Modifications to the test item pool

[ellen_dinh]

http://www.usmle.org/announcements/?ContentId=92

There will be delayed score reports for those intending to sit the test in mid May due to time needed for modifications to the question pool.

Does anyone know what it means by modifications to the test item pool, ie. what happens every year? Do some experimental Qs become official ones? How does that affect the upcoming exams after the change? Should I be worried about it?

Thanks.

[in-a-hurry]

read your post but i don't have any clue. Hope others can help.

[StepTaker]

The USMLE Questions undergo continuous update. Every year they retire some old questions (for example those that you see in the NBME self assessment are just retired questions) and they also add new questions to the pool.

They have to do this in order to minimize repetition of the same questions again and again.

That's a routine maintenance and you don't need to worry about it.

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[dr.aysh]

i am worried after reading this post as i was planning to extend by date by 2 weeks and take my exam on 16th may..my original date is 2nd may but i thought i would extend it for 2 weeks since m very tensed and take it on 16th but after reading this post m really worried as it says people taking exam mid may wil recieve their results by july...wht should i do??? m really worried...
plz if somebody could clear this out for me


thank you in advance

[flowerlady1]

Originally Posted by StepTaker

The USMLE Questions undergo continuous update. Every year they retire some old questions (for example those that you see in the NBME self assessment are just retired questions) and they also add new questions to the pool.

They have to do this in order to minimize repetition of the same questions again and again.

That's a routine maintenance and you don't need to worry about it.

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does that mean it may get harder ???is it better to take it before mid may ???

[StepTaker]

Originally Posted by flowerlady1

does that mean it may get harder ???is it better to take it before mid may ???

It does not get harder and it does not get easier.
The USMLE is a standardized exam and they take really good care about this issue. They never change the difficulty of questions overnight. They want to keep the exam fair for all, those who took it last year and those who'll take it this year and the years to come.

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[sargousmle]

hey
what is that announcement on usmle website which states that there is change to question pools , does that mean it will get harder ????
is it dangerous to take the exam after midmay ???
will be a change to the concepts or what ???
need advice ??

[Dr.NickRiviera]

someone just told me that as of midmay it will take much longer to get results.
he said up to 10 weeks because june is so busy.

is this true?
i think he's talking sh!t but i might as well ask lol

[islandcrazy]

Originally Posted by Dr.NickRiviera

someone just told me that as of midmay it will take much longer to get results.
he said up to 10 weeks because june is so busy.

is this true?
i think he's talking sh!t but i might as well ask lol

Nope, he is actually correct. Usually the May-June-July period has a delay in score reporting. It's usually between 3-8 weeks in those period instead of the standard 3 weeks, however they announce the delay before they put it in place so you would know before you write your exam.

[islandcrazy]

Went to USMLE.ORG: they already talked about the daily in the latest bulletin.
http://usmle.org/announcements/?ContentId=92

Mid-May to June scores will come out on July 11th 2012 so about 9 weeks.

[pradeeprox]

this is bad news...i cant wait for 9weeks altogether ...

curiosity kills the cat !!

[flowerlady1]

yes I know there will be delay in results , but is there an effect on the questions difficulty ??
will that be harder

[drhma]

i booked to take the exam in june\25th
in that case i wont even have to wait 3 weeks,,, it'll be just two weeks
is that how it works?

[Dr.NickRiviera]

another question: what do you guys think about the age-old rumour that you shouldnt take it in June because thats when many AMGs take it and you are scored against them.

in Kaplan they assured us that this isnt true and it wont affect your score.
But if my friend was right about the delay in results than maybe there's some merit to his paranoia in regards to taking the exam in June :/

[flowerlady1]

Originally Posted by Dr.NickRiviera

another question: what do you guys think about the age-old rumour that you shouldnt take it in June because thats when many AMGs take it and you are scored against them.

in Kaplan they assured us that this isnt true and it wont affect your score.
But if my friend was right about the delay in results than maybe there's some merit to his paranoia in regards to taking the exam in June :/

that is another question too, I ve heard that , but I dont think it is true
although not sure!!!

[StepTaker]

Originally Posted by flowerlady1

that is another question too, I ve heard that , but I dont think it is true
although not sure!!!

Please read here
The best month to take the USMLE Exam!

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