Performance on NBME Part I examination in relation to policies regarding use of test

From 1971 to 1983, a number of administrative decisions were made at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine regarding the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I examination. Students' performance on this examination was found to be associated with administrative decisions that required (a) a passing score for promotion, (b) the student to take the examination, and (c) the student to take an integrated basic sciences review course. A modest improvement in student performance was noted when passage of the examination was made mandatory. The introduction of a review course into the curriculum effected a major upward change in scores that has persisted despite the removal of all requirements to pass, or even take, the Part I NBME examination.