Effect of COMLEX-USA Level 1 pass/fail score reporting on student stress, test preparation, and performance

The COMLEX-USA series is designed as a licensure examination to assess competencies essential for the practice of osteopathic medicine. Passage of Level 1 indicates that a student has demonstrated competence in the foundational biomedical sciences, osteopathic principles, and related physician competency domains to enter supervised patient care settings. The transition in score reporting for Level 1 preserves that purpose. This study provides preliminary insights into the perceived differences in students' stress level, examination preparation, and examination performance patterns following the change of score reporting. Further study will be conducted as these students transition through their osteopathic education.