Thank you for your post.What exactly does it mean to be scaled?
How are the multiple choice sections of the MCAT exam scored?
Each score that you achieve on the four scored multiple-choice sections is based on the number of questions you answer correctly. This raw score is a reflection of your correct answers only. This means that a wrong answer will be scored exactly the same as an unanswered question. There is no additional penalty for wrong answers, so even if you are unsure of the correct answer to a question, you should make your best guess. The scores from each of these four sections will be converted to a scaled score ranging from 118 (lowest) to 132 (highest). For example, if your raw score on one of the sections is between 35 and 37, your converted score might be 123. Scores ranging from 46 to 48 might have a converted score of 128, and so forth.
Why are raw scores converted to scaled scores?
The conversion of raw scores to scaled scores compensates for small variations in difficulty between sets of questions. The exact conversion of raw to scaled scores is not constant because different sets of questions are used on different exams. The 15-point scale tends to provide a more stable and accurate assessment of a student's abilities. Two students of equal ability would be expected to get the same scaled score, even though there might be a slight difference between the raw scores each student obtained on the test.
Is the exam graded on a curve?
Test takers often ask if earning a high score is easier or harder at different times of the testing year. The question is based on an assumption that the exam is scored on a curve, and that a final score is dependent on how an individual performed in comparison to other test takers from the same test day or same time of year.
While there may be small differences in the MCAT exam you took compared to another examinee, the scoring process accounts for these differences. For example, a 124 earned on, the Critical Analysis and Reasoning section of one exam means the same thing as a 124 earned on that section on any other exam. How you score on the MCAT exam is not reflective of the particular exam you took—including the time of day, the test date, or the time of year—since any difference in difficulty level is accounted for when calculating your scaled scores (see above for information about scaling).
Understanding percentile ranks
The percentile ranks provided on your score report show the percentages of test takers who received the same scores or lower scores on the exam than you did. They show how your scores compare to the scores of other examinees.
Every year on May 1, the percentile ranks are updated using data from one or more testing years. These annual updates will ensure that the percentile ranks reflect current and stable information about your scores. This means that changes in percentile ranks from one year to another reflect meaningful changes in the scores of examinees, rather than year-to-year fluctuations. Updating percentile ranks is consistent with industry practice. Please note that these percentile ranks are very similar to the percentile ranks in use from April 2015 through April 2016. You can view the percentile ranks
here. For more information, see the FAQ How do I understand my percentile ranks?
If you look at your scores in the
Score Reporting System after May 1, you will see these percentile ranks. Please note that percentile ranks will not change much from one year to the next.