QBank exposed...

[Idiopathic]

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...as a horrible predictor of Step 1 success, but a great learning tool? I think so.

 

[bigfrank]

I found it to be a pretty good predictor. A little too detail-oriented, but a great review of pathophysiology processes.

 

[Stinger86]

...as a horrible predictor of Step 1 success, but a great learning tool?

My vote rests with the former

 

[Cristagali]

Anybody scoring 70% + on Q-bank will pass...maybe only a 182, but they'll pass. So in that sense, it can be somewhat of a predictor, But not as good as NBME...as I've been told. 😱

 

[Idiopathic]

Yeah, but I have seen about a 60 point score difference among people scoring 68-75% on QBank. That is not a very good predictor of quantitative success, while it may be a good passing indicator.

 

[barone ROCKS]

idio i think the problem is that not everyone takes qbank the same way. some people dont randomize it, some take it on tutorial mode and answer questions after checking the answer because thats what they would have put. honestly i think if its totally randomized no repeats its fairly accurate. i have found that 65 is about 230 from reading student doctor and friends

 

[AlexRusso]

based on the data posted on this site (70 people):

R-squared for Qbank vs. Step 1 = .5173
R-squared for NBME vs. Step 1 = .7788

make what you want of it

 

[DistantMets]

I think you also have to look at how much of the Q-bank you complete when you're doing no repeats. Once you get so far into it you've exhausted diciplines like cell bio, biostats, or embryo so your 50 questions end up being mostly path, pharm, micro, etc...stuff that people are usually stronger in. Its not really random anymore and the final average doesn't really mean much, because it should go up for most people. So if you did 60% of the q-bank over the last 2 weeks, your average might be lower than someone who did 100% of it over 4 weeks, but you could get the same score on test day. The q-bank really should be used to monitor your progress over time. Is your average going up each week? Are you bombing a high-yield area? If you sit down and take a reputable practice test a couple days before it should definately be a better predictor. It would be cool if the Q-bank set aside 300 questions that they considered a represenative USMLE that you could take when you felt like you were ready.