New Part 1 score thread

[fineguy2o9]

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Can those who got their part 1 scores for the new format please post? So people would have an idea for admissions. This includes raw scores per section and scaled score?

Overall:______
anatomy______
biochem______
path______
DA_____

 

[aspiringdentist]

hi,
i scored overall 91%
anatomy:85
physio,biochem:77
patho:83
dental anat:91
that's all folks, i m happy & thanks god i m done with my part I.
now focussing upon applications.
bye
thanks everybody for helping me throughout the prep. for part I.

that is some nice score! congrats..your hard work has paid off..👍

 

[fortinosamano]

Your raw score's are ridiculously good. 99 in all 4 sections by the '98 chart I think. What did you use for preparation and how much time? Any general suggestions?

Just the usual - go over the decks a couple of times, looking up things that don't make sense as you go. Some of the better texts for this include Junqueira's "Basic Histology," Avery's "Oral Development & Histology," Lippincott's Illustrated Biochemistry Review, BRS Physiology review, and Moore's "Essential Clinical Anatomy" ("baby moore"). Went over old exams and reviewed confusing questions with a small study group. And made a bunch of lucky guesses.

 

[docdk]

m too hv the same query abt the testlets..really scared abt tat n one more thg was the time sufficient on the whole...plzz guys do reply any books 2 refer for the testlets???
thanks...

 

[docdent]

hey guys can anyone tell me whats the new format of the exam and whats this raw score. I am taking my part 1 in dec.

 

[monreal]

hey guys can anyone tell me whats the new format of the exam and whats this raw score. I am taking my part 1 in dec.

The new format is a new format of the NBDE Part 1 adopted in Jan. 2007, and the raw score is candidate's first reason to nag permanently when comparing with 1998 curve.!
http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/nbde01/nbde01_candidate_guide.pdf
This is all what you need.

Good luck on your preparation.

 

[Tiger05]

I felt like the testlets were more general than the typical multiple choice question. I found them to be easier too since it gives you much more information than a single question can. Just make sure you have a good understanding (not memorization) of the most common problems you would see in a dental office (diabetes, cardiovascular/heart disease, lung, liver, allergies, autoimmune, ect) and the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology that go along with them. Understand physiology and biochemistry (although it does require some memorization). Be able to visualize anatomy in your minds eye it (head and neck mostly). You should know it well enough that if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and asked you a question you could answer it fairly quickly. It did not test your ability to memorize rare diseases, viruses, bacteria. Dental anatomy has not changed since the first boards test. The questions are straight forward and similar to the old exams.

I used:
Decks
USMLE
Concise Dental Anatomy
Rapid Review for biochemistry
I also used my lecture notes for anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathology and my textbooks (Robbins Basic Pathology, Guyton Textbook of Medical Physiology, Netters Human Atlas, Immunolobiogy, Basic Histology, Ten Cate's Oral histology) and finally wikipedia.

Note: This is only my perspective of the test I took. It may be different from yours.

 

[SunnyAZ]

I also agree that studying old tests is adequate for the Dental Anat. section as they didn't ask any tricky ones, which was nice. As for the clinical vignette section, I disagree and thought that that was the hardest part of the test. I also didn't realize how many of that type there would be. There were a few random diseases/symptoms tossed into the test that it's hit or miss whether or not you know them. They were NOT in the decks.

 

[docdk]

now i am scared ... hv my exam in couple of days n really worried abt this new pattern n testlets ... wat do i concentrate on more ??

 

[lionelhutz]

Yeah, for me the testlets were the most annoying things. The questions and the scenarios were very vague. To tell you the truth, I can't think of a way that one can go about studying for the testlets. Just study the way you have been studying and you'll be fine. Just don't get discouraged when you get the annoying testlets one after another.

Oh, I don't think I've contributed to this thread yet:

Comp score: 93
Anatomy: 86
Biochem/Phys: 87
Micro/Path:86
Dental anatomy: 89

 

[dentheartthrob]

Yeah, for me the testlets were the most annoying things. The questions and the scenarios were very vague. To tell you the truth, I can't think of a way that one can go about studying for the testlets. Just study the way you have been studying and you'll be fine. Just don't get discouraged when you get the annoying testlets one after another.

Oh, I don't think I've contributed to this thread yet:

Comp score: 93
Anatomy: 86
Biochem/Phys: 87
Micro/Path:86
Dental anatomy: 89

great job!! Can you tell me how you were doing with the releasead exams? I just want to have a general idea on gauging this exam.

 

[happyteeth36]

Composite = 90

Anatomy = 75 🙁
Biochem/physio = 86
Micro/patho = 88
Dental anatomy = 85

guys... never take anatomy for granted... i did 🙁

can anyone tell me how good a chance do i stand for international dentist programs with a GPA of 3.92

thanx

 

[Dental916]

Composite = 90

Anatomy = 75 🙁
Biochem/physio = 86
Micro/patho = 88
Dental anatomy = 85

guys... never take anatomy for granted... i did 🙁

can anyone tell me how good a chance do i stand for international dentist programs with a GPA of 3.92

thanx

very nice scores. Would you mind telling us what you used to study and how much time etc. My exam is on the 23rd...and my pace is very slow so just wanted to see some comparo.

 

[Ice2remember]

Composite = 90

Anatomy = 75 🙁
Biochem/physio = 86
Micro/patho = 88
Dental anatomy = 85

guys... never take anatomy for granted... i did 🙁

can anyone tell me how good a chance do i stand for international dentist programs with a GPA of 3.92

thanx

hi happy teeth,

congratulations!!! with u r GPA and part 1 score i am positive u have a very good chance at IDP program.

 

[nhasigioi]

Can those who got their part 1 scores for the new format please post? So people would have an idea for admissions. This includes raw scores per section and scaled score?

Overall:______
anatomy______
biochem______
path______
DA_____

So did you re-take it? If you did, how did it turn out?

 

[MODFather]

I check student doctor from time to time, so perhaps I'll contribute for a change.
I "sat for the exam" in July. It took three weeks to get my score back, I received a 94. I think scores are mailed every other week. Everyone here in SoCal is getting their scores on Tuesdays.
To give you an idea of the grading scale here is what other people from my school have gotten:
Missed 40=94
Missed 35=94
Missed 30=95
Missed 56=93
Missed 67=91
Missed 69=90
Scores from my classmates who took the exam in 06 are obviously higher.
Remember questions are weighted so if you two people can miss the same number of question and get different scores. (They are weighted both by section, and by within the section; obviously, missing more dental questions will pull you down more than missing more anatomy questions. Also, if you miss the easier anatomy questions, that will pull you down more than missing the harder anatomy questions.)
After talking with my classmates, we had totally different tests. We couldn't find a single question in common between any of us. I took the test the same day as one of my friends, however, and found out we had all the exact same questions. I'm guessing they just have a new test every 2 weeks or so to prevent people from using remembered questions.
Now, I need to catch up on school work and sell all of my study materials so I never have to think about this test again. Please let me know if you have any questions as I spent a lot of time studying the logistics of the test before I took it.

 

[Dental916]

I check student doctor from time to time, so perhaps I'll contribute for a change.
I "sat for the exam" in July. It took three weeks to get my score back, I received a 94. I think scores are mailed every other week. Everyone here in SoCal is getting their scores on Tuesdays.
To give you an idea of the grading scale here is what other people from my school have gotten:
Missed 40=94
Missed 35=94
Missed 30=95
Missed 56=93
Missed 67=91
Missed 69=90
Scores from my classmates who took the exam in 06 are obviously higher.
Remember questions are weighted so if you two people can miss the same number of question and get different scores. (They are weighted both by section, and by within the section; obviously, missing more dental questions will pull you down more than missing more anatomy questions. Also, if you miss the easier anatomy questions, that will pull you down more than missing the harder anatomy questions.)
After talking with my classmates, we had totally different tests. We couldn't find a single question in common between any of us. I took the test the same day as one of my friends, however, and found out we had all the exact same questions. I'm guessing they just have a new test every 2 weeks or so to prevent people from using remembered questions.
Now, I need to catch up on school work and sell all of my study materials so I never have to think about this test again. Please let me know if you have any questions as I spent a lot of time studying the logistics of the test before I took it.

Thanks for the input...much appreciated. Mine is this Thurs...I'll post and let everyone know how it goes and how I studied etc etc.

 

[dannyben]

why are you even studying... not matter what you do you will still end up standing around clinic with your purple notebook looking like tinky winkt of the teleltubbies!

 

[dentheartthrob]

I check student doctor from time to time, so perhaps I'll contribute for a change.
I "sat for the exam" in July. It took three weeks to get my score back, I received a 94. I think scores are mailed every other week. Everyone here in SoCal is getting their scores on Tuesdays.
To give you an idea of the grading scale here is what other people from my school have gotten:
Missed 40=94
Missed 35=94
Missed 30=95
Missed 56=93
Missed 67=91
Missed 69=90
Scores from my classmates who took the exam in 06 are obviously higher.
Remember questions are weighted so if you two people can miss the same number of question and get different scores. (They are weighted both by section, and by within the section; obviously, missing more dental questions will pull you down more than missing more anatomy questions. Also, if you miss the easier anatomy questions, that will pull you down more than missing the harder anatomy questions.)
After talking with my classmates, we had totally different tests. We couldn't find a single question in common between any of us. I took the test the same day as one of my friends, however, and found out we had all the exact same questions. I'm guessing they just have a new test every 2 weeks or so to prevent people from using remembered questions.
Now, I need to catch up on school work and sell all of my study materials so I never have to think about this test again. Please let me know if you have any questions as I spent a lot of time studying the logistics of the test before I took it.

how where you doing on the released exams?

 

[MODFather]

It really varied between years, usually between 4-10 depending on the section. Some years were a lot tougher than others.

 

[Dude82]

Hi all,

Thanks for posting. You make for a very informative procrastination forum, which I greatly appreciate. Anyway, I took pt. 1 in July, and here are my results:

Composite: 92
Dental Anatomy: 93
Anatomy: 88
Micro/Path: 84
Biochem/Phys: 79

Take care!

 

[onetoothleft]

Some great scores on here! congratulations everyone. I took the boards July 7.

me:
Composite: 88
Dental Anatomy: 84
Anatomy: 75
Micro/Path: 76
Biochem/Phys: 75

 

[syndrome]

hi all
i took nbd 1 earlier this month.got my score in 10 days here is my score

comp score:87

anat:73
pysio:71
path:75
da:86

 

[asdf84]

hi there
i scored 90
is tht enough to get in very good uni

 

[dr ali]

I check student doctor from time to time, so perhaps I'll contribute for a change.
I "sat for the exam" in July. It took three weeks to get my score back, I received a 94. I think scores are mailed every other week. Everyone here in SoCal is getting their scores on Tuesdays.
To give you an idea of the grading scale here is what other people from my school have gotten:
Missed 40=94
Missed 35=94
Missed 30=95
Missed 56=93
Missed 67=91
Missed 69=90
Scores from my classmates who took the exam in 06 are obviously higher.
Remember questions are weighted so if you two people can miss the same number of question and get different scores. (They are weighted both by section, and by within the section; obviously, missing more dental questions will pull you down more than missing more anatomy questions. Also, if you miss the easier anatomy questions, that will pull you down more than missing the harder anatomy questions.)
After talking with my classmates, we had totally different tests. We couldn't find a single question in common between any of us. I took the test the same day as one of my friends, however, and found out we had all the exact same questions. I'm guessing they just have a new test every 2 weeks or so to prevent people from using remembered questions.
Now, I need to catch up on school work and sell all of my study materials so I never have to think about this test again. Please let me know if you have any questions as I spent a lot of time studying the logistics of the test before I took it.

did you study only usmle step1 or 3 steps?thankx

 

[dentokid]

hi there
i scored 90
is tht enough to get in very good uni

what are u saying
u will definately be in👍

 

[rturgay]

what are u saying
u will definately be in👍

Originally Posted by MODFather
I check student doctor from time to time, so perhaps I'll contribute for a change.
I "sat for the exam" in July. It took three weeks to get my score back, I received a 94. I think scores are mailed every other week. Everyone here in SoCal is getting their scores on Tuesdays.
To give you an idea of the grading scale here is what other people from my school have gotten:
Missed 40=94
Missed 35=94
Missed 30=95
Missed 56=93
Missed 67=91
Missed 69=90
Scores from my classmates who took the exam in 06 are obviously higher.
Remember questions are weighted so if you two people can miss the same number of question and get different scores. (They are weighted both by section, and by within the section; obviously, missing more dental questions will pull you down more than missing more anatomy questions. Also, if you miss the easier anatomy questions, that will pull you down more than missing the harder anatomy questions.)
After talking with my classmates, we had totally different tests. We couldn't find a single question in common between any of us. I took the test the same day as one of my friends, however, and found out we had all the exact same questions. I'm guessing they just have a new test every 2 weeks or so to prevent people from using remembered questions.
Now, I need to catch up on school work and sell all of my study materials so I never have to think about this test again. Please let me know if you have any questions as I spent a lot of time studying the logistics of the test before I took it.



it is hard to beleive?????????😕

 

[Rif]

Overall:95
anatomy: 92
biochem: 92
path: 93
DA: 96

Whew... scaled score's pretty darn close to the raw...

Hey congarts on the great score!!!!! Could you give me a few tips as to how you went about studying for the test. The amount of time you spent + materials you used thanks much...🙂

 

[Kal ka dentist]

Thanks rturgay,
very valuable observation.

 

[dentheartthrob]

Hi guys, got my score today. Took nearly two weeks to receive them. Not really happy with the results with the time and effort I put into preparing for this exam, but hey thats life. hehehe. Something to look forward to is how it says Preliminary Composite report on the front, so maybe the scores will be readjusted in the near future, also I notice the transmutation table at the back, I think is really off, no way are people averaging 84-86 with this new format. This is probably what was used on previous exams, but definetly not in this one.

comp score:88

anat:79
physio:76
path:76
da:79

 

[Darksunshine]

So does anyone here know if the "calibrations" supposedly to be done in March is really going to matter/change our score at all???? Sounds like they are going to throw test numbers in bag and pull one out and say "Yep, it looks like the computerized test is accurate... yada yada... and by the way don't use it to determine who you admit into your advanced programs..." yah right....

 

[Darksunshine]

Here is their response:

Under the new format there are no longer scores for individual sections. If you have any further questions please call us at 1-800-232-1694.

Thank you,

Nick Hussong, BA
Client Support Services Representative
Phone: 312-440-2691
Fax: 312-587-4105
American Dental Association
211 E. Chicago Ave. Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60611


Which didn't answer the biggest part of the question, which was.... addressing the lower average with the computerized testing....



This was my email:

HI! I completed my NBDE part 1 on Sept. 11th, 2007. I know that it takes 3-4 weeks to get your score. My question is relating to the pass score or final score. Are we graded on sections as well as the final score? For example, someone could pass the exam in total but yet get lower than a "75" in a specific section of questions. I am aware that the exam used to be section based, but I do not know if you must get a minimum score in each section, or just pass the exam in its entirety. Current standards REQUIRE the applicant to retake the ENTIRE exam if they fail it. I just read the candidate guide and it doesn't go into detail about the sub section scoring affecting a total pass or not pass grade. Please clarify this statement regarding the sub sections of questions. Another question I have is relating to score calibration or standardizations. There have been rumors at our school and on the Student Dental Network that because of the limited data collected on the computerized format so far, adjustments were to occur in Sept/Oct of this year to how the score was tallied. Specifically, that the scores would be raised because shuffling all the sections together has created a lower standard score that can't be really compared to the scores when the test wasn't computerized and questions shown to applicants as a sub-sectional group, i.e. Biochemistry, dental anatomy, and so forth. It has been mentioned that exam scores over the years couldn't be compared, but I know the ADA must realize that Dental Schools use the National Boards, part one in particular, to determine whether or not they want to give an interview to applicants into advanced specialty programs like an oral surgery or endo program. I appreciate your time in clarifying these issues. Please be as specific as possible in answering. Thank you!

 

[dentheartthrob]

Yeah they are shady that way, you should've just asked, direct to the point, on way it says PRELIMINARY report opon receiving the scores. let's see if they can out manuever that

 

[DIRTIE]

Hi guys, got my score today. Took nearly two weeks to receive them. Not really happy with the results with the time and effort I put into preparing for this exam, but hey thats life. hehehe. Something to look forward to is how it says Preliminary Composite report on the front, so maybe the scores will be readjusted in the near future, also I notice the transmutation table at the back, I think is really off, no way are people averaging 84-86 with this new format. This is probably what was used on previous exams, but definetly not in this one.

comp score:88

anat:79
physio:76
path:76
da:79

You are correct, the new average is 82, not 85 like years past. We will know our official percentiles sometime next spring when they publish them. So an 88 is pretty darn good.

 

[monreal]

Yeah they are shady that way, you should've just asked, direct to the point, on way it says PRELIMINARY report opon receiving the scores. let's see if they can out manuever that

"Preliminary report of candidate performance" means Part 1 report.
"Final report of candidate performance" means Part 1&2 report.
I took the old format. It says preliminary report on my Part 1 too.

 

[atlanta478]

You are correct, the new average is 82, not 85 like years past. We will know our official percentiles sometime next spring when they publish them. So an 88 is pretty darn good.

The Class of 2009 will be in most disadvantages. The future classes will be fine even if the score won’t be adjusted.

 

[sopink]

Everybody who is posting their scores has done an amazing job on this test! Congratulations to everyone. With most people getting scores in the upper 80's and 90's, why would the scores be scaled up any further?

 

[2thdr13]

from what i understand the curving is not just based on everyone's raw scores but more so the raw scores of people who took the SAME exam as you. some versions MUCH harder than others from what i can tell talking to people i go to school with...i know that my morning 200 questions were much less difficult than my afternoon 200 questions...as far as getting the highest composite score i'm not sure if its better to have a hard test or an easy one...if you know everything its better to have an easy one i think because you will get nearly everything right and most people won't...if you get a hard (read as: questions out of nowhere and nothing to do with the difficulty of material) exam you are screwed because you will only get the same number right as someone who probbaly knows much less than you....i feel bad for everyone who has the dream of specializing because this test is way to random to objectively test the best of the best

 

[dentheartthrob]

from what i understand the curving is not just based on everyone's raw scores but more so the raw scores of people who took the SAME exam as you. some versions MUCH harder than others from what i can tell talking to people i go to school with...i know that my morning 200 questions were much less difficult than my afternoon 200 questions...as far as getting the highest composite score i'm not sure if its better to have a hard test or an easy one...if you know everything its better to have an easy one i think because you will get nearly everything right and most people won't...if you get a hard (read as: questions out of nowhere and nothing to do with the difficulty of material) exam you are screwed because you will only get the same number right as someone who probbaly knows much less than you....i feel bad for everyone who has the dream of specializing because this test is way to random to objectively test the best of the best

Not only people who wants to do residency but people trying to apply to IDP programs. So you are saying that there's a possibilty of two different tests given? A straight forward type and a random type? What would be the point of that? Is there any legit source on where these speculations are coming from? When I took my exam It wasnt that hard but it wasnt that easy as well. THere where questions that I answered right away, and some that left me wondering WTF is this about!?(ex. Angle's class 1 relationship exhibits laterotrusive movement..mediotrusive..protrusive etc etc etc...something like that, I know at the time i thought WTF is this question talking about)...with the amount of studying I did, I really felt I would do really well on this exam. But there were just some questions that was just out of there...IF this is the case, and I dont think it is, it is just as unfair with the new scoring that are implemented this year compared to those who took the exam prior to this year
...and yeah i felt the morning session was easier than the afternoon session.

 

[2thdr13]

Not only people who wants to do residency but people trying to apply to IDP programs. So you are saying that there's a possibilty of two different tests given? A straight forward type and a random type? What would be the point of that? Is there any legit source on where these speculations are coming from? When I took my exam It wasnt that hard but it wasnt that easy as well. THere where questions that I answered right away, and some that left me wondering WTF is this about!?(ex. Angle's class 1 relationship exhibits laterotrusive movement..mediotrusive..protrusive etc etc etc...something like that, I know at the time i thought WTF is this question talking about)...with the amount of studying I did, I really felt I would do really well on this exam. But there were just some questions that was just out of there...IF this is the case, and I dont think it is, it is just as unfair with the new scoring that are implemented this year compared to those who took the exam prior to this year
...and yeah i felt the morning session was easier than the afternoon session.

I think its pretty obvious that my entire post was speculation…and its obvious there are more than two copies of the exam….my point was only that from talking with everyone (at my school where we all have the same knowledge background) it seems that some versions are easier than others….again, obviously the board administrators did not plan it that way….i was just using this concept to attempt to explain why some people’s raw scores are so much higher than another person’s raw scores and yet their composite score is the same

 

[tsncom]

Overall: 84

Anatomy:72.
Biochem/Physio:62
Micro/Path:67
DentAnat/Occlusion:85

I was pretty disappointed with my score, but I wouldn't take it again. I was much harder than any old exams. The only questions that compare were the Kaplan questions, but I did not focus on them so much since they were so much harder than questions on old exams.

 

[mambinooo]

hi guys, got my score today.
overall: 89
bio/phys:79
anatomy:76
DA:79
actually I need help about my next step and with this score which universty should I apply

 

[mass]

whats each part out of and what are dental schools asking as a mimium overall score?

 

[bigtooth]

.

 

[avnaks]

Check this out:

http://www.ucsf.edu/its/listserv/dental2010/0522.html

 

[dentheartthrob]

"With regard to the distribution of scores, an audit of the scores has
shown that the range of the average comprehensive scores on Part I is
comparable to the range of the average standard scores on the
traditional examination."

This is what's puzzeling me. SO they are saying the 84-86 is the average score range on both formats, so I guess it means people are scoring higher on the raw scores and the distribution of composite scores is just smaller?

 

[TestingDept Rep]

There are several versions of the National Board Dental Exam Part One being administered at all times. New exams are written and reviewed over the course of each year to be published at the beginning of the following year. Each and every version is put through a rigorous review process by a committee of dental professionals and dental content experts to ensure that it is accurate and of comparable difficulty to every other version of the examination. The perception of differences in level of difficulty are based upon the personal strengths of the individual test takers.

The process for scoring exams is the same for the Comprehensive exam as it was in the past. However, only the overall score is reported as a standard score. We have determined that the pass/fail rate and the distribution of scores is consistent with the same in the "old" format of the exam.

There is no plan to "adjust" or "recalibrate" the scores at any time.

If you have further questions, you may contact us by our toll free number: 1-800-232-1694. If you have specific questions, please put them in writing and fax them to the attention of Dr. Tsai. The fax number is (312)587-4105.

PLEASE NOTE: Sharing exam information, including remembered questions, with anyone is illegal and unethical. Penalties for such behavior include having your scores voided, your fee forfeited, and being banned from testing for two years.