Structure and Marking

The Primary MCQ is blue printed to the Basic Level Curriculum.  It is a written examination taken at various centres across the UK.

Structure of the exam
90 Multiple Choice Questions in three hours, 60 x Multiple True/False (MTF) questions (five stems in each question),  plus 30 x Single Best Answer Questions (SBA), comprising approximately of:

• 20 MTF question in pharmacology.
• 20 MTF questions in physiology, including related biochemistry and anatomy.
• 20 questions in physics, clinical measurement and data  interpretation.
• 30 SBA questions in any of the categories listed above.

The marking system

• One mark will be awarded for each correct answer in the MTF section.
• Four marks will be awarded for each correct question in the SBA section.
• The marks for each section are combined to produce a total mark.
• With 60 MTF (60 x 5 stems) and 30 SBA the maximum mark obtainable for the MCQ paper is 420 marks.
• The Pass mark is set by the Examiners using Angoff Referencing.  To allow for the examination’s reliability this mark is then reduced by one Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) to give the pass mark. 
• Pass marks and scores are given in raw score and percentages.
• No marks are deducted for incorrect answers.