Reality: While the NBME updates its equating, the relative difficulty of Form 9 compared to Form 10/11 has remained stable for years. Thousands of students have validated these conversion tables against their real Step 1 scores. The correlation is approximately r=0.85, which is very strong for a medical school exam.
Before the NBME modernized their assessment system (creating the interactive CCSSA forms), students relied heavily on PDF versions of older NBME forms ("Offline" forms). NBME 9 is one of these older forms. nbme 9 offline score conversion
Because the NBME does not officially provide a score conversion chart for these offline PDFs, the medical student community (specifically forums like Reddit and Student Doctor Network) reverse-engineered the scoring scales. When you search for an "NBME 9 Offline Score Conversion," you are looking for a community-created table that translates your raw percentage correct into a predicted 3-digit score. Reality: While the NBME updates its equating, the
Below is the most accurate, research-backed conversion chart for NBME 9. This table assumes you have answered 200 scored questions (the old NBME 9 did not have experimental questions; all 200 count). | Raw Correct (Out of 200) | Predicted
To use this table:
| Raw Correct (Out of 200) | Predicted 3-Digit Score (Step 1 Scale) | Approximate Percentile (Passing = 196) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 180 – 200 | 245 – 260+ | 95th – 99th | | 170 – 179 | 230 – 244 | 85th – 95th | | 160 – 169 | 220 – 229 | 70th – 84th | | 150 – 159 | 210 – 219 | 55th – 69th | | 140 – 149 | 200 – 209 | 45th – 54th | | 130 – 139 | 190 – 199 | 35th – 44th | | 120 – 129 | 180 – 189 | 25th – 34th | | 110 – 119 | 170 – 179 | 15th – 24th | | 100 – 109 | 160 – 169 | 8th – 14th | | 90 – 99 | 150 – 159 | 3rd – 7th | | Below 90 | < 150 | < 2nd |
Reality: You are only cheating yourself. For conversion to be valid, you must simulate real testing conditions: timed, no pausing, no external resources. If you look up answers, your raw score will be artificially high, and your conversion will give you false confidence.