Paper/Pencil v.s. Computer MCAT

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Dr. Geoff

Mzungu
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Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone has noticed how avg. MCAT scores have increased since they switched to the computer format. Why is that? Is it because it is offered more times/year now? I was the last group to take the Paper/pencil Mcat, and when I took it my score was par, now it doesn't look so good....:confused:

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Test is shorter, for one thing. If I remember the pencil paper test well enough, my brain was basically mush by the last leg of the biological sciences segment.
 
yeah i took the aug 2006 paper test and have been wondering the same thing...
 
You think admin will see that we took the 2006 paper exam, and think diff about it? Hopefull thinking I guess.... :cool:
 
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The average score should not, and has not changed when the switch was made to computer based testing. This is because scores are based on a normal distribution, and so will follow normal z-score cut-offs.
 
The average score should not, and has not changed when the switch was made to computer based testing. This is because scores are based on a normal distribution, and so will follow normal z-score cut-offs.

And they haven't

2006 pen and paper:
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined06.pdf

2007 CBT:
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined07.pdf

The scaled score is a score based on the scores of previous and current test takers. The score is calculated so that a certain percentage of test takers get each score. The percentages always stay the same as I understand it, however the total number of people for each score might increase as more people take the test, driving up the averages for accepted students as schools have more people with higher stats to choose from.
 
Test is shorter, for one thing. If I remember the pencil paper test well enough, my brain was basically mush by the last leg of the biological sciences segment.

Very glad we don't have the original test :D However, I do wish we got the 9.5 minutes / passage in verbal that the paper test had. :( We now get 8.5 mins/passage.
 
As they said the average is the same, it is just that more people are taking it and so the number of people with those higher scores has increased. As a result, the averages of those accepted to med school is higher because.
 
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