<p>1) There’s fairly significant correlation between MCAT scores and Step 1 scores. It shouldn’t be a surprise that schools with higher entering MCAT scores do better and it may not reflect how well they teach.</p>
<p>2) There some schools which really emphasize USMLE material in their coursework and others which decidedly don’t.</p>
<p>3) As I’m sure BDM and S_C can attest, often each class within a school has it’s own unique personality, and despite lectures and topics which remain fairly constant from year to year, how each class responds to them varies. </p>
<p>4) When 93% of individuals pass on the first try, bragging about your 100% pass rate loses a significant chunk of meaning. </p>
<p>5) This may all become a moot point, if the NBME moves forward as proposed to creating some form of exam that combines all aspects of Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS (and probably charges like 4 grand for the experience), which is supposed to be the case for students accepted to start school this fall (or maybe next, I forget).</p>
<p>6) Perhaps a more telling stat is the difference in scores between Step 1 and Step 2 CK…I’m not sure the exact measure of correlation between the scores, but at least they’re on the same numerical scale (though the raw scores may not/probably aren’t scaled in the same manner), so it appears that judging patterns of the data is more reliable. If there’s any correlation then consistent patterns of improvement for a school would demonstrate effective clinical instruction.</p>