Previous vs. Most recent NBMEs

[Dr. Edd P.]

HI IMG here. I'm worried of my present NBME. I did the latest 3 first (17, 16 then 18), the results are not spectacular but progressing.. Surprisingly when I did NBME 12, I scored down several notches but the number of errors are the least, compared to my previous tests. Now I know that it curves your score relative to other test takers but what does this mean for me? Does the real test curve like that as well? I need inputs regarding this one coz it really freaks me out. If anybody could shed light on this issue, I would be really grateful, thanks in advance..

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[Transposony]

Each NBME has a different curve and tests different subject areas.
Therefore, the curve is more forgiving on some harder NBMEs as compared to easier NBMEs.
That's why it recommended to take as many (recent) NBMEs you can afford to give you an idea of your likely score on your real test.

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

Each NBME has a different curve and tests different subject areas.
Therefore, the curve is more forgiving on some harder NBMEs as compared to easier NBMEs.
That's why it recommended to take as many (recent) NBMEs you can afford to give you an idea of your likely score on your real test.

So that means I really did bad on this once considering that NBME 12 is said to be one of the hardest NBME.. The thing is, I have already taken the more recent ones, particularly the latest 3 NBMEs, but I was not satisfied with my scores hence I took the NBME 12, planning to take 13 and 14 this next couple of weeks. You think it's still accurate predictor because I used it like that? Will it help if I calculate the percentage of my actual score? Because I did and the scores actually good, the least number of mistakes as compared to the latest 3 that I took..

 

[Transposony]

I don't think older NBMEs are as accurate predictor as the latest one's but it won't hurt to take them.
Also, try not to read too much into the predicted scores and just focus on doing your best.
They are, after all, predictors and there are many other factors in play especially on the test day e.g. the "forms" you get on your test, test anxiety etc etc

 

[OlgaW007]

So that means I really did bad on this once considering that NBME 12 is said to be one of the hardest NBME.. The thing is, I have already taken the more recent ones, particularly the latest 3 NBMEs, but I was not satisfied with my scores hence I took the NBME 12, planning to take 13 and 14 this next couple of weeks. You think it's still accurate predictor because I used it like that? Will it help if I calculate the percentage of my actual score? Because I did and the scores actually good, the least number of mistakes as compared to the latest 3 that I took..

In my opinion, what you did was a really bad idea. From my experience, only NBME 17 and 18 is somehow related to an actual test. So if you wanted to see how you will perform it would be a good thing to test yourself before the real test. The rest NBMEs will test your knowledge but not your ability to perform on an actual test. I hope it makes sense. NBME 13, 15 and 16 are good to test your knowledge but the style of the questions and the way how they asked are very different from an actual test.

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

I don't think older NBMEs are as accurate predictor as the latest one's but it won't hurt to take them.
Also, try not to read too much into the predicted scores and just focus on doing your best.
They are, after all, predictors and there are many other factors in play especially on the test day e.g. the "forms" you get on your test, test anxiety etc etc

Thank you very much for the inputs. Much appreciated

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

In my opinion, what you did was a really bad idea. From my experience, only NBME 17 and 18 is somehow related to an actual test. So if you wanted to see how you will perform it would be a good thing to test yourself before the real test. The rest NBMEs will test your knowledge but not your ability to perform on an actual test. I hope it makes sense. NBME 13, 15 and 16 are good to test your knowledge but the style of the questions and the way how they asked are very different from an actual test.

I'm startinng to see that now. I should have started with the earlier NBMEs before doing the newer ones. When you say I should test myself before the real test, do you mean I should still use NBME? Or anything else???

 

[OlgaW007]

I'm startinng to see that now. I should have started with the earlier NBMEs before doing the newer ones. When you say I should test myself before the real test, do you mean I should still use NBME? Or anything else???

If you still have uwsa2 you can use it because it's very similar to the real test. There is a also option as a practice session in prometric.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

If you still have uwsa2 you can use it because it's very similar to the real test. There is a also option as a practice session in prometric.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

thanks. By any chance, do you have any experience with the Kaplan simulation and assessment tests??

 

[blueforest]

They just released a new NBME = NBME 19 and retired NBME 12

 

[OlgaW007]

thanks. By any chance, do you have any experience with the Kaplan simulation and assessment tests??

I did not use Kaplan Qbank but I used their book with questions. From this experience I can tell that they ask a lot of details which are not going to be asked on an actual test.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[TheOther]

They just released a new NBME = NBME 19 and retired NBME 12

Damn. I should've taken 12 earlier.

 

[Surgeria]

Damn. I should've taken 12 earlier.

take it offline

 

[TheOther]

take it offline

How do I make this sorcery happen?

 

[99445]

How do I make this sorcery happen?

please add me to this sorcery

 

[Surgeria]

Just google and donwload the pdf form of the questions (form 12), frequently it will come with the answer's so you can next check for you mistakes, and then you just simply count your right answers (let's say you got 180 right out of 200). now you multiply this 180 rights by 1.4, so 180x1.4= your +- score on real deal. 1.4 is thought to be the coefficient for every right answer on nbme, of course I think it's not but it is very and very close to it. I think questions on real online nbme have their own coefficients, but multiplying by 1.4 really gives you very close correlation. Don't you know about this? The whole world is doing this, us students and all the img's ))) Maybe we break some rules, but how we are supposed to do all the retired questions except this? I am going to do 1-12 offline forms, and all online paid forms too.

 

[TheOther]

Just google and donwload the pdf form of the questions (form 12), frequently it will come with the answer's so you can next check for you mistakes, and then you just simply count your right answers (let's say you got 180 right out of 200). now you multiply this 180 rights by 1.4, so 180x1.4= your +- score on real deal. Don't you know about this? The whole world is doing this, us students and all the img's ))) Maybe we break some rules, but how we are supposed to do all the retired questions except this? I am going to do 1-12 offline forms, and all online paid forms too.

I assure you, the whole world isn't doing this haha. At least among US students. But thanks for the heads up!

 

[Anti-PD1]

I assure you, the whole world isn't doing this haha. At least among US students. But thanks for the heads up!

Agree, seems like a lot of IMG's do this. None of my friends know about these other tests.

 

[Surgeria]

This is just because us students don't have enough time to go trough offline's but I read some posts (us posts) guys who have done this. Those are retired forms 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 11,12. it's like from year 2000, 2001, 2002 and so on. Of course the old ones are slight different from the last ones, but the real exam is also different from the last nbme's as the people state. Some people state that only forms 17,18 are more-less like the real deal. So if only 17,18 are more like the real deal and the rest is not - but we take the all rest forms, why not to take all of them? I think it's a good way to train. My friend took all of them and scored 265, and I read many posts about doing all the 2800 questions, now 3000 with the nbme 19. I think 3000 nbme tests will be higher yield than kaplan for example.

 

[Major procrastinator]

In my opinion, what you did was a really bad idea. From my experience, only NBME 17 and 18 is somehow related to an actual test. So if you wanted to see how you will perform it would be a good thing to test yourself before the real test. The rest NBMEs will test your knowledge but not your ability to perform on an actual test. I hope it makes sense. NBME 13, 15 and 16 are good to test your knowledge but the style of the questions and the way how they asked are very different from an actual test.

true in regards to leavening 18 last but false that questions are very different. i took it last week and it was closest to nbme 16

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

Just google and donwload the pdf form of the questions (form 12), frequently it will come with the answer's so you can next check for you mistakes, and then you just simply count your right answers (let's say you got 180 right out of 200). now you multiply this 180 rights by 1.4, so 180x1.4= your +- score on real deal. 1.4 is thought to be the coefficient for every right answer on nbme, of course I think it's not but it is very and very close to it. I think questions on real online nbme have their own coefficients, but multiplying by 1.4 really gives you very close correlation. Don't you know about this? The whole world is doing this, us students and all the img's ))) Maybe we break some rules, but how we are supposed to do all the retired questions except this? I am going to do 1-12 offline forms, and all online paid forms too.

Question. How about the fact that each NBME test is curved differently, will this 1.4 rule apply? Because the NBME claim that their test can actually predict your score given that you sit for the test in 1-2 weeks time..

 

[Major procrastinator]

Question. How about the fact that each NBME test is curved differently, will this 1.4 rule apply? Because the NBME claim that their test can actually predict your score given that you sit for the test in 1-2 weeks time..

i wouldnt do anything offline, first of all you dont know the real answers, no matter what someone says. 2nd the whole 1.4x is an estimate and can fluctuate 10-15 points which is a lot. there are plenty of online nbmes, just stick to to those with extended feedback.

 

[underdogtohopeful]

Hey everyone, new member here.

So I am planning on taking step in about 2 weeks (13 days to be exact) and haven't really been seeing any great progress according to my NBME scores. They've actually been fluctuating and it's frustrating. Not sure if I should postpone for another week or so. I would for 2 weeks the most.
NBME 13: 184
NBME 15: 230
NBME: 17: 205
NBME 18: 215 (taken a week ago)

I plan on taking NBME 19 a week before my exam on the 3/9/17 Any suggestions or thoughts?
I should also note that I'm a US citizen FMG from SGU and have always aspired of becoming a family physician/general practitioner but I think having options in the future just in case I change my mind would be good as well (although I honestly can't imagine myself treating only one aspect of the body).

 

[Major procrastinator]

Hey everyone, new member here.

So I am planning on taking step in about 2 weeks (13 days to be exact) and haven't really been seeing any great progress according to my NBME scores. They've actually been fluctuating and it's frustrating. Not sure if I should postpone for another week or so. I would for 2 weeks the most.
NBME 13: 184
NBME 15: 230
NBME: 17: 205
NBME 18: 215 (taken a week ago)

I plan on taking NBME 19 a week before my exam on the 3/9/17 Any suggestions or thoughts?
I should also note that I'm an IMG from SGU and have always aspired of becoming a family physician/general practitioner but I think having options in the future just in case I change my mind would be good as well (although I honestly can't imagine myself treating only one aspect of the body).

focus on weakeast areas from nbme, read FA once properly along with FA2017 additions, if path is weak do pathom in 5 days, in micro is weak do sketchy in 2 days, physio do BRS, do uworld incorrect starting with weakest areas first. if you can work hard and do all this in 1 week you should see a bump, after 2 weeks when ur done with FA a little more bump. you dont need to delay you have perferct amount of time to go HAM. everything you do should be usmle til exam. of course day before relax, watch a movie and just do a light review of "memory" notes and formulas. its not bad exam. do free 120 to feel comfortable and do the tutorial! my test last week was similar to free 120 with 2-3 repeats!!! oh and make sure you review nbmes and find thr right answers yourself, a lot of very similar questions!!

p.s 215-220 is nothing to look down at. a fairly solid score and will make your 240+ on step 2ck look at much better!!!

 

[Major procrastinator]

http://freemedtube.com/

should help out

 

[underdogtohopeful]

focus on weakeast areas from nbme, read FA once properly along with FA2017 additions, if path is weak do pathom in 5 days, in micro is weak do sketchy in 2 days, physio do BRS, do uworld incorrect starting with weakest areas first. if you can work hard and do all this in 1 week you should see a bump, after 2 weeks when ur done with FA a little more bump. you dont need to delay you have perferct amount of time to go HAM. everything you do should be usmle til exam. of course day before relax, watch a movie and just do a light review of "memory" notes and formulas. its not bad exam. do free 120 to feel comfortable and do the tutorial! my test last week was similar to free 120 with 2-3 repeats!!! oh and make sure you review nbmes and find thr right answers yourself, a lot of very similar questions!!

p.s 215-220 is nothing to look down at. a fairly solid score and will make your 240+ on step 2ck look at much better!!!

Thank you for your advice! I will definitely do that. I've had consistent weak areas that I need to work on and hopefully that will make the difference. When you say go over all of UWorld incorrects (which, yes I've completed once, average was a 63%), should I actually redo the questions or just read the answers to save time?

 

[Major procrastinator]

Thank you for your advice! I will definitely do that. I've had consistent weak areas that I need to work on and hopefully that will make the difference. When you say go over all of UWorld incorrects (which, yes I've completed once, average was a 63%), should I actually redo the questions or just read the answers to save time?

if you have the time select to do wrong questions to see if your thinking has changed and you can get to the right answer and then at least know the main concept. if not just go over the answers and main concept if your low on time. i cant emphasize enough, work on what nbme says is weak. if your constantly weak in certain areas you know exactly how to do better, do not ignore it. my nbme said repro/endo and cardio after that all i had weak was anat but i chose to ignore doing anat and instead i read FA. 90% of the questions i remeber getting wrong were anatomy. my exam had atleast 20. they were not hard, straight FA recall anat but i didnt have time/listen to nbme for anat and thats my fault.

having said this if you feel you did uworld thoroughly i would still do weak subject questions and instead focus on a proper resource to build your knowledge base in those target areas and go over all nbmes. make a schedule thats maneagle and kill it. quality over quantity.

 

[Major procrastinator]

This is just because us students don't have enough time to go trough offline's but I read some posts (us posts) guys who have done this. Those are retired forms 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 11,12. it's like from year 2000, 2001, 2002 and so on. Of course the old ones are slight different from the last ones, but the real exam is also different from the last nbme's as the people state. Some people state that only forms 17,18 are more-less like the real deal. So if only 17,18 are more like the real deal and the rest is not - but we take the all rest forms, why not to take all of them? I think it's a good way to train. My friend took all of them and scored 265, and I read many posts about doing all the 2800 questions, now 3000 with the nbme 19. I think 3000 nbme tests will be higher yield than kaplan for example.

i personally think the 3000 nbme are higher yield than uworld. but thats just me and how i found my exam. you are right on. the only thing is that people would rather use uworld because you know the right answer and have explanations written for you. if you however take the time to go through each nbme question and find the right answer for yourself, aka active learning. that is gonna help you kill the exam. some people dont realize nbmes are retired step 1 questions. they even state on nbme website that questions will never be identical but can be quite similar, i found that to be very true

 

[Surgeria]

i personally think the 3000 nbme are higher yield than uworld. but thats just me and how i found my exam. you are right on. the only thing is that people would rather use uworld because you know the right answer and have explanations written for you. if you however take the time to go through each nbme question and find the right answer for yourself, aka active learning. that is gonna help you kill the exam. some people dont realize nbmes are retired step 1 questions. they even state on nbme website that questions will never be identical but can be quite similar, i found that to be very true

It's logical. For example I saw question about glucocorticoids and nf-kb in nbme form 1, and I also saw that question in nbme form 12 that came out 12 years after I guess. Nbme 1 is think was launched in 2000-2001 year, and even after so many time we see similar question in nbme form 12, in aroud 2011-2012 year. What does this mean? I think it's about the point that concepts are identical, ideas are identical, topics are identical, but the "wording" and the hardness of the question stem seems to be harder after so many years. They may directly ask you about corelation of glucos and nf-kb and inflammatory responses, or they may present you a stem with a man suffering from for example asthma and they many even not tell you that it is asthma, and you must find out that this person 1) has some inflammatory disease 2) he uses glucos 3) glucos affect nf-kb. So in my opinion of course many topics are added in the last 15 years, but major things I think are the same. So all the nbme's are gold to test your knowledge, and if you are curious about the wording and up to date style of questions, for this sake we do have nbme 19,18,17 e.t.c. I am going to kill every damn single nbme, let's see, let's see ...

 

[Dr. Edd P.]

Anybody looking for a study partner???

 

[underdogtohopeful]

if you have the time select to do wrong questions to see if your thinking has changed and you can get to the right answer and then at least know the main concept. if not just go over the answers and main concept if your low on time. i cant emphasize enough, work on what nbme says is weak. if your constantly weak in certain areas you know exactly how to do better, do not ignore it. my nbme said repro/endo and cardio after that all i had weak was anat but i chose to ignore doing anat and instead i read FA. 90% of the questions i remeber getting wrong were anatomy. my exam had atleast 20. they were not hard, straight FA recall anat but i didnt have time/listen to nbme for anat and thats my fault.

having said this if you feel you did uworld thoroughly i would still do weak subject questions and instead focus on a proper resource to build your knowledge base in those target areas and go over all nbmes. make a schedule thats maneagle and kill it. quality over quantity.

I took NBME 19 today and scored a low 207 🙁 and was pretty bummed out. Not sure if i should postpone another week and take it on the 23rd or just take the test on the 16th. i haven't been able to go through all of my uworld incorrects and still have to finish first aid thoroughly. but with the recent nbme scores i have stated for 17, 18, 19 (209, 215, 209), not really sure it'll make a difference or not. any input?