Copyright © 1999 by the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME ®). All rights reserved.
PERFORMANCE ON 1998 USMLE EXAMINATIONS
Examinee Performance on Step 1
The number of examinees tested and the percent passing Step 1 in 1998 are shown in Table 1. Roughly the same number of US/Canadian examinees took Step 1 in 1997 and 1998. There was, however, a large decline from 1997 to 1998 in the number of examinees from foreign medical schools taking Step 1.
Following an in-depth review of the Step 1 pass/fail standard during late 1997 and early 1998,* the Step 1 Committee raised the Step 1 pass/fail standard from 176 to 179, and the new standard was applied for both 1998 Step 1 administrations. For recent administrations, the mean and standard deviation for first-time takers from US and Canadian medical schools were approximately 210 and 20, respectively, with most scores falling between 170 and 250. Despite the increase in the pass/fail standard, the overall pass rate of 91% for NBME-registered examinees was slightly higher than that in 1997 (90%). In addition, the overall pass rate of 49% for ECFMG®-registered examinees in 1998 was higher than in 1997 (48%).
| TABLE 1 - 1998 STEP 1 ADMINISTRATIONS Number Tested and Percent Passing |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1998 | October 1998 | Total 1998 | ||||
| #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | |
| NBME-Registrants | ||||||
| Allopathic Students | 16,574 | 93% | 1,866 | 67% | 18,440 | 91% |
| First-Time Takers* | 15,804 | 95% | 887 | 84% | 16,691 | 95% |
| Repeaters | 770 | 50% | 979 | 52% | 1,749 | 51% |
| Osteopathic Students | 310 | 85% | 39 | 54% | 349 | 82% |
| First-Time Takers | 291 | 89% | 29 | 66% | 320 | 87% |
| Repeaters | 19 | 32% | 10 | 20% | 29 | 28% |
| Total US/Canadian | 16,884 | 93% | 1,905 | 67% | 18,789 | 91% |
| FMG-Registrants | ||||||
| First-Time Takers | 8,392 | 66% | 5,204 | 56% | 13,596 | 62% |
| Repeaters** | 6,479 | 33% | 4,167 | 30% | 10,646 | 32% |
| Total FMG | 14,871 | 52% | 9,371 | 45% | 24,242 | 49% |
| Total Step 1 | 31,755 | 74% | 11,276 | 48% | 43,031 | 67% |
| * First-Time takers are defined as examinees who had not taken Part I or Step 1 previously; repeaters are defined as examinees who had taken Part I or Step 1 previously. For ECFMG-registered examinees, the first-taker group includes a percentage of examinees who had taken the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences (FMGEMS) prior to its discontinuation in 1993, but had not yet taken Part I or Step 1. | ||||||
Examinee Performance on Step 2
The number of examinees tested and the pass rates for the August 1997, March 1998, and August 1998 Step 2 administrations are shown in Table 2; also shown are the August 1997 - March 1998 cohort data. Traditionally, NBME-registered examinee counts for the Fall Step 2 have been larger than those for the Spring examination and this continues to be true for recent administrations. Overall, counts for NBME-registered examinees have remained fairly consistent over recent years. ECFMG counts remained almost identical from 1997 to 1998, however the number of ECFMG first-takers decreased by approximately 41% from August 1997 to August 1998.
For recent administrations, the mean and standard deviation for first-time takers from US and Canadian medical schools were 208 and 23, respectively, with most scores falling between 140 and 260. The overall pass rate for NBME-registered examinees was slightly higher in 1997-1998 (92%) than in 1996-1997 (91%). The overall pass rate for ECFMG-registered examinees also increased in 1997-1998 (48%) when compared to 1996-1997 (43%).
| TABLE 2 - 1997-98 STEP 2 ADMINISTRATIONS Number Tested and Percent Passing |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1997 | March 1998 | 97-98 Control Total | August 1998 | |||||
| #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | |
| NBME-Registrants | ||||||||
| Allopathic Students | 11,421 | 93% | 6,758 | 90% | 18,179 | 92% | 11,745 | 93% |
| First-Time Takers* | 10,673 | 95% | 5,912 | 94% | 16,585 | 95% | 11,079 | 95% |
| Repeaters | 748 | 64% | 846 | 62% | 1,594 | 63% | 666 | 55% |
| Osteopathic Students | 56 | 77% | 113 | 87% | 169 | 83% | 64 | 78% |
| First-Time Takers* | 48 | 79% | 105 | 88% | 153 | 85% | 56 | 82% |
| Repeaters | 8 | 63% | 8 | 75% | 16 | 69% | 8 | 50% |
| Total US/Canadian | 11,477 | 93% | 6,871 | 90% | 18,348 | 92% | 11,809 | 93% |
| FMG-Registrants | ||||||||
| First-Time Takers | 8,013 | 58% | 12,943 | 54% | 20,956 | 55% | 4,068 | 56% |
| Repeaters | 6,199 | 41% | 7,936 | 32% | 14,135 | 36% | 4,328 | 32% |
| Total FMG | 14,212 | 50% | 20,879 | 46% | 35,091 | 48% | 8,396 | 44% |
| Total Step 2 | 25,689 | 70% | 27,750 | 57% | 53,439 | 63% | 20,205 | 73% |
| * First-Time takers are defined as examinees who had not taken Part I or Step 1 previously; repeaters are defined as examinees who had taken Part I or Step 1 previously. For ECFMG-registered examinees, the first-taker group includes a percentage of examinees who had taken the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences (FMGEMS) prior to its discontinuation in 1993, but had not yet taken Part I or Step 1. | ||||||||
Examinee Performance on Step 3
The number of examinees tested and the pass rates for the May 1998 and December 1998 Step 3 administrations are shown in Table 3. The pattern of counts for graduates of US and Canadian schools has indicated a heavier use of the May administration; this pattern has remained consistent over the last few years. The numbers of graduates of foreign medical schools have climbed steadily, regardless of administration date.
A three-digit score of 177 was required to pass USMLE Step 3 for administrations since May 1997. For the December 1998 administration, the mean and standard deviation for first-time takers from US and Canadian medical schools were 207 and 18, respectively, with most scores falling between 140 and 260.
| TABLE 3 - 1998 STEP 3 ADMINISTRATIONS Number Tested and Percent Passing |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | December 1998 | Total 1998 | ||||
| #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | #Tested | %Passing | |
| Graduates of US or Canadian Schools | ||||||
| Allopathic Students | 10,174 | 93% | 7,517 | 92% | 17,691 | 93% |
| First-Time Takers* | 9,537 | 95% | 6,809 | 94% | 16,346 | 95% |
| Repeaters | 637 | 63% | 708 | 66% | 1,345 | 65% |
| Osteopathic Students | 40 | 93% | 24 | 96% | 64 | 94% |
| First-Time Takers | 38 | 95% | 22 | 100% | 60 | 97% |
| Repeaters | 2 | †† | 2 | †† | 4 | †† |
| Total US/Canadian | 10,214 | 93% | 7,541 | 92% | 17,755 | 93% |
| Graduates of Foreign Medical Schools | ||||||
| First-Time Takers | 3,620 | 59% | 4,588 | 54% | 8,208 | 56% |
| Repeaters** | 2,174 | 45% | 2,689 | 38% | 4,863 | 41% |
| Total FMG | 5,794 | 54% | 7,277 | 48% | 13,071 | 51% |
| Total Step 3 | 16,008 | 79% | 14,818 | 70% | 30,826 | 75% |
| * First-Time takers have no prior Step 3, Part III, or FLEX Component 2 attempts. †† Performance data not reported for categories containing fewer than 5 examinees. |
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*Reference
National Board of Medical Examiners. National Board Examiner. Philadelphia: NBME. Spring/Summer 1998;45(2)