKIN FREAKING OUT. I got a 470, I just wanted to get mean. Somebody tell me something encouraging. I am going to do the second nbme self assessment in a few days. PRAYING for 500, lol. Test is in 5 days, any suggesstions i just doing q book with intermittent readings of fa.

FREAKIN' FREAKING OUT

 

[Spang]

I hear ya. I'm debating whether to even do the second one or just hold the hand I've got!! I just finished the first 50 of the released items and got 40/50 so I feel ok about that. Seriously I want to pass, and it would be nice to beat the mean

 

[Med4ever]

Ya I did decent on the released item 39/38/38. I did that a week ago, lol i think I am forgoting stuff. Ya if u did well on the first self assesment at this point I wouldnt do the other one incase u do poor it will really crush ur confidence. With three days to go stay positive, I am trying to.

Crush the boards, dont let the stress crush ur spirits.

 

[Stinger86]

The only correlation there is between the nbme assessments and the actual step questions is the format in which the questions are asked. Just because the assessment says you won't hit the mean doesn't mean you won't, and just because it says you rocked the tests doesn't mean you actually will come real test time. 98% of the questions on your step exam will be new questions that you've never seen before. The assessments are just there to prepare you for the kind of questions and the general subject distribution you're bound to see on the real exam. Good luck!