Q Regarding Scoring Formula

[78222]

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Does anyone have any insight into how they actually score the exam? I know it is normalized so that different questions have different weights depending on how people normally score on them but how does this translate into the actual score? For instance, if 75% percent of people normally answer a question correctly, it would be assumed that the question will be worth less if you get it correct than a question that 20% of people normally answer correctly. However, is the converse true? That is, if you miss a question that 75% of people normally answer correctly will it count more against you than it would if only 20% of people answered it correctly?

It probably doesn't matter much for preparation, but it would be interesting to know.

 

[werd]

this sort of topic has been discussed in previous posts. i'm unsure why you think the questions are weighted differently, or why you think the scores are normalized. as far as i know, the nbme doesn't say anything about the methods used. i don't think anyone really knows how the exam scores are calculated; personally, i think the distribution is right-skewed rather than gaussian. it's a great mystery, like non-dairy powdered creamer or the "M" icon on this post....