nospin29 Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I just took the PANCE and passed it (yay!!), however my score was much lower than anticipated. Prior to the exam, I took a handful of PACKRAT exams, each scoring between a 180-190 which when you use the PACKRAT to PANCE formula, puts me around a 700 or so PANCE score. Now, a 180 is an 80% on the PACKRAT. My PANCE score came back as a 475, but when working out the content percentages, something doesn't seem right. When working out the content percentages, I got 85% of the cardio correct, so with cardio being 18% of the exam out of 300 questions, 54 were cardio meaning I got 46 correct. Doing that for the rest of the content areas, I ended up getting 80% of the exam correct. This led me to one of two conclusions: either I missed a ton of the heavier weighted questions and got the lighter weighted questions correct, or they changed the exam difficulty making the PACKRAT to PANCE formula obsolete. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or wanted to add their input. At the end of the day, I passed and am whole heartedly happy about it, but being the nerd that I am, it left me wondering. Thanks! Newly minted PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted August 19, 2016 Moderator Share Posted August 19, 2016 The packrat formula is bogus. It's always been conjecture with little true data to support is. Look into the research behind it, the REAL actual data, and you'll see its poor science. It's not a percentage based exam. It's a strange complex formula that put 500 at around the 50th % You probably took the test as the same time as a whole bunch of smart people. I would agree that if you made a 180 on your ACTUAL packrat, not the previous exams that one can find online or handed over from friends, then your score on PANCE shot a little below what I would have predicted. It happens though. You passed. Wouldn't lose sleep over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nospin29 Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Yeah, the exam score is a bit of a mystery but the percentages don't lie. 240 out of 300 questions isn't too bad, I'll take it. It's just odd to me how the score is calculated. By the way, you picked the right branch. Former navy enlistedman here. Give a shoutout to the ordies next time you see them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesij1212 Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 There is a lot more that goes into calculating the PANCE score other than percentages. For example, all 300 questions aren't counted in the score - some are there to see if they are good/bad questions, and others are thrown out due to the performance of the cohort taking the exam at the time. This is the whole reason you don't get a "percent" on the PANCE...its just not that clear cut. This was all explained to us during a PANCE review course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memesner Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 This grading system sounds arbitrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffnut11 Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 more like absurd... you could do awesome on the test but because 50% of the people taking it that day have to score in the 50 % range for them you already scaled score could be scaled the down. My two cents your score is your score and should not compare to a cohort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted August 23, 2016 Moderator Share Posted August 23, 2016 I actually actually agree with the scoring system, at least to a degree since I'm not privy to all the details. You would want a scaled score if one day they made a really hard test and half the people in the country failed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seekingtruths Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I just took the PANCE and passed it (yay!!), however my score was much lower than anticipated. Prior to the exam, I took a handful of PACKRAT exams, each scoring between a 180-190 which when you use the PACKRAT to PANCE formula, puts me around a 700 or so PANCE score. Now, a 180 is an 80% on the PACKRAT. My PANCE score came back as a 475, but when working out the content percentages, something doesn't seem right. When working out the content percentages, I got 85% of the cardio correct, so with cardio being 18% of the exam out of 300 questions, 54 were cardio meaning I got 46 correct. Doing that for the rest of the content areas, I ended up getting 80% of the exam correct. This led me to one of two conclusions: either I missed a ton of the heavier weighted questions and got the lighter weighted questions correct, or they changed the exam difficulty making the PACKRAT to PANCE formula obsolete. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or wanted to add their input. At the end of the day, I passed and am whole heartedly happy about it, but being the nerd that I am, it left me wondering. Thanks! Newly minted PA-C I'm seconding the OP here. Just got my scores back (YAY!!!!) and passed, but not with as hefty a margin as predicted by PACKRAT --> PANCE equation. I got a 477 on PANCE. My official PACKRAT scores were 139 for didactic year and 169 for clinical year. PANCE score was a little surprisingly low but I didn't study much for the PANCE to be honest. Did Certified Medical Educators 3-day course, a couple extra practice tests on my own, and studied 4-5 hours/day for the week before the exam, but not much else. Obviously it's always better to study more but I would recommend that someone scoring similarly to me on PACKRATs buckle down and make sure you start studying earlier so you don't cut it close with your PANCE score. Seekingtruths, PA-C :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumsden Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 The packrat formula is bogus. It's always been conjecture with little true data to support is. Look into the research behind it, the REAL actual data, and you'll see its poor science. It's not a percentage based exam. It's a strange complex formula that put 500 at around the 50th % You probably took the test as the same time as a whole bunch of smart people. I would agree that if you made a 180 on your ACTUAL packrat, not the previous exams that one can find online or handed over from friends, then your score on PANCE shot a little below what I would have predicted. It happens though. You passed. Wouldn't lose sleep over it. The 50th percentile equalling 500 or so makes me think. Most programs end in the summer. The more prepared students might take less time to study, taking the exam earlier. Thus, people taking the exam in summer might have to score higher to reach the 50th percentile than those who wait until fall. On the other hand, people taking the exam in the fall might answer more questions correctly because they have taken longer to prepare. Not that the PANCE score really matters, but is there an optimal time of year to take the PANCE, when it would be easier to pass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliz Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 The 50th percentile equalling 500 or so makes me think. Most programs end in the summer. The more prepared students might take less time to study, taking the exam earlier. Thus, people taking the exam in summer might have to score higher to reach the 50th percentile than those who wait until fall. On the other hand, people taking the exam in the fall might answer more questions correctly because they have taken longer to prepare. Not that the PANCE score really matters, but is there an optimal time of year to take the PANCE, when it would be easier to pass? There are quite a few programs that finish in the fall as well. It all balances out... and I, for one, am pretty sure that if you go to a good program, taking a test right after graduation will give you just as good of a score (or better) than if you keep studying and wait a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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