At its December 2013 meeting, the Step 1 Committee conducted a review of the USMLE Step 1 examination minimum passing score. During the meeting, the Committee considered information from multiple sources, including:
- Recommendations from independent groups of physicians who participated in content-based standard-setting activities in 2013;
- Results of surveys of various groups (e.g., state licensing representatives, medical school faculty, examinees) concerning the appropriateness of current passing requirements for the Step 1 examination;
- Data on trends in examinee performance;
- Data on precision of pass/fail classifications.
As a result of its review, the Step 1 Committee decided to raise the recommended Step 1 minimum passing score from 188 to 192.
This change will be applied to Step 1 examinees testing on or after January 1, 2014.
Source : USMLE.org