- Joined
- Jun 10, 2016
- Messages
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- Reaction score
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What's some people's opinion on score creep currently (also, @Neuronix)? Will it still be as large a problem from 2018 to 2024 as it's been for the last decade? It's got to plateau at some point right -- hopefully at 229. Hopefully it doesn't rise another 8 points in five years (like 2009-2014).
It's not a primary concern during MD/PhD training obviously, but it does help to be aware of it so that expectations meet reality when it comes time for choosing a specialty and for residency applications.
For reference:
Year Mean Score Standard Deviation
2015 229 20
2014 229 20
2013 228 21
2012 227 22
2011 225 22
2010 222 24
2009 221 24
2008 221 23
A point of note: Standard deviation is going down slightly, indicating the difference between the same two high scores from different years is less than the difference between the same two near average scores from those different years (i.e a 260 in 2014 is more similar to a 260 in 2009 than a 221 in 2014 to a 221 in 2009. i.e. the difference between scores at one standard deviation in 2014 and 2009 is 4 (249-245), which is half the difference between scores at the average in 2014 and 2009 (229-221 = 8).)
Also in other words, if you score very high, you have less to worry about score creep than if you score closer to average for your year. If you score one standard deviation above average, a change of 8 for the average is more realistically a change of 4 for you.
It's not a primary concern during MD/PhD training obviously, but it does help to be aware of it so that expectations meet reality when it comes time for choosing a specialty and for residency applications.
For reference:
Year Mean Score Standard Deviation
2015 229 20
2014 229 20
2013 228 21
2012 227 22
2011 225 22
2010 222 24
2009 221 24
2008 221 23
A point of note: Standard deviation is going down slightly, indicating the difference between the same two high scores from different years is less than the difference between the same two near average scores from those different years (i.e a 260 in 2014 is more similar to a 260 in 2009 than a 221 in 2014 to a 221 in 2009. i.e. the difference between scores at one standard deviation in 2014 and 2009 is 4 (249-245), which is half the difference between scores at the average in 2014 and 2009 (229-221 = 8).)
Also in other words, if you score very high, you have less to worry about score creep than if you score closer to average for your year. If you score one standard deviation above average, a change of 8 for the average is more realistically a change of 4 for you.
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