There have been a few recent changes in the administration and scoring of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. In late 2006, the recommended minimum passing score for Step 1 of the exam was raised from 182 to 185. This change will apply to the exam beginning on January 1, 2007. Another change in the administration of the USMLE is that beginning on December 7, 2006, paper scheduling permits will no longer be allowed for the Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 exams. At this time, students will need to have electronic scheduling permits in order to sit for these exams. Electronic scheduling permits will be sent to registered students via email. Students will then be required to bring a copy of this electronic scheduling permit to their exam site.

Another fairly recent change to the USMLE has been a slight increase in the minimum passing score for the Step 2 Clinical Skills exam. Beginning on July 16, 2006, students will need to achieve slightly higher scores on the Integrated Clinical Encounter and Communication and Interpersonal Skills subcomponents of the exam in order to pass. No change has been made to the minimum passing score for the Spoken English Proficiency subcomponent.

Finally, the USMLE administrator has recently issued a warning regarding personal items brought into the testing area. Students are not allowed to access personal items during the exam periods, although they will be allowed to access such items during official breaks in examination. The computerized portions of the USMLE no feature an on-screen reminder at the beginning of each testing session, so that students will not forget the policy regarding personal items.

USMLE Preparation information provided by Morrison Media LLC.

More MomMD Medical Student Resources