NBME Subject Exam Scoring Question

[Lizzy Wurtzel]

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So the NBME provided me with a sheet when I received my score which states that the mean is 70, with a standard deviation of 8. Does this sound right to people? Are 2/3 of scores between 62 and 78? Is any Score in the 90s in the 95th percentile?

I don't come from an "impressive" school, but it seems there are plenty of people who score consistently in the 90s in my class of 45 students. For my psych group of 9 students, we were told 4 scored 90 or better. What has been everyone else's experience with these exams and the score distribution?

 

[McGillGrad]

The 70 is not a raw score (although most people think it is). They adjust the scores so 70 is the mean score (even if it is a raw 50% of questions correct) and then scale up from there.

If you score a 90 then it may be in the 95th percentile but it certainly is not a raw 90% correct.

Some schools may also adjust the scores further, if they use it to determine your clinical grades.