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Implementing a New Score Scale for the Clinical Science Subject Examinations: Validity and Practical Considerations

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Abstract

Prior to August 2015, the National Board of Medical Examiners’ (NBME) clinical science subject examination scores were reported as a scaled score. However, the scaled scores had some undesirable properties that threatened the validity of the inferences that score users were making based on the scores. The NBME changed the score scale to equated percent correct scores to address score validity concerns and to better meet the needs of medical school faculty and students. This paper describes the validity and practical considerations associated with the implementation of equated percent correct scores for the clinical science subject examination program.

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References

  1. National Board of Medical Examiners. Guide to the subject examination program July 2015. Available at http://www.nbme.org/PDF/SubjectExams/subexaminfoguide.pdf. Accessed June 6, 2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Board of Medical Examiners, 3750 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Carol Morrison, Linette Ross, Gregory Baker & Marie Maranki

Authors
  1. Carol Morrison
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  2. Linette Ross
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  3. Gregory Baker
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  4. Marie Maranki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol Morrison.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors are employed by the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Ethical Approval

Not applicable—this was a retrospective study that used de-identified aggregate data as part of routine examination processing.

Informed Consent

Not applicable—this was a retrospective study that used de-identified aggregate data as part of routine examination processing.

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Morrison, C., Ross, L., Baker, G. et al. Implementing a New Score Scale for the Clinical Science Subject Examinations: Validity and Practical Considerations. Med.Sci.Educ. 29, 841–847 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00747-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00747-9

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