The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) has given up paper tests for computerized exams -- a move some students think will hurt their scores.
Although the test was first offered electronically in August 2006, prospective medical students still had the option to take the written test. However, as of Jan. 27, students no longer had that option.
The computerized version is 70 questions shorter than the paper exam and will be offered 22 times per year as opposed to twice a year, which was the case prior to the switchover.
Jeffrey Meanza, director of graduate programs for the Princeton Review, said the computerized version allowed for more test dates, a faster turn around for scores and increased student comfort.
"It used to be an eight-hour exam," Meanza said. "People sometimes would be there for 10 hours, so this is a much better testing situation. Now the rooms are noise controlled and air-conditioned. It's a more successful testing environment. I think it will show in scores."
However, a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions in 2005, prior to the switch, found that students aren't as excited about the new exam.
Of the nearly 4,000 students nationwide that Kaplan polled, 82 percent believe they would earn a lower grade on the computerized MCAT than on the paper-and-pencil exam. Eighty percent of those polled, however, had never taken a computer-based, college-level exam.
Meanza said he doesn't think the scores between the two tests will be that drastic.
"We don't really know yet, but statistically there shouldn't be a drastic difference because the change is proportional. The scoring compensates for the fewer questions. There may be a little bit [of a difference], but I doubt that it will be a dramatic point," Meanza said.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the organization that is behind the administration of the MCAT, did experience some glitches with the test. According to the AAMC, of the 2,500 students who took the test in January, 800 found errors in the verbal portion, where questions were matched with an unrelated passage. These students were offered a chance to void the scores and a full refund of the $210 registration fee.
"I think there will be kinks, but they will resolve themselves as the year progresses. I don't have any specific concerns," Meanza said. "Little things happen, and it is definitely unfortunate but AAMC is good at responding."
Meanza also said that he thought the switchover probably occurred because of administrative reasons.
"It's all done over the computer, so [the scores] can be given back to students faster and it's a better experience overall," Meanza said.
Cheating doesn't seem to be a concern for the AAMC either. Each student will have a slightly different version of the test.
"It would be pretty difficult to cheat. Of course someone, somewhere will always find a way," Meanza said.
Students are required to put all their belonging in a locker before the exam and are only allowed to bring in a soundless stopwatch.
Penn State student Nick Martin (freshman-premedicine) said he doesn't mind the change.
"I guess it's nice. I'm used to computers now. It will be a little bit of change from pen and paper though," Martin said.
Penn State student Daniel Lapp, who is currently in the Penn State College of Medicine MD/PhD Program, said he would prefer the paper exam.
"I think I would have been more nervous [to take the computerized exam]. I like the paper exam. I like to be able to see all the questions and being able to turn back to the physical place."
The MCAT is a standardized, multiple-choice examination consisting of a physical sciences section, verbal reasoning, a writing sample and a biological sciences section.
