However, in 2015, a new MCAT format was released and its correlation with Step 1 remains to be fully analyzed. If you are looking to improve your score on the USMLE or for USMLE tutoring, please contact our EMP staff for an evaluation by one of our EMP tutors.Candidates' performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 examination had been correlated with the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). That’s all! We hope that this post was helpful in interpreting your score on Step 1 and Step 2 CK. The most recent passing score announced by USMLE was 198, which corresponds to approximately the 3 rd to 4 th percentile. The sole exception are international medical graduates who may have the option to take Step 3 prior to beginning residency. This is largely because the majority of test-takers are in the midst of intern year while taking the exam. Until this change takes place, test-takers can take use the table above to interpret their results.īriefly, scores on USMLE Step 3 are always significantly lower than those on Step 1 and 2 CK. In addition, results on Step 2 CK will carry far greater importance with Step 1 reported as Pass/Fail only. With the changes discussed to Step 1, it is quite possible that far more test-takers will take Step 2 CK prior to submitting applications. The passing score on Step 2 CK most recently was 209, representing approximately the 3 rd percentile. The main difference is that scores on Step 2 CK are on average 5-10 points higher than on Step 1 the distribution of scores is thus slightly narrower 95% of test-takers scoring between 210 and 275. When interpreting your score from Step 2 CK, you can use a very similar mindset as with Step 1. This explains the importance of adding any extra knowledge and/or test-taking skills to your repertoire, which our EMP tutors are expertly prepared to help you with. With only 71 points between these scores, and all of these test-takers answering 168/280 questions (60%) correctly (5 th percentile), there can be rather dramatic jumps in scores by answering only a few extra questions correctly. If a score of 265 (of a theoretical 300 maximum) represents the 98 th to 99 th percentile, that means that nearly 93 to 94% of all test takers will score between 194 and 265. Įxamining the distribution of scores below, it is important to observe the narrow distribution of test scores this is extremely helpful in figuring out why answering even 5% more correct questions on exam day can dramatically increase your score. When examined from this perspective, a strong score is simply above average. Not coincidentally, this also places you in the range for many competitive residencies for competitive surgical subspecialties such as neurosurgery or orthopedic surgery higher scores may be needed. Scores at or just above the mean are good scores! This means you have outscored more than half of the test-takers that year. While 194 represents the 5 th percentile, the average (50 th percentile) falls between 230 and 235. Until the scoring system for Step 1 changes to Pass/Fail, the scores on Step 1 can be interpreted based on historical percentiles. While it is unlikely that the percentage of students passing would change meaningfully in the first few years of the new format, it is possible that this will change at some point. In general, a passing score corresponds to answering 60% of the 280 questions on the exam correctly. In other words, to pass the exam, you must achieve a score that is better than the lowest 5% of all test-takers. When examining the nomograms provided by the test-makers, this equates to approximately the 5 th percentile. According to the NBME/FSMB, the passing score for Step 1 in 2018 was 194, up from 192 in years prior. The change by the NBME and FSBM of the USMLE Step 1 to a Pass/Fail system by January 2022 will dramatically change the interpretation of scores for medical students. Standing Out in Residency Applications With a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1 Score Percentiles for USMLE Step 1