COM – Standardized Scoring Policy for M1 and M2 Biomedical Sciences Courses

Policy Number: 3349-AC-429
Effective Date: 07/01/2020
Updated: 05/27/2025
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: Office of the Dean, and Medical Education, College of Medicine
Approval Authority: Dean, College of Medicine
Responsible Office: Office of the Dean, and Medical Education, College of Medicine

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to standardize the scoring structure for M1 and M2 courses.

B. Scope

This policy applies to the biomedical sciences courses of the M1 and M2 curriculum unless otherwise noted.

C. Definitions

1. “Course Directors” refer to the appointed faculty members who are responsible for the overall design, implementation, student assessment within and evaluation of a credit-bearing course.
2. “Final Course Score” refers to the overall total score that includes the weighted scores from weekly quizzes, midterm(s), and final exam that is customized National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) assessment.

D. Policy Statement

1. All biomedical science courses in the M1 and M2 curriculum greater than five (5) weeks in length will calculate the Final Course Score using the following formula:
   1. Weekly quizzes will comprise 5% of the Final Course Score. The Weekly Quiz Score will be adjusted to exclude scores from time permitted as allowable excused absences as described in the College of Medicine Attendance at Instructional Sessions policy 3349-AC-418.
   2. Additional course assignments (e.g., evidence-based medicine, self-directed learning, reflective essay assignments) will be listed as distinct pass/fail items in the list of course grading criteria.
   3. Midterm(s) will comprise 35-45% of the Final Course Score.
   4. Final exams will be constructed as NBME Customized Assessments and will comprise 40 to 60 % of the Final Course Score in courses employing a single midterm examination and will comprise no less than 40% of the Final Course Score in those courses employing multiple midterms or additional assignments.
      1. The length of the exam should not exceed 150 items.
      2. The overall exam difficulty (p-value) should approximate 0.82, meaning that the expected NBME average score would be 82%. A typical acceptable range of average exam difficulty is a difficulty of 0.75-0.85.
      3. Courses that use practical laboratory exam score or other assessments as a portion of the Final or Midterm Exams should seek approval from the Pre-clerkship Curriculum Subcommittee and Curriculum Committee. If use of other assessments impacts the above approved distribution of overall score, the specific grade weighting of each aspect of the course should be presented in the request for approval.
2. Any exceptions to the requirements described above must be approved by the Pre-clerkship Curriculum Subcommittee and Curriculum Committee before the syllabus is published and the course starts.
3. All assessments must meet quality standards set forth by the College of Medicine and Curriculum Committee. Courses whose assessments do not meet quality standards will be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee during the standard annual and triennial review processes.

Download the Policy