This shift has no impact for USMLE score users who use the 3-digit scoring scale or for those using the 2-digit scale with a primary interest in whether the examinee has a passing 2-digit score of at least 75. A by-product of the adjustment of the score conversion system over time has been a shift in the relationship between the two score scales. This process has, at times, resulted in changes in the minimum passing score, expressed on the 3-digit scale, and an accompanying change in the score conversion process, to ensure that a 2-digit score of 75 is associated with the new minimum passing requirement. The USMLE program requires its governing committees to reevaluate the minimum passing score for each Step every three to four years. The process used to convert 3-digit scores to 2-digit scores is designed in such a way that the 3-digit minimum passing score in effect when the examinee tests is associated with a 2-digit score of 75. The 2-digit scale is intended to meet legislative requirements of some state medical boards that rely on a score scale that has 75 as the minimum passing score. The 3-digit score scale is considered the primary reporting scale it is developed in a manner that allows reasonable comparisons across time. Since its beginning in the 1990s, the USMLE program has reported two numeric scores for the Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 examinations, one on a 3-digit scale and one on a 2-digit scale.

To eliminate the misuse of and confusion surrounding the 2-digit scale, the USMLE Composite Committee, the governing body of the USMLE program, directed the staff to discontinue its reporting.

Usmle step 1 2 digit score converter