Recent CK test takers after question pool change

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njmedstudent973

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I was wondering from anyone who recently wrote CK after the question pool changed if they found it still comparable to UWORLD questions and NBMES that are out there as far level of difficulty and score goes or was the level of difficulty/score far off? It's like everyone who wrote it before would say CK was a lot easier than Step 1 and now everyone who writes it is like wtf was that?! 😱
 
I was wondering from anyone who recently wrote CK after the question pool changed if they found it still comparable to UWORLD questions and NBMES that are out there as far level of difficulty and score goes or was the level of difficulty/score far off? It's like everyone who wrote it before would say CK was a lot easier than Step 1 and now everyone who writes it is like wtf was that?! 😱

It was like uworld but the many of the questions required more critical thinking skills imo. However, I serious doubt my test percent is much/any lower than my uworld percent because there were several gimmes on the test.

Mine was nothing like the nbme. I took nbme 4 and found it pretty easy compared to uworld. This test was definitely harder than nbme 4.

Nobody in the new pool will get their results until late september....but the average shouldn't drop just because there are new questions.
 
FYI they add new items to the question pool every single year. Every single year people read the cryptic USMLE announcements and freak out on SDN. I don't see any reason as to why this year is some how special.
 
It's special cause the minimum passing score is a 203 now. :naughty:

I felt like it was way harder than UW, NBME or UWSA.

Just doing UW, would absolutely not be enough, unless UW modifies their own pool - but right now they are behind.

I had a question where they spoke as if the person had 8 limbs: "upper & lower extremities, and upper & lower extremities".

Then I had another where I was about to up and leave. They spoke about IV cocaine. 😕 I live close enough to Bmore to know my **** but IV cocaine, that is way to G. I had to write it out on my markerboard just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating when I saw it.
 
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It's special cause the minimum passing score is a 203 now. :naughty:

I felt like it was way harder than UW, NBME or UWSA.

Just doing UW, would absolutely not be enough, unless UW modifies their own pool - but right now they are behind.

I had a question where they spoke as if the person had 8 limbs: "upper & lower extremities, and upper & lower extremities".

Then I had another where I was about to up and leave. They spoke about IV cocaine. 😕 I live close enough to Bmore to know my **** but IV cocaine, that is way to G. I had to write it out on my markerboard just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating when I saw it.

I appreciate ur posts cdi but this one is jus goin to scare people. Uworld nof enough all of. Sudden? Uworld has more info in it than any of the review books I encountered. So are all the review books now obsolete? I kno the exam is tough but posts like this make it seem like thrs all this new exam content. Hope u did welll though n I do appreciate ur posts
 
It's special cause the minimum passing score is a 203 now. :naughty:

I felt like it was way harder than UW, NBME or UWSA.

Just doing UW, would absolutely not be enough, unless UW modifies their own pool - but right now they are behind.

I had a question where they spoke as if the person had 8 limbs: "upper & lower extremities, and upper & lower extremities".

Then I had another where I was about to up and leave. They spoke about IV cocaine. 😕 I live close enough to Bmore to know my **** but IV cocaine, that is way to G. I had to write it out on my markerboard just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating when I saw it.

I don't doubt this at all... I remember everyone saying step 1 was just like UWorld. I took it shortly after a big change they made, just like I'll be doing this time (of course :scared:) And the step 1 was worlds away harder than UWorld or the NBMEs were.

I remember walking away in an utter state of shock.

Granted I still scored comparable to my NBMEs (because if you think it's ridiculously hard, so does everyone else... it's not like they are getting different questions than you.)

I think one good thing about the NBMEs is that they favor those with critical thinking ability... In house exams and NBMEs favor people who can memorize a billion tiny facts.
 
I appreciate ur posts cdi but this one is jus goin to scare people. Uworld nof enough all of. Sudden? Uworld has more info in it than any of the review books I encountered. So are all the review books now obsolete? I kno the exam is tough but posts like this make it seem like thrs all this new exam content. Hope u did welll though n I do appreciate ur posts

I'm calling it how I saw it, I get nothing out of scaring internet strangers. Going back through UW would not have netted me much more, IMO. I gave a very fair and honest assessment of Step 1 and how every second with FA is time well spent, and I'm not even a 240+ scorer. I can't say the same with UW for CK, which is upsetting cause I was a big advocate for the UW-heavy method.

I was scoring low 70s by the time I walked into this one. There was way more critical thinking being used than I expected and it felt set up in a way where they don't want you to finish in the alotted time. I really think the true prep for this is excelling in your shelfs in your 3rd yr. Unfortunately my 3rd, 4th yr finished in 2010 & 2011...so it had been a while.

By the time I hit the 6th or 7th block, I would be forced to read vignettes 15 lines deep with random vitals, then labs, and answer in under 30-45 seconds.

Its bad cause you think, okay a long vignette, the next few will be shorter or have some gimmes...nope, not like Step 1 at all in that regard. At one point late in a block, I had to pull an audible, and just clicked at random on two questions in a series with the ads/studies, didn't even read the stem. Ive never done that in my life before, and I never considered myself a bad test-taker. They had me running for the hills though...
 
Thnks for ur feedback always cdi. Hopefully ur score will come bak betr than what u think. When u said u were scoring low 70s uworld was tht on ur first pass ?
 
I took CK on 8/1, along with several of my classmates.

On UWorld, I was scoring in the mid 60s (on the first time through - on the way through the 2nd time I was in the high 70s), with plenty of time to spare in each question block. Same for the nbme exams - time was NOT a problem for me.

However, Step 2 kind of threw me for a loop. I was VERY pressed for time. I think its because many of the vignettes were SO long. I consider myself a fast test-taker, too.

As far as content, I also thought the questions were much harder than UW or the nbme forms (I took forms 4 and 6). I felt terrible walking out of that test. Felt like I had been lied to: Isn't Step 2 supposed to be somewhat easier to prepare for than Step 1? I didn't feel like I prepared well.

So I'm basically agreeing with CDI totally. All my classmates I talked to about it agreed. We walked out like "WTF was that?!" At least its standardized.
 
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I agree with tatchley and CDI. I took the exam a couple days ago, and it felt a lot harder than UW and NBME. After the first block, I was kind of flustered because I felt unprepared. The biostats questions were also weird. There were 5 calculations, and I guessed on all 5 because I never got a number that matched the answer choices haha.... UW was still by far the most valuable resource for my prep. MTB2 was mediocre at best.

It may be that my prep wasn't adequate. I studied for 4 weeks, but I was on rotation the entire time. So, I essentially studied for 3 hours/day...maybe 4 hours on better days.
 
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I appreciate all the feedback everyone. I take my exam soon, and am heavily putting time in UWORLD. The questions that seem WTF to you guys, were they in any review material like UWORLD, MTBs, ect? Because if its not , then I dont see how anyone can prepare for these types of questions. What percent of content was in UWORLD? was it atleast 80%?
 
I appreciate all the feedback everyone. I take my exam soon, and am heavily putting time in UWORLD. The questions that seem WTF to you guys, were they in any review material like UWORLD, MTBs, ect? Because if its not , then I dont see how anyone can prepare for these types of questions. What percent of content was in UWORLD? was it atleast 80%?

Yes.

Other questions are from left field. If you memorized everything on uptodate you would get them but they are simply not in review books.
 
I took the test recently and agree with the posts by Ilovewarer, tatchley, and CDI. Questions trickier and longer than UW and NBME. I definitely felt challenged for the test, secondary to a harder test and being less aggressive about prep compared to Step 1. There are some high scores from the July testers, so I'm curious how the August testers score.
 
I appreciate all the feedback everyone. I take my exam soon, and am heavily putting time in UWORLD. The questions that seem WTF to you guys, were they in any review material like UWORLD, MTBs, ect? Because if its not , then I dont see how anyone can prepare for these types of questions. What percent of content was in UWORLD? was it atleast 80%?

Based on the exam I got, I would say significantly less was covered in UW than 80%. Maybe I got one of those anomaly exams - but based on others responses, I'm not sure. You could say that 80% of Step 1 was found in FA; but definitely not about UW for CK (at least not what I faced).

The exam is set up to rattle you right off the bat - which is tough to recover from. I really think UW is just now a step behind. We won't know till we see August scores though. I'm just more disappointed because I know even if people get decent scores, it'll be due to a ridiculously generous curve from a tough question pool and not because they really studied well - that includes me. I felt decently prepared going in, more so than Step 1, but coming out - I feel like I didn't prepare well at all. Worst part is, I'm not even sure HOW to prepare other than recommend those in 3rd year to just buckle down. Bottom line, I would much rather feel confident about earning my score, than just some random score be dished out cause no one did well...and neither did I.
 
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Out of curiosity, does this happen every year (the score delay and changing questions)? I am looking for the announcement for 2012 and haven't found it.

AFAIK it did happen last year as well.

Did anyone notice that they've updated the Free 150 for Step 2? The announcement says heart sounds may have 4 or 6 clickable regions (maybe carotid and neo-aortic?). I can't be bothered to download and check it out since I'm done, so I thought I might as well unnecessarily stoke the flames.
 
AFAIK it did happen last year as well.

Did anyone notice that they've updated the Free 150 for Step 2? The announcement says heart sounds may have 4 or 6 clickable regions (maybe carotid and neo-aortic?). I can't be bothered to download and check it out since I'm done, so I thought I might as well unnecessarily stoke the flames.

:laugh:
 
I took the test recently and agree with the posts by Ilovewarer, tatchley, and CDI. Questions trickier and longer than UW and NBME. I definitely felt challenged for the test, secondary to a harder test and being less aggressive about prep compared to Step 1. There are some high scores from the July testers, so I'm curious how the August testers score.

Based off everyone's post (and I guess I took it before the question change when I took it on 07/15), the average may drop slightly fromt he insane 237 it was when I took it.
 
Based off everyone's post (and I guess I took it before the question change when I took it on 07/15), the average may drop slightly fromt he insane 237 it was when I took it.

Shouldn't...the test is built so if you took it in 1993 or 2013 your score is a reproducible. Harder questions just mean the curve is more generous but your score is identical.

The average is higher simply because we are the smartest generation to ever take the test. Period.

Which may sound egotistical but think about it logically. Entry into med school has never been harder and matching into competitive specialties has never been harder.

Maybe in a decade the national average will be 250 or 260?
 
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Shouldn't...the test is built so if you took it in 1993 or 2013 your score is a reproducible. Harder questions just mean the curve is more generous but your score is identical.

The average is higher simply because we are the smartest generation to ever take the test. Period.

Which may sound egotistical but think about it logically. Entry into med school has never been harder and matching into competitive specialties has never been harder.

Maybe in a decade the national average will be 250 or 260?

I would'nt go so far as to say you're the smartest generation to ever take the test.

Each year the amount of study programs/material that is available gets better and better and the market for USMLE test prep becomes more lucrative. 10 years ago there was no such thing as DIT, Pathoma, Master the Boards, UWORLD Gunner training etc. They relied solely on First AID which was probably about half the thickness that it is today. The prep material gets better and better just as it does with the MCAT etc. This drives the average score up.
 
I would'nt go so far as to say you're the smartest generation to ever take the test.

Each year the amount of study programs/material that is available gets better and better and the market for USMLE test prep becomes more lucrative. 10 years ago there was no such thing as DIT, Pathoma, Master the Boards, UWORLD Gunner training etc. They relied solely on First AID which was probably about half the thickness that it is today. The prep material gets better and better just as it does with the MCAT etc. This drives the average score up.

Prep material gets better to compensate for the ridiculous volume of material we are tested from.
 
I would'nt go so far as to say you're the smartest generation to ever take the test.

Each year the amount of study programs/material that is available gets better and better and the market for USMLE test prep becomes more lucrative. 10 years ago there was no such thing as DIT, Pathoma, Master the Boards, UWORLD Gunner training etc. They relied solely on First AID which was probably about half the thickness that it is today. The prep material gets better and better just as it does with the MCAT etc. This drives the average score up.

IQ goes up each generation. By IQ we are the smartest.

I agree there is better prep...but there is competition now that just didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago. According to several older attending they 'just choose' whatever they thought was interesting.

Also as CDI points out...what was a pharm class like 20 years ago? Or imagine genetics not even existing as a subject.
 
IQ goes up each generation. By IQ we are the smartest.

I agree there is better prep...but there is competition now that just didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago. According to several older attending they 'just choose' whatever they thought was interesting.

Also as CDI points out...what was a pharm class like 20 years ago? Or imagine genetics not even existing as a subject.

Fair point. Would be unfortunate if the average dropped after this new set of tests b/c the people who took it later would be screwed.
 
To be fair, if you read posts from June and July, everyone was saying that the test was harder than UWorld and the stems were longer
 
IQ goes up each generation. By IQ we are the smartest.

I agree there is better prep...but there is competition now that just didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago. According to several older attending they 'just choose' whatever they thought was interesting.

Also as CDI points out...what was a pharm class like 20 years ago? Or imagine genetics not even existing as a subject.

I'm freaking old (like +20 years on most of you) so I'm screwed. lol

Anyhow, I don't know about the test pool changing after the 27th. I took it on the 25th and found it VERY hard. It seemed like only my friends who took it really early in July felt it was straight forward. Scores tomorrow so I guess I can let you know then. I'm assuming if the average doesn't say in the 230's, we'll know they are using a different scale??
 
I'm freaking old (like +20 years on most of you) so I'm screwed. lol

Anyhow, I don't know about the test pool changing after the 27th. I took it on the 25th and found it VERY hard. It seemed like only my friends who took it really early in July felt it was straight forward. Scores tomorrow so I guess I can let you know then. I'm assuming if the average doesn't say in the 230's, we'll know they are using a different scale??

They control the average score, so I'd expect it to stay in the 237-240 range.
 
I think even with the new question pool that they added... It shouldn't really matter. The scores will be same comparable to the people last year.. the year before.. 10 years ago and such. If the exam gets harder, that means everyone is taking a harder exam and the scores will adapt to fit it.

I took my exam on July 29th and it was a hard exam! But the only comfort i can get is everyone is doing the same exam as well.

So i wouldn't worry about this whole question pool change. It happens every year. The average is still going to be 237 or around that range. The only real thing that changed is that the passing scores went from 196 to 203 this year.
 
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They control the average score, so I'd expect it to stay in the 237-240 range.

Where'd you get that from? The avg. usmle scores have been going up over the past few decades because people have been doing better on them, not because they have made the questions easier to make the scores higher. It is not a curved test. Students just prepare more for this test now than they used to. Makes sense that the questions will get harder as time goes by with every question pool change.
 
Where'd you get that from? The avg. usmle scores have been going up over the past few decades because people have been doing better on them, not because they have made the questions easier to make the scores higher. It is not a curved test. Students just prepare more for this test now than they used to. Makes sense that the questions will get harder as time goes by with every question pool change.

Wot.
 
Where'd you get that from? The avg. usmle scores have been going up over the past few decades because people have been doing better on them, not because they have made the questions easier to make the scores higher. It is not a curved test. Students just prepare more for this test now than they used to. Makes sense that the questions will get harder as time goes by with every question pool change.

This. Step 2 average wasn't always 10+ points higher than step 1.
 
Just took it yesterday. Walk to my car afterwards was brutal. Guessing left and right. Pressed for time. 2-3 blocks may have been like uWorld. There are some gimmies but most of the questions you can never be sure of. You really had to think about a lot of the questions. I feel like even though its standardized test, its going to disproportionately hurt the ppl who are bad guessers like myself. The people who are good test takers are going to do well regardless :scared:
 
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They control the average score, so I'd expect it to stay in the 237-240 range.

They don't control the average score. I understand the concern about the USMLEs transparency, but lets not make it out as if they're actively depressing scores.

They obviously like to maintain a strict range but it depends on examinees and whatever scores they have. Not to mention any given number of people can score any score on the Step at any time. It's not a curve.
 
They don't control the average score. I understand the concern about the USMLEs transparency, but lets not make it out as if they're actively depressing scores.

They obviously like to maintain a strict range but it depends on examinees and whatever scores they have. Not to mention any given number of people can score any score on the Step at any time. It's not a curve.

As long as their scoring methods stay secretive, your guess (and it is a guess) is just as good as mine.

They control the testing pool, and indirectly control the averages / outcomes afterwards. They fix it one way or another so there's a good distribution. Explain why else it takes 3 weeks to get a score report back if they don't curve it.

Haven't you heard they also ding 10 points off of IMG scores. :naughty:
 
As long as their scoring methods stay secretive, your guess (and it is a guess) is just as good as mine.

They control the testing pool, and indirectly control the averages / outcomes afterwards. They fix it one way or another so there's a good distribution. Explain why else it takes 3 weeks to get a score report back if they don't curve it.

Haven't you heard they also ding 10 points off of IMG scores. :naughty:

Whatever they do to keep scoring consistent with a changing question bank is beyond my biostats knowledge.
 
Yes I will say that there were def some challenging questions. My blocks 3-5 were insane. I also found that if the block had fewer questions they were harder. Timing was def an issue as well. Read thoroughly and quickly. I'd say MTB and uworld were enough. the stuff they ask you beyond that you probably won't know anyway. Biostats was ok. I mean they did have some simple sens and spec but those damn drug adds can kick rocks w/ an open toe shoe! seriously save those for the end before wasting all that time reading that mess. I guessed on the difficult drug add quest and still got 250 +,
 
So in the opinion of those who have taken the new test... what is so hard about it?

Are they asking tons of management questions you weren't expecting or what could it possibly be? I really can't fathom what could be so difficult?

Is it impossible diagnosis they are asking? Esoteric treatments or diagnostic tests? Odd associations of disease? What could it possibly be?

Everyone is saying it's so freaking hard, but not saying any particular reason why? Except for the fact that the questions are very long.
 
It's just a bunch of neurotic SDNers. They all said the samething after Step 1. And if you haven't noticed, this entire thread is basically the same few ppl posting over and over again.

It's how the cycle works. Take test, freak out, get score and get what was expected, relieved, then the next batch of students enters the cycle.
 
It's just a bunch of neurotic SDNers. They all said the samething after Step 1. And if you haven't noticed, this entire thread is basically the same few ppl posting over and over again.

It's how the cycle works. Take test, freak out, get score and get what was expected, relieved, then the next batch of students enters the cycle.


I don't know... I'm usually the most neurotic out of everyone. On step 1 the SDNers were saying "Ohhh Le Fuffff" that test was so easy... it was just like UWorld blah blah... then I go in and take it and walked out nearly in tears.

Again, I will say I performed at the same level as my NBME (230) nonetheless I though it was super hard!

Now everyone is making it sound like this test is the Navy Seal pool test. I don't care if the test is hard, it's going to be hard for everyone. I would like to know what's coming though... I just don't understand what kind of questions they are asking that everyone is freaking out about.
 
I don't know... I'm usually the most neurotic out of everyone. On step 1 the SDNers were saying "Ohhh Le Fuffff" that test was so easy... it was just like UWorld blah blah... then I go in and take it and walked out nearly in tears.

Again, I will say I performed at the same level as my NBME (230) nonetheless I though it was super hard!

Now everyone is making it sound like this test is the Navy Seal pool test. I don't care if the test is hard, it's going to be hard for everyone. I would like to know what's coming though... I just don't understand what kind of questions they are asking that everyone is freaking out about.

No, just no. Samething as Step 1 cycle. Period. Move on.
 
It's just a bunch of neurotic SDNers. They all said the samething after Step 1. And if you haven't noticed, this entire thread is basically the same few ppl posting over and over again.
I'm hurt. You know, a thread of conversation usually involves "the same few ppl posting over and over again" because they're, well, responding to each other's posts.

P.S: I don't disagree with it being a cycle. It only takes a few "longer" and "harder" questions to turn people against the test.
 
So in the opinion of those who have taken the new test... what is so hard about it?

Are they asking tons of management questions you weren't expecting or what could it possibly be? I really can't fathom what could be so difficult?

Is it impossible diagnosis they are asking? Esoteric treatments or diagnostic tests? Odd associations of disease? What could it possibly be?

Everyone is saying it's so freaking hard, but not saying any particular reason why? Except for the fact that the questions are very long.

Well, I can't put my finger on it exactly... but here's a couple things:

1) Unlike UWorld and NBME, reading the last sentence rarely gave any significant clues about what to look for in the body of the question. And there was so much extraneous info, teasing out the pertinent data was tough.

2) The presentations were much more vague forcing me to eliminate answer choices vs. knowing what to pick without even looking at the others.

3) There was stuff I simply did not know and don't ever recall it being mentioned for step 1 or 2 in Uworld, NBMEs, or my shelf exams. Weird crap.. looking for mechanisms of disease that were completely unfamiliar or giving you answer choices that were so similar that you weren't sure were they were going with question.

4) The extra hour (and testing center equipment problems, yet AGAIN... which thankfully only dug into my "break" time) was a major issue as fatigue set in.

So, that's why I personally felt this test was so hard. Others can feel free to comment on their experience.
 
Well, I can't put my finger on it exactly... but here's a couple things:

1) Unlike UWorld and NBME, reading the last sentence rarely gave any significant clues about what to look for in the body of the question. And there was so much extraneous info, teasing out the pertinent data was tough.

2) The presentations were much more vague forcing me to eliminate answer choices vs. knowing what to pick without even looking at the others.

3) There was stuff I simply did not know and don't ever recall it being mentioned for step 1 or 2 in Uworld, NBMEs, or my shelf exams. Weird crap.. looking for mechanisms of disease that were completely unfamiliar or giving you answer choices that were so similar that you weren't sure were they were going with question.

4) The extra hour (and testing center equipment problems, yet AGAIN... which thankfully only dug into my "break" time) was a major issue as fatigue set in.

So, that's why I personally felt this test was so hard. Others can feel free to comment on their experience.

+1

There was some really tricky stuff.

I thought the public health/quality improvement type questions were tricky. While some were common sense others were difficult. Especially when all seemed like good ideas and you saw all of them being done third year.
 
I still can't believe I got a question talking about IV cocaine.

I know it's jarring to see something so unfamiliar pop up on a test, but I'll venture a guess and say that the point of the question was probably to see if you could apply what you know to a novel situation, not to see if you had memorized when and what IV cocaine is used for. E.g.

step 1-recall properties of cocaine (blocks reuptake of catecholamines and dopamine, vasoconstricts, blocks sodium channels and peripheral nerve conduction i.e. same mechanism as lidocaine)
step 2- apply what you know about cocaine to clinical situation at hand
step 3- ???
step 4- profit!

I had plenty of WTF questions too and I took my exam prior to the July 27th question pool change. My WTF questions were often like this; you have to take what you know and do the best you can with it to think through a weird situation you've never seen before. The WTF questions make you feel like you didn't do so well because you aren't 100% sure that you got all the answers right. All I can say is trust your practice tests.

As for other WTF questions, I too had weirdo public health/quality improvement questions...I had questions that seemed so vague and I was down to eliminating answer choices rather than knowing the diagnosis right off the bat in many instances. You feel like you're relying more on your intuition on step 2 and because of that, you feel less confident. This feeling is not unique to people who took the test after July 27th. Uworld and MTB/etc don't fully capture the content of what you actually see on test day; they never have and they never will.
 
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