NMBE Exams

[Time]

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For those of you who have taken all 4 or know someone who has, how would you compare the 4 exams in terms of:

1. Ability to predict the real test score
2. Difficulty

Is any of the 4 very bad at predicting by any chance?

The reason I am asking is because I am thinking of taking one before I get going, just as a predictor, and would rather use up the least useful one first.

Thanks.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I have not taken all 4 but my impression is that

#1 is a weaker predictor of score (overpredicts) and

#1 is also the easiest

Besides that, the differences are probably more subtle. It might be safe to assume that the newer ones are more representative of the real thing.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I took 2, 3, and 4. I thought that 3 was the most difficult. 4 was the closest to my actual score.

 

[Time]

I have not taken all 4 but my impression is that

#1 is a weaker predictor of score (overpredicts) and

#1 is also the easiest

Besides that, the differences are probably more subtle. It might be safe to assume that the newer ones are more representative of the real thing.

Thanks, guys.

What does 'overpredict' mean in your case - didn't you get 268? Did it tell you you will get 300, or what? No, seriously, by how much, approximately....

Also, if anyone out there can compare 1 and 2, I would appreciate.

Thanks.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Thanks, guys.

What does 'overpredict' mean in your case

I didn't use #1 but many people have posted on this forum over the years with predicted scores 10-20 points higher than what they got on the real thing. When this happens, it's almost always #1 to blame.

I think #1 is significantly older than the other 3 but I'm not sure.

 

[Time]

I didn't use #1 but many people have posted on this forum over the years with predicted scores 10-20 points higher than what they got on the real thing. When this happens, it's almost always #1 to blame.

I think #1 is significantly older than the other 3 but I'm not sure.

I think they introduced 1 and 2, and then 3 and 4 the next year. I did not pay attention to other details, though. What did you score on the practice test, lord-jeebus? 20 points higher... well, almost a std dev, so pretty much a useless test.

Guys, if anyone has had experience with 1 and 2, and can give the details, I would appreciate.

Thanks.

 

[lankysudanese]

I did all 4 forms. I don't think anyone should describe one form as more predictive than the rest just because it was closest to his/her real score. I think that you should look at the ball-park of the scores that you get in all 4 tests, and decide whether or not you would be comfortable with a final score in that range (for e.g. if you are shooting for >240, then you should be more reassured by scoring 234, 245, 239, 236 than if you scored 222, 251, 219, 230). I would also look at your performance in each subject, and try to work on any subject(s) that you might be performly poorly on (for e.g. I did poorly in nutrition in forms 1 and 2).

For what it is worth, I thought that forms 3 and 4 were the easiest, and that forms 1 and 2 were the toughest.

Good luck

 

[Law2Doc]

For what it is worth, I thought that forms 3 and 4 were the easiest, and that forms 1 and 2 were the toughest.

Everyone will have their strengths and weaknesses, so one test might be more in someone's wheelhouse than another. If you (OP) do a search you will find that the majority on SDN threads over the years seem to place 1 as easiest and 3 as hardest with 2 and 4 somewhere in the middle. If you had to do just one to see how you are doing, I probably wouldn't do #1, it is simply not as good a predictor as the others.

All of the forms overestimate your time (the questions are just shorter than the real thing on average), so if timing is your big issue, you may need to pick up the pace if you are taking 60 minutes for these 50 minute blocks.

But if you are just looking for an imperfect predictor of how you are doing, I think the NBME forms are about as good as you are going to get. But remember that no simulation is going to exactly simulate how you will perform on test day, given your stress level, your quantity of sleep the night before, the distractions of folks around you at whatever center you select. It is not unheard of on SDN for folks to do significantly better or worse than the NBMEs. So don't get too carried away with the predictive value. This is a tool to give you a rough gauge, nothing more. Even the NBME site itself warns that these are not an accurate prediction of your ultimate score.

 

[lilzelda2]

When did u guys start taking the NMBE....I taking it like half way during ur 2nd yr too early?

 

[Law2Doc]

When did u guys start taking the NMBE....I taking it like half way during ur 2nd yr too early?

Yes. Do not touch it until you finish second year. If you haven't even had the courses you won't be giving yourself any predictive value at all. Then perhaps take one early on in your board review time to get a baseline. Another a bit further into your studying and so on. And FWIW the predictive value is probably better the closer to the actual test you take it because you will have already done the bulk of the studying you are going to do. So again, stay far away from this until you are done with classes and in hardcore board study mode.

 

[joe6102]

I did a ton of research on this around the time I took step 1, and most people thought form 1 was the easiest, but it is also a very good predictor. Forms 3 and 4 tend to underpredict slightly, but there's not much difference.