<p>:)</p>
<p>lol…testing has changed so much I’m not sure what to expect these days. Now I wonder why it takes so long to grade them since they’re online. It would seem like scores could be given within a week or so.</p>
<p>They claim it has to do with the way the test is scored. Apparently, it’s not exactly curved–it’s scaled–and I only vaguely understand the difference. Your raw score (however many questions you got right) is magically transformed into your scaled score (1-15) depending on how it compares to other test takers (of that day? That year? Don’t remember.) So basically, your score depends on how you do relative to other test takers–and I wanna say that’s not the same as just normally curved tests because each of the tests is slightly different. There are also a few questions in each section that are kind of like decoy questions (you have no idea which they are) which are used to assess the test or something, and don’t count for or against your score. AAMC claims that because of all this stuff–the variables about the different questions, about the different topics, etc etc, plus all the sheer numbers crunching they have to do–it takes them awhile to get your scores back to you.</p>
<p>I believe what that boils down to is something like this: there are 52 questions on the physical sciences section. Say, for example, in May the physics section is really easy–most people do well on it, and thus you have to get…51 out of 52 raw score to get a 15 scaled score. But then in June, the physics section is much harder–fewer people do well on it, and thus you only have to get…49 out of 52 raw score to get a 15 scaled score. Ideally, the 15 from May = the 15 from June. But since AAMC has to analyze all the results from all the test takers before they can develop the raw to scaled conversion, it takes awhile to grade it. </p>
<p>Perhaps the GRE is scored so quickly because a correct answer always has the same weight–ie, out of 103 questions, if you get 97 correct, then you get a 169 (those might be LSAT numbers, but you get the gist)–so it doesn’t really depend on much other than your individual performance.</p>
<p>Just throwing it out there. To you statistical people who really understand test taking, if I misunderstood the explanation I’ve heard about scoring, I’d totally appreciate it if you could correct me!</p>
<p>Well, I think it all has to do with vectors. Or maybe tangents. ;)</p>
<p>^ LOL. I think you talk like Calvin and Hobbes.</p>
<p>It’s a matter of perspective. I thought “valence” referred to window coverings. Apparently it has something to do with chemistry. I think “valence” hadn’t been invented when I studied chemistry in high school. Maybe Curmudgeon knows…</p>
<p>Kristin, thanks for the explanations :)</p>
<p>
Two ways for me to go here.</p>
<p>1) Yeah. Sure. That’s gonna happen. </p>
<p>or</p>
<p>2) </p>
<p>*Ooh, Donna, ooh, Donna
Ooh, Donna, ooh, Donna</p>
<p>I had a girl, Donna was her name
Since she left me
I’ve never been the same…
*</p>
<p>Are the Economist and WSJ really the only journals that give that much practice for the verbal section of the MCAT? Because I really don’t know anything about the economy. And would you say the verbal section with it’s focus on really getting the author’s point is kind of like determining what symbols in literature represent? Because I’m really bad at that sort of thing. I just finished reading The Sun Also Rises (worst book ever written, by the way) and all the symbols and subtleties really went over my head.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wasn’t curmudgeon around when they invented high schools? :D</p>
<p>
No if that were the case, Econ majors would be destroying the verbal section.</p>
<p>Econ majors are probably “destroying the verbal section.” It is just my quess, no supporting stats (I imagine that there are not very many econ major pre-meds). Nothing has helped my D. to improve her Verbal. She has improved other sections considerably by going over material. There is an element of luck also, but you cannot rely on it. D. was lucky to get her highest practice Verbal score on real exam. Usually it does not happen. Reading has alwasy been the lowest score on all her previous standardized tests, and nothing she could do about it, reading Economist did not help.</p>
<p>It’s not the economic substance of the article. It just happens that I think those are the only two mass-market publications which write at the level of the MCAT’s Verbal passages. And that’s the point: you’re not supposed to know anything about the material. You’re supposed to be learning things from the passages.</p>
<p>And again, it’s not JUST reading. You’re also studying the passage itself. Take note of topic sentences. Paragraph structure. Write down the flow of the argument.</p>
<p>One can learn if they know terminology/vocabulary. Some might be at complete disadvantage reading article about music, while they have no idea what is actually being discussed. However, since most Verbal sections are related to economy, politics, business, then econ majors would have advantage. For example, does anybody know what ‘counterpoint’ means? I had no idea untill D. had Counterpoint class in her Music Minor. It appears to be such a huge part of music knowledge, that it would not be unusual to have it mentioned or being discussed in article related to music. It is almost like mentionning physics in relation to science. I can imagine that most people are at great disadvantage undestanding articles related to economics without sufficient vocabulary base.</p>