How are exams marked and how is the pass mark set?

The answer lies in an academic construct called the Angoff Method.

Put simply, from the moment your exam is set there are four key processes:

• The answer grid proposed by the authors of the exam is tweaked to make sure that it works in real life.
• The examiners then set a mark against any of your correct answers.
• Penalty marks are then deducted for killer answers, grouped answers and overcoded answers.
• A cut off score is determined by a group of experts, using everyone’s raw marks. 

How so? They go through the entire paper, determine how hard each question is, and then draw a line in the sand between the passes and fails.

As far as candidates are concerned, Angoff has pros and cons:

• Pros – no set percentage fail rate. In theory everyone can pass, and everyone can fail
• Cons – the cut mark can seem archaic and unforgiving, as there is no leeway to move it once it is set.

This is why we often come across candidates who have failed the same exam 3 times, sometimes by 0.5% each time. They need a little extra to get them over the line, and this is where the expert PassAMC Examiners come in.

Our PassAMC Examiners are world class and the absolute experts in their fields. Between them, they have more than 50 years of AMC, PLAB, senior College, university, GP training, postgraduate and examination expertise. You are well and truly in safe hands.