<p>It sounds like last year’s distribution because they are very similar. Though last year there were 2 41’s and not just 1.</p>
<p>cutoff is 25 or 24? does 24 make it to semifinals ?</p>
<p>Do some folks mind posting their scores from last year’s open and this year? Given the relative easiness of this year’s exam, it is not clear as to how this year’s score can be lower than that of last year?</p>
<p>Cutoff according to TRC was 24, but the USABO page says it was a mistake and the cutoff was actually 25. At this point, if you have 25 you’re safe, if you have a 24, I think you’re probably not. :(</p>
<p>i cannot believe this. i got a 24…</p>
<p>what is TRC and what is USABO page?</p>
1 Like
<p>butumon, I think the questions can be very tricky. I do not recall my child’s score from last year. He was shell-shocked by last year’s open but cleared the cut-off easily. He thought this year’s open was far easier and barely made it to the semis, apparently as one of many students who overestimated their performance by about ten points.</p>
<p>Trc = teacher resource center, fb page =usabo page</p>
<p>I am fairly confident that CEE messed up the scoring key. Too many people have posted on this website supporting an attitude that the test was easy while receiving unexpectedly low scores. </p>
<p>I, for one, looked at the test a couple days after I took it with my tutor. After extensive researching and consulting, we both agreed that I should have gotten a score anywhere from 28-40. However, the score as posted on the CEE website is 25.</p>
<p>Mine was confident he answered at least 30 correctly and expected to have far more than that correct, last year he hoped had answered 20 correctly. He was very surprised by his score this year.</p>
<p>Many people, including me, had scores lower than predicted.</p>
<p>Thanks ridethewave.</p>
<p>My kid had a similar experience - made it last year, but missed the cutoff (unlike your kid) this year. This is despite more preparation along with taking the AP Bio course this year.</p>
<p>I just want to see their version of the answer key. Too many people thought it was easy and too many people received disappointing scores for this to be a coincedence.</p>
<p>darksigma - Is your score lower than that of last year and if so, by how many points? If you do not mind, please let the forum know.</p>
<p>There is nothing on the TRC and will not be until all of this settles. I will post the histogram and everything else like I did last year. You guys need to stop bellyaching and wait for the final results.
It looks like 25 is the cutoff. Those making less, start studying for next year. Those making the cutoff continue studying for the semis.</p>
<p>@Concerned7: You have spoken for the all the hard working students and their parents/coaches. AP biology teachers in my school do not even teach the AP material. According to them if you have registered for an AP class you are smart enough to self study. Our school regularly sends kids to camp but they are all trained by parents/private coaches. We have the same problem too with regards to getting access to anything on the TRC site. Anyway most teachers don’t care either way ( thanks to teachers union) and so why not make it public to all students, like AMC and USACHO. BTW, if there are teachers who actually coach their students, this rant is not for you and its really sad that such teachers get the same salary as the incompetent ones.</p>
<p>@Whoever asked, I believe rupnok is more than willing to post the relevant information, and a big thank you to him/her. Though @rupnok - information is on the TRC already, I had the chance to check myself with my teacher this morning. I’m not sure what to make of this information only being available to teachers, but if you want a change to happen, often the best thing to do is to email/post on the fb page to have your voice heard.</p>
<p>I scored a point higher than last year, but 4-6 points lower than I predicted. I think the 10 point difference is a bit of an overestimate if there is any error at all. it might as well have been a seemingly easy test, but a couple of pretty sneaky/clever questions that we might not have caught onto.</p>
<p>@darksigma I have access to the trc and under exam results it only shows the 2012 results. I’m not sure what you saw with your teacher, but it is not reflected in the trc that I can access.</p>
<p>was 2012 cutoff 24?</p>
<p>Yes it was. Taken from the TRC:
The score report for each student in your school who took the 2012 USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) Open Exam is found below. The Open Exam was worth 50 points, one point per question. The average score on the exam was 16.027. The highest score was 42. Students who scored 24 or higher were invited to compete in the USA Biology Olympiad Semifinal Exam.</p>
<p>The Semifinal Exam was worth 237 points with an average score of 90.005. The highest score was 169. Students who scored 134 and above qualified for participation in the National Finals at Purdue University. The content of both the Semifinal and Open Exams was oriented towards selecting students for the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). Therefore, the exam questions followed the curricular guidelines of the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) organization.</p>
<p>Both the Open and Semifinal Exams were very difficult and designed to challenge even the most gifted biology students. Please stress to your students that the exams should not be used as a test of whether or not someone has the aptitude to succeed in biology. It is our hope that students will continue to study this exciting field, deepen their knowledge, and grow in appreciation of the life sciences.</p>