USMLE Passing Score equal ???% of questions

[uberth]

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Maybe its just me, or it is confusing. I hear all the time about the passing scores from 80 or 179...depending on the three or the two digit number, but how can I transfer this into the actuall percentage of right answered questions? From all the questions on the test how many do I need to answer correct in order to pass and how many percent would equal a 200+?? i am greatful for any help!😕

 

[Future GI Guy]

I believe the standard quote on the USMLE website is something like, passing = 55-65% of questions correct.

Kaplan says more like 50-60%, although it's hard to know which figure is more accurate, especially since 15% of the questions you see are thrown out (as they're just establishing accuracy and precision for those questions, which may be used in the future.)

To get a 200, I'd say shoot for a 65-75%, though I'm not sure how accurate that is, either.

By the way, the passing two-digit score is always a 75, no matter what the three digit passing score becomes.

For Step I, I think it's a 181 or 182, I'm not sure.

 

[pathstudent]

my theory is this:

Your three digit score is the number of correct questions you answered out of the 300 (there are 350 questions but 50 of them are supposedly trial questions for future tests). If the passing score is 182 that would mean about 60%.