School stats for the NBDE

[javan287]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi guys,

Maybe I'm just not searching with the right keywords, but I can't seem to find school stats for the NBDE I/II anywhere on the web, such as average scores, pass/fail percentages for the first and second attempts for students, etc... Is the data simply not published publicly? Would I have to contact the schools I'd like to compare individually to get these stats?

Hoping I can find this online, it would make things a little more simple for me 🙂

 

[armorshell]

No school will ever release these stats, and frankly, they wouldn't be valuable in any real way.

 

[javan287]

No school will ever release these stats, and frankly, they wouldn't be valuable in any real way.

Really, you don't think so?

I know that Tufts gives a rundown of their students' performance on the board exams for the past 10 or so years, they include with the interview invite package. Why not other schools?

And don't you think it might be useful to compare how one school's students did on the NBDE exams in relation to another school? I'd sure be interested to know if half a school's students were failing their boards the first time around compared to another school with a 97% pass rate.

 

[ineedthetooth]

Really, you don't think so?

I know that Tufts gives a rundown of their students' performance on the board exams for the past 10 or so years, they include with the interview invite package. Why not other schools?

And don't you think it might be useful to compare how one school's students did on the NBDE exams in relation to another school? I'd sure be interested to know if half a school's students were failing their boards the first time around compared to another school with a 97% pass rate.

This is michigan's '09 stats for the boards:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697442

Columbia didn't disclose any of their board score stats at the interview, but I'm sure they're up there near the top. It would be nice to see a list of schools with their nbde scores, but these should not matter in your decision on which dental school you're going to.
Remember, just do your best! 🙂

 

[somethinpositiv]

Columbia didn't disclose any of their board score stats at the interview, but I'm sure they're up there near the top.

I doubt it. If they were near the top, they'd tell you during the interview.

And since it's switching to Pass/Fail anyways, what's the difference? If you fail the boards, it's your own fault, not the school's.

 

[javan287]

This is michigan's '09 stats for the boards:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697442

Columbia didn't disclose any of their board score stats at the interview, but I'm sure they're up there near the top. It would be nice to see a list of schools with their nbde scores, but these should not matter in your decision on which dental school you're going to.
Remember, just do your best! 🙂

I agree, we should all do our best on the boards. However, I would imagine that a school's average performance on the boards might say something about how well the school prepares its students to take the boards.

 

[anschutz1913]

All the schools i interviewed at threw the pass rates of I & II around like hotcakes. I think it attests to the strong preparation and curriculum of a program. If they aren't "good," then why the secrecy?

 

[armorshell]

I agree, we should all do our best on the boards. However, I would imagine that a school's average performance on the boards might say something about how well the school prepares its students to take the boards.

Problem is that there's a large amount of variation in the dynamics of dental schools classes in: the type of student a school attracts, the academic capabilities of said students,even the quality of students in a single class. Note none of these necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the education the school provides.

 

[fourrings]

well considering every single school has the same end purpose (preparing its students to become dentists) i would imagine that regardless of the variability of the class and the students, it's still a reflection on the school if they have strong passing rates or poor passing rates. you can't just shrug off board passing rates as "not valuable at all."

PLUS...like someone else mentioned before, the fact that some schools openly publicize it and others don't shows that schools themselves view it as a type of reflection on themselves.

of course i know in the end, the responsibility lies with the students themselves to pass, but each school obviously has a hand in that result as well.

to the OP...sorry, i dont know of any site that compiles all that information, although that would be interesting to see =]

 

[armorshell]

well considering every single school has the same end purpose (preparing its students to become dentists) i would imagine that regardless of the variability of the class and the students, it's still a reflection on the school if they have strong passing rates or poor passing rates. you can't just shrug off board passing rates as "not valuable at all."

As I mentioned above, inability to pass boards a low passing rate is likely more telling about the admissions process than it is about the actual education received. There's a fair amount of scholarly research in the statistics and education literature to support this as well. Look up the works of Krueger and Dale, or Levitt's work with the Chicago public school system to educate yourself about education. Long story short, you're infinitely more important than your school.