Paragraph missing in MCAT bio section today

[aspringDoc3243]

I took my MCAT today and there were entire passage missing. I raised my hand the proctor saw that and gave me an option to leave or continue or reschedule. I asked how it impact scoring and the lady did not know the answer.

I was not anticipating this and in the moment just chose to continue.

Has anyone experienced like this?

Thank You!

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[Serendipitykitcat]

I took my MCAT today and there were entire passage missing. I raised my hand the proctor saw that and gave me an option to leave or continue or reschedule. I asked how it impact scoring and the lady did not know the answer.

I was not anticipating this and in the moment just chose to continue.

Has anyone experienced like this?

Thank You!

Almost everybody in my testing center experienced a missing paragraph. It was a different paragraph for everybody. Very frustrating!

 

[aspringDoc3243]

Anyone knows how AAMC would handle such situation? Has this ever happened before?

 

[Serendipitykitcat]

I have no idea. I am trying to look up a mechanism to report the issue after the fact. The proctor noted the issue but didn't give me a case number or anything to use for a follow up.

 

[pierty]

It's likely that these passages were part of experimental sections (they tend to go through fewer edits), which means that they were not counted in your final score. It happens to the NBME as well for step exam questions.

You shouldn't worry excessively about it. You should report it, but it likely will not affect you or the others who took the exam with the omitted passages, and they likely already know of the problem.

 

[Serendipitykitcat]

It's likely that these passages were part of experimental sections (they tend to go through fewer edits), which means that they were not counted in your final score. It happens to the NBME as well for step exam questions.

You shouldn't worry excessively about it. You should report it, but it likely will not affect you or the others who took the exam with the omitted passages, and they likely already know of the problem.

Thank you for the reassurance! I don't think it was experimental because the passage and questions were invisible. All you could do is pick answers randomly that you could not see. There were 4 questions that were invisible for me resulting in 4 less questions in the BB section. I realize there is nothing I can do. I just submitted a report through the AAMC website. Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

 

[wysdoc]

I have no idea. I am trying to look up a mechanism to report the issue after the fact. The proctor noted the issue but didn't give me a case number or anything to use for a follow up.

It's hard to find an exact route to report this type of test day irregularity
Try this MCAT "contact us" form.
Give the date, exact name of testing center, what you noticed, and what the proctor's response was, if any.
Contact the MCAT® Program

 

[Serendipitykitcat]

It's hard to find an exact route to report this type of test day irregularity
Try this MCAT "contact us" form.
Give the date, exact name of testing center, what you noticed, and what the proctor's response was, if any.
Contact the MCAT® Program

Thank you!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

See page 32 of the MCAT Essentials on reporting the issue to the test center manager immediately to submit a case report, and a service request in the MCAT registration system. "Reporting a Test Center Concern."

Note the importance of confidentiality for the content of the affected passage and associated questions.

 

[Serendipitykitcat]

See page 32 of the MCAT Essentials on reporting the issue to the test center manager immediately to submit a case report, and a service request in the MCAT registration system. "Reporting a Test Center Concern."

Note the importance of confidentiality for the content of the affected passage and associated questions.

Thank you for the information!! I used the "report test center concern" functionality and finally got a case number. Just trying to relax and tell myself it will sort itself out. In the big scheme of things, there are worse things to happen. I hope the AAMC will be transparent in acknowledging the issue and how they intend to address it. I kept my cool for the most part during the exam, but I can see situations in which the stress can impact somebody's performance on the remaining questions.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the information!! I used the "report test center concern" functionality and finally got a case number. Just trying to relax and tell myself it will sort itself out. In the big scheme of things, there are worse things to happen. I hope the AAMC will be transparent in acknowledging the issue and how they intend to address it. I kept my cool for the most part during the exam, but I can see situations in which the stress can impact somebody's performance on the remaining questions.

They should be able to figure out what happened. Then they should reach out with some options for make-up test dates if all goes well.

 

[bladelores_302]

They should be able to figure out what happened. Then they should reach out with some options for make-up test dates if all goes well.

So does this mean that everyone who had the missing questions will have to retake the entire test?

 

[Serendipitykitcat]

So does this mean that everyone who had the missing questions will have to retake the entire test?

I think that remains to be seen but it is one possibility. It is too early to speculate. Let's just see if AAMC comes out with a statement addressing the issue. Honestly if it was a breach where they had to invalidate some questions, it would have been better handled by not pointing it out during the test and letting people answer the suspected questions and then invalidate those particular answers and correct for them afterwards with a scale. This was very chaotic, and resulted in different centers handling the issue in different ways. I am going to try to put this behind me and just focus on what I can control.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I think that remains to be seen but it is one possibility. It is too early to speculate. Let's just see if AAMC comes out with a statement addressing the issue. Honestly if it was a breach where they had to invalidate some questions, it would have been better handled by not pointing it out during the test and letting people answer the suspected questions and then invalidate those particular answers and correct for them afterwards with a scale. This was very chaotic, and resulted in different centers handling the issue in different ways. I am going to try to put this behind me and just focus on what I can control.

Not sure I would expect a "statement." I think they will communicate with anyone affected and offer alternatives. I can't recall how they have dealt with similar issues in the past.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

This issue has been reported among the health professions advisors. Hopefully you will get some follow-up.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

In an email to examinees affected, the MCAT team disclosed that the problematic section would not affect the overall scores as it impacted an experimental section (field testing for possible inclusion into a future exam so they were not intended to be scored in the first place).

From the MCAT team to advisors (with some edits):

Dear Advisors,

I wanted to follow up on the conversation about the technical issue some students experienced in the April 13 MCAT administration and how we are supporting them.

A rare anomaly occurred during the April 13th exam administration where a technical issue caused several questions in one section of the MCAT exam to not properly display to examinees. This technical issue affected some but not all examinees. The improperly displayed questions were not intended to be scored and will not impact examinees' scores (each section of the exam includes some questions being considered for future use that do not count towards the score). 

... We apologized to examinees who experienced this technical issue and offered options, including the opportunity to keep their scores, or void them and reschedule their exams at no cost. 

We know that April is a busy testing month, and we are taking steps to ensure the issue is corrected. We are working with impacted examinees this week to support them through the testing process and will address any additional concerns they might have. 

If you have a student who was impacted and has not received an email or been contacted by us, please have them reach out to us as soon as possible at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Jennifer Antonio
Senior Director MCAT Business Operations

 

[jayam1947]

I found this in one of facebook pages: