Where can I find average STEP scores for medical schools?

[miss chievous]

Question says it all!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Question says it all!

There is no official compilation. Most schools will have it on their website. Google " X School of medicine average step 1"

 

[miss chievous]

There is no official compilation. Most schools will have it on their website. Google " X School of medicine average step 1"

Whoa! SDN doesn't have something...that's a first!

Yeah, I'm just trying to look at average STEP scores in Texas. I was reading the interview feedback for TT - El Paso and someone said the average Step 1 score was a 235. So now I'm just curious. Thanks for the help!

 

[link2swim06]

Bad way to choose a med school. At almost EVERY school people fail every year while other students get 260+.

The material is pretty well standardized during the first two years anyhow. It's 100% how hard you study which will determine your score.

Most med student use the identical review books when prepping for step 1 anyhow.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Bad way to choose a med school. At almost EVERY school people fail every year while other students get 260+.

The material is pretty well standardized during the first two years anyhow. It's 100% how hard you study which will determine your score.

Most med student use the identical review books when prepping for step 1 anyhow.

Agree with this for the most part.

Your step 1 is largely determined by how well YOU study and how much TIME you put in.

That said, some curricula work best for some people. There is a reason why some schools such as Baylor & UTSW have higher than average board scores... it might be that its a higher caliber student body.... but it also might be their curricula... theres no objective way to find out.

 

[NCKSD]

A simple google search always helps

http://dailydose.ttuhsc.edu/news/re...n-licensing-exam-may-exceed-national-average/

 

[JohnQuincyAdams]

Pretty useless info, IMO.

 

[NCKSD]

Pretty useless info, IMO.

A school's average step score = useless info?

 

[Doctor Strange]

I feel like I heard somewhere that schools only know scores if the students report them i.e., some people may or may not report their scores to the school. If that's the case, the "average" score for a given institution may be highly inflated and misleading.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I feel like I heard somewhere that schools only know scores if the students report them i.e., some people may or may not report their scores to the school. If that's the case, the "average" score for a given institution may be highly inflated and misleading.

But if this occurs at all schools then the difference between each school would still be the same right? Since all the low-scorers from all the schools dont report it ( a right-shift on the curve)

 

[Cambover]

But if this occurs at all schools then the difference between each school would still be the same right? Since all the low-scorers from all the schools dont report it ( a right-shift on the curve)

It's impossible to know for sure who reports what at which school. Assuming under reporting of low scores across the board is a big assumption.

 

[Doctor Strange]

But if this occurs at all schools then the difference between each school would still be the same right? Since all the low-scorers from all the schools dont report it ( a right-shift on the curve)

Maybe? Either way, it's a horrible metric to base med school decisions on.

 

[Sephiroth]

I'm pretty skeptical of STEP 1 scores schools report since there's no real standardized and overseen method of doing it. Except for the schools that were pretty new and didn't have number s to report yet, I've yet to go to a school that wasn't above the national average.

 

[yehhhboiii]

I'm pretty skeptical of STEP 1 scores schools report since there's no real standardized and overseen method of doing it. Except for the schools that were pretty new and didn't have number s to report yet, I've yet to go to a school that wasn't above the national average.

Well you could have a bunch of schools at the bottom dragging things down

 

[Barcu]

I feel like I heard somewhere that schools only know scores if the students report them i.e., some people may or may not report their scores to the school. If that's the case, the "average" score for a given institution may be highly inflated and misleading.

I don't think this is true. I think you have to report the score because if you fail it, you can't continue into the clinical years until you pass.

How the numbers are manipulated (in terms of every school being above average), I have no idea. I agree that it is a pretty more metric on which to base your school choice.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I don't think this is true. I think you have to report the score because if you fail it, you can't continue into the clinical years until you pass.

How the numbers are manipulated (in terms of every school being above average), I have no idea. I agree that it is a pretty more metric on which to base your school choice.

I would assume those who fail it bring the average down which leads to the national average.

When schools post their step 1 scores, it would probably only include those who passed the test.

 

[link2swim06]

Well you could have a bunch of schools at the bottom dragging things down

I would bet the lowest ranked med schools do have lower averages. But again this isn't necessarily a reflection of the school's teaching but possibly due to the collection of worse students.

You can enroll an idiot at Harvard but he is still a idiot.

 

[armybound]

I've never heard a school report an average or below average Step average.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I've never heard a school report an average or below average Step average.

Because no one wants to advertise that they are not competent enough to make the national average.

I wonder if these include schools who do not make the step 1 reports public.

 

[anbuitachi]

definitely a important factor for choosing schools , but should not be the only factor.

 

[mvenus929]

But if this occurs at all schools then the difference between each school would still be the same right? Since all the low-scorers from all the schools dont report it ( a right-shift on the curve)

Been a while since I registered for a step, but I'm pretty sure you have to release your score to your school prior to actually getting your score... Either during registration, or during the test itself.

I've never heard a school report an average or below average Step average.

Remember that US students aren't the only ones taking the test. Anyone who wants to do residency here has to take the test, so there's a significant number of people potentially getting below the national average. So it's entirely possible that all US schools have an average above the national average.

 

[Instatewaiter]

If you search, there is a thread out there that is a few years old. Of course, the scores were way off from reality.

 

[Dbate]

Whoa! SDN doesn't have something...that's a first!

Yeah, I'm just trying to look at average STEP scores in Texas. I was reading the interview feedback for TT - El Paso and someone said the average Step 1 score was a 235. So now I'm just curious. Thanks for the help!

Texas Tech-Lubbock Average: 226
Texas A&M: 222 (they also reported that the national average was 225)

Note: Both of the above are based on information they gave at their interviews.

 

[kyamh]

You can find the STEP 1 and 2 scores on the subscriber's version of US News and World. If you search for the school name under medical graduate programs, then click on the Academics tab, towards the bottom the averages are shown.

 

[BABSstudent]

Personally, I never looked at step scores when I was picking schools because the preperation is all on the students. I also think it is flawed because the student population is different at each school.

I mean, if school X is really big into primary care, they will select students that want to go into it. When these stuudents prep for the test they may be studying to get the score they need which tends to be lower. Did the school cause this by being "bad?" No. It was the students and who they picked. In their class there will even be people who get super high scores because they want a different residency. The following year, maybe 80% of their class wants to do derm/ortho/etc. And study super hard for the test so they can match into it.

Tl;dr It all comes down to how the students prepare and will vary year by year as the class population changes.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[yehhhboiii]

also sometimes schools change their curriculum and their step one scores might suffer temporarily as they iron out the kinks in their new setup

 

[chronicidal]

You can find the STEP 1 and 2 scores on the subscriber's version of US News and World. If you search for the school name under medical graduate programs, then click on the Academics tab, towards the bottom the averages are shown.

This. End of thread. Plenty of schools reported below average scores.

 

[Pipers]

Question says it all!

Keep in mind that there is bias in the averages based on each school's selection bias with admissions. Some one mentioned it above too. Some schools recruit and admit great test takers. That is a skill that school values. Other schools don't do this and will take students with lower average scores but value other aspects of the application.

Personal opinion. Great test taking does not always mean better (whatever that means) doctor. Some of the biggest social tools in my class have the highest Step 1 scores. But hey, they want a surgical sub-specialty so they put an insane amount of work and effort into it. I put in a sane amount of effort and got a respectable but not blow-the-roof-off result. Life goes on.

 

[mvenus929]

also sometimes schools change their curriculum and their step one scores might suffer temporarily as they iron out the kinks in their new setup

But this comes back to the perception of the students. I've heard that when Vanderbilt changed their curriculum, the first class through actually did better on Step 1 because they felt so underprepared by their classroom learning that they overstudied on their own. The following year, there was a dip in scores because the class below them saw the scores and attributed them to the classroom learning, rather than the students' own preparations.

I can tell you that my class was the first through on a new curriculum, and our average score was virtually identical to the class above us, but we had more people do poorly (and more do very well) than the class above us. The administration loves to tell everyone how our board scores were the same, and that it's due to the new curriculum. But it still ultimately comes down to the preparation of the students themselves.

 

[KnuxNole]

I agree that it's all on the individual student. Just cause everyone in your class gets above a 240 doesn't mean YOU out of all people will actually do that well. The school can give you class notes that prepare you well, which is great. However, everyone is aware that everything on Step 1 will not all come in your notes + lectures + small groups, which makes sense. After all, the first two years isn't a prep course for Step 1 haha.

 

[Narmerguy]

Ultimately, the goal of the curriculum should not be to prepare you for Step 1. It should be to prepare you to become a good physician. Don't get caught up in trying to let the Step 1 averages determine which schools will allow you to thrive.