What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools
Purpose The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 exam changed from a 3-digit score format to pass/fail in 2022. The current study aimed to examine how medical students perceive this change, factors associated with those perceptions, and determine their preferred exam scoring fo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205251337125 |
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| author | Shankar S Thiru Rachel E Cherelstein Scott M Feeley Scott J Halperin Sarah Lucas Christopher M Kuenze Edward S Chang |
| author_facet | Shankar S Thiru Rachel E Cherelstein Scott M Feeley Scott J Halperin Sarah Lucas Christopher M Kuenze Edward S Chang |
| author_sort | Shankar S Thiru |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 exam changed from a 3-digit score format to pass/fail in 2022. The current study aimed to examine how medical students perceive this change, factors associated with those perceptions, and determine their preferred exam scoring format. Design and Methods A cross-sectional survey of US medical students was distributed from March through June 2024. The survey gathered data including demographic and school information, desired specialty, research involvement, and Step 1 scoring preference. Results The survey was completed by 192 students from 18 different US allopathic schools. Of students surveyed, 65.5% preferred pass/fail scoring, while 34.5% preferred a 3-digit-score format. Older age increased likelihood of preferring a 3-digit score (β = 0.345, P = .047, odds ratio [OR] 1.41). A later graduation year decreased the likelihood of preferring a 3-digit score (β = −0.576, P = .020, OR 0.56). Gender (β = 0.293, P = .320, OR 1.34), specialty competitiveness (β = −0.095, P = .776, OR 1.10), and research productivity (β = 0.0047, P = .990, OR 1.00) had no significant effect on Step 1 scoring preference. Conclusion Medical students seem to prefer a pass/fail Step 1 regardless of gender, desired specialty and research productivity. However, pass/fail preference differed by graduating class year and age, with younger class years and students preferring pass/fail. While prior literature largely surveyed preference among medical educators, student sentiment on Step 1 scoring supports recent changes to the USMLE Step score format. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae427dac62ec4a618412dca524dec8b2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2382-1205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae427dac62ec4a618412dca524dec8b22025-08-20T02:57:47ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Medical Education and Curricular Development2382-12052025-05-011210.1177/23821205251337125What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic SchoolsShankar S Thiru0Rachel E Cherelstein1Scott M Feeley2Scott J Halperin3Sarah Lucas4Christopher M Kuenze5Edward S Chang6 , Washington, DC, USA Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA Department of Orthopaedics, , Bethesda, MD, USA Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA Department of Orthopedics, , Washington, DC, USA Department of Kinesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Inova Campus, Falls Church, VA, USAPurpose The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 exam changed from a 3-digit score format to pass/fail in 2022. The current study aimed to examine how medical students perceive this change, factors associated with those perceptions, and determine their preferred exam scoring format. Design and Methods A cross-sectional survey of US medical students was distributed from March through June 2024. The survey gathered data including demographic and school information, desired specialty, research involvement, and Step 1 scoring preference. Results The survey was completed by 192 students from 18 different US allopathic schools. Of students surveyed, 65.5% preferred pass/fail scoring, while 34.5% preferred a 3-digit-score format. Older age increased likelihood of preferring a 3-digit score (β = 0.345, P = .047, odds ratio [OR] 1.41). A later graduation year decreased the likelihood of preferring a 3-digit score (β = −0.576, P = .020, OR 0.56). Gender (β = 0.293, P = .320, OR 1.34), specialty competitiveness (β = −0.095, P = .776, OR 1.10), and research productivity (β = 0.0047, P = .990, OR 1.00) had no significant effect on Step 1 scoring preference. Conclusion Medical students seem to prefer a pass/fail Step 1 regardless of gender, desired specialty and research productivity. However, pass/fail preference differed by graduating class year and age, with younger class years and students preferring pass/fail. While prior literature largely surveyed preference among medical educators, student sentiment on Step 1 scoring supports recent changes to the USMLE Step score format.https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205251337125 |
| spellingShingle | Shankar S Thiru Rachel E Cherelstein Scott M Feeley Scott J Halperin Sarah Lucas Christopher M Kuenze Edward S Chang What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| title | What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools |
| title_full | What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools |
| title_fullStr | What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools |
| title_short | What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools |
| title_sort | what do medical students think about a pass fail usmle step 1 a survey of 18 allopathic schools |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205251337125 |
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