Step II Weird step 2 score (225/98)

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mikeamark

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Can someone tell me why I've seen other two digit scores of 98 that correspond to a three digit score of around 240 while my 98 was only a 225? Does the conversion from a three digit to a two digit score vary from test to test or something? Also I got a 225 on the step 1 and that was a 94. So how do they calculate the two digit scores?
 
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The logic of the two-digit score is one of the great mysteries of life. It seems like this year, the minimum score to get a 99 is nice and low. Good news for anyone who applies to a place where the PD thinks the 2-digit score is a percentile, I'd say.
 
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Yes, the score report said the average three digit was 229 but didn't give an average for the two digit. So I guess the average for the two digit would be a 99 if my 225 was a 98?

Another weird thing about the score report is it said "do not compare this to other step II test administrations." I thought the whole point is to compare it to other step II's.
 
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mikeamark said:
Yes, the score report said the average three digit was 229 but didn't give an average for the two digit. So I guess the average for the two digit would be a 99 if my 225 was a 98?

Another weird thing about the score report is it said "do not compare this to other step II test administrations." I thought the whole point is to compare it to other step II's.
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They always did not like that the usmle scores are used to compare applicants given that they are supposed to be for licensure purposes only. Personally, I think that they are trying to create a good passing range either to combine both steps 1/2 or make the exams pass/no pass (which the latter set of scores is suggesting). The pass range was moved up to 189 and the average is now 229/99.
 
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lord_jeebus said:
Did it say that about the 3-digit score (that would be news), or the 2-digit score (how it's always been)?
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It said that at the end of the report after all the bars showing how I did in individual sections. I don't know if it was referring to the whole report or just the section with the bars.
 
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lord_jeebus said:
Did it say that about the 3-digit score (that would be news), or the 2-digit score (how it's always been)?
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It's actually not specified which score they are talking about in the score reports. They put "This profile should not be compared to those from other Step 2 administrations." Generally.
 
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highballa33 said:
Yeah the 99 took me by surprise (it's higher than what I expected). While I know that it isn't supposed to correlate with your 3-digit score, and that it's only a score used by some states for licensing purposes (I believe...?), it still seems to subconsciously inflate my ego. My friends who have previously gotten 99's have all had in the upper 230's minimum, and having a 228 with the same two-digit doesn't seem to make sense. Clearly, people on SDN (including me) seem to value this two-digit too much. I'm just hoping I get interviews with my score.
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Cool- so you guys are surprised that the two digit is high, not that the three digit was high or low right?
 
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