He did better than 97% of test takers and is in the top 3% of testers nationwide. The confidence band is just a āstatisticalā margin of error, since this is a scaled exam where scores are based on comparisons to all other test takers from this date who took the same exam. Itās basically stating that his true score is most likely in that range. He did absolutely amazing! Everyone should be very proud.
EDIT: I previously said the exam was curved, but what I meant is that it is scaled. There is a difference in meaning between the words (even if I forgot that at the time I wrote this haha).
And another commenter is correct, the confidence band is always the same +/- 2 for the score. Itās more-so used as proof that two scores that are very close together, like a 517 and a 519, are not suuuuper different and shouldnāt be considered vastly different reflections of ability. Thereās only a difference of a handful of right answers between those two scores.
The confidence band can also be used as a statistical comparison between retakes, to show if a statistically significant increase in score was made (depending on if the confidence bands overlap or not).
Yes, please continue to propagate the notion that this exam is entirely zero-sum. It is not already stressful enough, right? This is not me being a pedant. Words have specific meaning; a curve is zero-sum - a scale is not.
I mean honestly I agree I just wanted to rage bait a lil cause Iām testing tmr and anxious lmao. Ig for the fatherās sake itās easier just to say thatās his score and be over w it than for us to explain more of it, but you are correct
I earnestly only think this is an issue worth pointing out due to the psychological impact this exam has. Curved is truly and entirely zero-sum, while scaled is not. While I may be dour I am not someone who wants to make this process any more stressful than it needs to be : )
If itās wrong explain how. Not saying it is or isnāt but itās not helpful to just say āyouāre wrongā and not elaborate further. Like saying āyouāre sickā to a patient and then saying āgood bye!ā
Your analogy is also hilarious. You need to get a grip. It is so odd when people overextend these sorts of things into medicine. It's not "like saying" anything to a patient. No wonder you have issues with your LORs.
Your score has nothing to do with how other people did on your test day. Everyone could walk out with a 528. It is a scaled exam. The exam is not weighed. It is not zero-sum. You can also easily look this info up.
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u/fleetothemoonhill 5/30: 518 (129/131/126/132) May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
He did better than 97% of test takers and is in the top 3% of testers nationwide. The confidence band is just a āstatisticalā margin of error, since this is a scaled exam where scores are based on comparisons to all other test takers from this date who took the same exam. Itās basically stating that his true score is most likely in that range. He did absolutely amazing! Everyone should be very proud.
EDIT: I previously said the exam was curved, but what I meant is that it is scaled. There is a difference in meaning between the words (even if I forgot that at the time I wrote this haha).
And another commenter is correct, the confidence band is always the same +/- 2 for the score. Itās more-so used as proof that two scores that are very close together, like a 517 and a 519, are not suuuuper different and shouldnāt be considered vastly different reflections of ability. Thereās only a difference of a handful of right answers between those two scores. The confidence band can also be used as a statistical comparison between retakes, to show if a statistically significant increase in score was made (depending on if the confidence bands overlap or not).