Trainees call for transparency over raised pass marks for Royal College of Surgeons exam

The pass mark cut-off score is set after a group of subject matter experts review the questions and decide the minimum requirement expected of candidates, using a process called the modified Angoff method.2 A significantly higher proportion (42.2%) of trainees passed the exam after sitting it this September than in the September sittings in 2019 (36.3%) and 2018 (33.2%).3 Responding to the criticisms, the ICBSE said, “More than 3500 candidates took the examination, and despite these unique conditions the overwhelming majority were able to sit the exams without incident. While sitting the exam online, candidates were told not to look away from their screens for the duration, leave the view of the camera, or “move in unusual or excessive ways.” The Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations states, “In the vast majority of cases these infractions were not judged to be significant and were related to appropriate revised regulations designed to protect the standards of the examination . . . maintaining patient safety was the cause of this new method of candidate scrutiny.”