What is a good Step 2 score?

[JLa]

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Hey, My husband just took USMLE step 2. I was just wondering -- what is considered a "good" score? I can never seem to get a straight answer! Help!
Thanks so much.

 

[ApacheIndian]

Straight answer huh... hmmm... I suppose 220+ would be considered "good" by most...

 

[JLa]

Thanks so much!!! He got a 218 and seemed bummed by it. Sounds like he did OK to me.

 

[poorakutta]

The standard deviation is 20. The average is 200. That means if you scored higher than 220, 87.5% of the people scored below you. From here on out you decide whats good and whats not.

A 220 or higher will pretty much get you into anything if you arent a wacko and havent had serious pvs problems.

 

[jt999]

Where did you get your info that the mean is 200 and standard deviation is 20? My score report says the mean for first time test takers from US and Canadian medical schools is 216 with a standard deviation of 23.

I also think that assuming that step 2 scores follow a normal distribution, that 31.7% of the scores lie beyond one standard deviation of the mean. Therefore, if your score is above one standard deviation above mean, you would have scored better than 84.15% of test takers. For first time test takers, this means that you would need a 239 to be better than 84.15% of test takers.

I find it hard to believe that people who have retaken the test or not from US and Canadian medical schools could pull down the average 16 points.

 

[emerson]

I suck at statistics, so can someone tell me: is a 229/89 on Step 2 a "good" score or just "decent", considering that the mean is 216 with a SD of 23? What's the percentile rank?

 

[timmyjhype]

God, you people are obsessed. You've beaten the mean; be satisfied. The test just isn't that important.