Grading scale of verbal tests GS vs. AAMC

[vijendrak6976]

Dear Admin,

I've noticed that the conversion scales for the verbal tests are different from the GS and AAMC. I scored a 34/40 on GS1 VR which was translated to a score of 10/15. However, according to AAMC conversions a 34/40 is approximately 11 or 12.

Does this conversion reflect the level of difficulty of GS1 VR? Or is the conversion just set arbitrarily at a higher standard?

Thanks!

[mcat_premed3832]

The scales for all sections are different between AAMC and GS tests. It is related to different sample sizes (their scales are usually based on somewhere between 40 000 and 60 000 who would do the test in one year); and most importantly student performance.

If our verbal section has just 3 out of 40 questions that seem easier to a large group of students then the top part of the scale gets very rough in order to maintain the bell curve. None of our scores are arbitrary. You may find it useful to read student comments in the threads above comparing AAMC real and practice tests vs. GS text experiences.