The effects of commercial coaching or the NBME Part I Examination

The effect of three commercial coaching courses on Step One USMLE performance

“…There is limited and conflicting data available regarding the effectiveness of commercial board preparation courses for the USMLE. After controlling for basic science GPA, Scott et al 3 . showed that 3 different groups of examinees benefited significantly on Part 1 of the NBME when they took commercial review courses.…”

Student USMLE Step 1 Preparation and Performance

“…A recent study also concluded that students who took commercial coaching courses to improve performance on Step 1 did not achieve higher scores than those who studied on their own (Werner and Bull, 2003). Furthermore, two earlier studies concurred that commercial review courses had little or no impact on the medical board exam performances (Scott, Scott and Palmisano et al, 1980;Lewis and Kuske, 1978). On the other hand, previous studies have suggested a strong correlation between student performance on Step 1 and academic achievement in medical school (Thadani, Swanson and Galbrath, 2000;Swanson, Ripkey and Case et al, 1996).…”

Creating an Arms Race? Examining School Costs and Motivations for Providing NAPLEX and PCOA Preparation

“…Studies in the medical literature have found conflicting results on whether students who participate in commercial preparation courses score significantly higher on licensing exams than their counterparts. An early study by Scott and colleagues 16 conducted in 1979 found that students who participated in a commercial test preparation course scored significantly higher on the USMLE Step 1 than students who did not participate in the course. However, more recent studies have not reached similar conclusions.…”