The recent decision of the Association of American Medical Colleges to scrap its traditional written version of the Medical College Admission Test in favor of a computerized version may be a cause for apprehension among pre-med students.
Students will still have the option of taking the traditional version of the MCAT until August 2006, when computerized testing will become mandatory.
The AAMC said that the computer version of the MCAT will provide students with a more controlled setting and will be shorter in length. Thomson Prometric, a computer-based testing company, has been contracted by the AAMC to administer the new computerized CATs.
“Our goal is to enhance the testing experience for examinees and the usefulness of the results for the medical schools and other professional schools that use the MCAT,” Ellen Julian, associate vice president for the AAMC and director of the CAT, said in a statement. “We have taken the time to do this right and are pleased with the project plan, the timeline and our partnership with Thomson Prometric.”
The AAMC also announced that it would significantly reduce the number of questions on the test as the new computerized format is implemented. The group said it hopes the new testing structure will lower testing time and the time required for scoring and allow test centers to administer the MCAT more frequently.
Some students, however, said they remained cautious about the prospect of taking an entirely computer-based test.
“It’s very different from what we’ve been doing for our entire academic careers,” Shante Cofield (COL ’09) said. “Paper and pencil has always been the standard, but change isn’t always a bad thing.”
Nicole Stocking (COL ’09) said the technological changes in test-taking are a sign of the times.
“Inevitably, everything will be [computerized] . even the SATs,” she said. “It’s simply showing the signs of progress in technology.”
Other students were more optimistic. The new computer format for the MCAT may prevent errors students make on paper tests, pre-med student Alexandria Borys (COL ’08) said.
“Taking a test on a computer is innovative and refreshing. I think students will be much less likely to have careless errors, and might even become more efficient test takers.”
Amjed Mustafa, MCAT program manager at Kaplan Test Prep and Administration, Inc., said that the AAMC’s reasons for changing the test format were mainly administrative.
“The purpose of the computerized format is to speed up the testing process, allowing test-takers to receive their scores back sooner,” he said. He also said that the new computerized format is the “biggest change the MCAT has seen in over a decade.”
Mustafa also said that by making the test computer-based, the AAMC will be able to offer students more dates to take the test, as well as more security for answers and scores.
To take the computerized tests, Mustafa said, students will report to specific Prometric testing locations throughout the country. He added that although the tests will still be proctored, the testing locations will administer the MCAT as well as other professional exams in the same testing session. This new procedure means that a student taking the MCAT may find himself in the same testing room as someone who is taking a completely different standardized test.
Mustafa said that this aspect of the computerized exam may be a distraction for some test-takers, and that students will need extra preparation and procedural awareness before taking the new CAT.
A recent survey conducted by Kaplan found that, despite the proposed advantages of the new format, 82 percent of students planning to take the MCAT felt that they would do worse on a computer-based test than on a paper version.
Mustafa said that students will be likely to have difficulty staring at computer screens for many hours during the exam, and recommended that students who have already completed most of the pre-med requirements “do away with anxiety and take the paper and pencil test.”
Stocking said that students taking the MCAT ought to be prepared for the challenges that these testing changes bring.
“Either way, looking at a piece of paper or a computer screen for eight hours isn’t easy, but then again, neither is the MCAT,” she said.
Eugene T. Ford, assistant dean for admissions at Georgetown edical School, declined to comment on the planned changes for the CAT.
