ABOUT NMAT

The National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) is an instrument designed to upgrade the selection of applicants seeking admission to Philippine medical schools. It evolved from a widespread concern to screen qualified candidates aspiring for a medical degree. It intends to improve the qualit of medical education in the countr and envisions to elevate the medical profession to a level of competence through a careful evaluation of student potentials for future medical studies. Pursuant to the Medical Act of !"#"$ the %oard of Medical &ducation (%M&)$ under '&() *rder No. #+ series !",# and in consultation with the Association of Philippine Medical (olleges (APM()$ required the NMAT as a prerequisite for admission in all medical schools nationwide -eginning school ear !",. / !",0. The (enter for &ducational Measurement$ Inc. ((&M) has -een authori1ed to manage the affairs and activities related to the operation of the NMAT since the first administration of the test in 'ecem-er !",#. 2ith (&M3s e4perience as an educational testing agenc $ it was commissioned to develop the NMAT$ ensure the relia-ilit and validit of the test and uphold the confidentialit of results and integrit of its administration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST The NMAT is a two/part test5 Part I consists of tests of mental a-ilit and Part II tests$ of academic proficienc . The four su-tests that compose Part I measure aptitudes that were found to have significant correlations with academic performance of medical students$ while the four su-tests that compose Part II measure su-6ect proficienc in areas which are part of the academic -ackground required of applicants to the medical course. The su-tests in Part I are as follows5 Verbal. This su-test consists of two t pes of test items$ namel $ word analogies and reading comprehension$ which measure ver-al a-ilit in &nglish. Items in reading comprehension are -ased on the content of portions of pu-lished materials covering a wide range of topics$ e.g.$ social$ scientific$ medical$ philosophical$ literar . Inductive Reasoning. This su-test consists of num-er$ letter$ and figural series and figure grouping items. These items are known to measure induction which is the a-ilit to form and test a h pothesis directed at finding a principle with which to identif an element fitting a given relationship. uantitative. This su-test consists of three t pes of items$ namel $ fundamental operations$ pro-lem solving$ and data interpretation. These items are intended to measure general reasoning which is defined as the a-ilit to organi1e and appl knowledge of -asic mathematics and reasoning to find solutions for them. Perce!tual "cuit#. This su-test consists of three t pes of items$ namel $ hidden figure$ mirror image$ and identical information. )olutions to these items involve accurac in visualperception$ an a-ilit linked to extensiveness of scanning$ a cognitive st le

associated with meticulousness$ concern with detail$ and sharp$ et wide/ranging focus of attention. The four su-tests that compose Part II are Biolog#$ P$#sics$ Social Science$ and C$e%istr#. )ocial )cience includes items in ps cholog $ sociolog $ and anthropolog . The items in the four su-tests are limited to the content coverage of the areas that are common and -asic to the curricula of the degree programs considered as premedical courses. *n the whole$ these four su-tests measure comple4 mental a-ilities -ecause solution to the items require the use of the different cognitive skills of knowledge$ comprehension$ application (process)$ anal sis$ s nthesis$ and evaluation. PREP"RIN& FOR THE TEST The NMAT is intended to measure mental and academic skills that are regarded as necessar in the successful pursuit of medical education$ and possi-l in the profession itself. 7ou$ the prospective test taker$ ma have learned a wide arra of mental and academic skills$ -ut unless ou know definitel which ones to use on which part of the NMAT$ ou will not perform in the test as well as ou should. 'NDERST"NDIN& THE N("T Test taking will -e greatl improved with the use of a practice set that$ more or less$ reflects the content and test length of the NMAT and the skills that the test measures. The practice test will help ou know what each particular su-test is a-out$ and what it measures anal 1ing the information$ concepts$ and principles involved in the items. The -rief description of the NMAT in the previous section gives ou an idea of the relative difficult of the su-tests. Part I requires more of innate a-ilities. The items in an of the four su-tests of Part I measure a primar aptitude. %asic concepts or principles can -e found in the items presented. In Part II$ the items in an of the four su-tests$ with the e4ception of recall items$ require the use of comple4 a-ilities such as application and anal sis. This is where Part II will require references and note taking. 8or e4ample$ in the practice test$ a pro-lem in ph sics that requires the use of a formula will need our a-ilit to recall the formula and appl it. It is$ therefore$ good practice to note down our anal sis of the pro-lem. A formula has a num-er of varia-les$ and it is likel to appear in similar pro-lems involving the other varia-les. ("N"&E(ENT OF ST'D) TI(E There are a-out three months -etween the registration for the NMAT and the administration of the test. Apportion our time wisel so that ou can cover all the areas included In Part II. 7our practice can -e a good indicator of our weak areas. &arl in our preparation to take the NMAT$ ou should tr to answer all the questions in our practice set. Tick off or note all the items where ou have difficult understanding and getting the correct answers. Then reread our notes or reference -ooks and anal 1e wh our answers differ from the correct answer. 'o our review s stematicall so ou proceed - sections. After ou have finished reviewing our weak areas$ ou should now -e read to take the NMAT.

To prepare ourself to take the test under time pressure$ take our practice set and simulate the actual test time which is 9 hours for Part I and + : hours for Part II. After answering the test under time pressure$ score our test against the Answer ;e . If ou get 0#< of the items correctl $ ou are in good shape and read to take the NMAT. =ower than 0#< correct answers will mean the need to improve our -ase information level on the various su-tests and to sharpen our application and>or anal tical skills. (A?TI*N5 The Practice )et is meant to guide ou in our review and to provide ou with an opportunit to simulate the NMAT testing procedure. 'o not memori1e the test questions and the answers in the answer ke . The NMAT ou will take will not include the same questions ou see in the Practice )et. TEST SCORES Part I of the NMAT ields five scores$ one for each of the four aptitude su-tests and their summative score$ the APT (omposite. )imilarl $ Part II ields five scores$ one for each of the four special su-6ect areas and their summative score$ the )A (omposite. The @eneral Performance )core$ or @P)$ is the summative score derived from the eight su-tests. (lick here to view an image of the &4aminee Aeport 8orm (&A8) on which the NMAT scores are printed. The results on the test are converted to standard scores from normali1ed scales which have points ranging from +BB to ,BB and midpoints of #BB. These scales were mathematicall derived from the NMAT performance of the norm group. The test$ therefore$ is norm/ referenced. The test results of e4aminees are automaticall compared to those of the norm group which has mean scores of #BB (coincident to the midpoint #BB) and a standard deviation of !BB. In addition$ a percentile rank scale was generated specificall for the @eneral Performance )core (@P)) for purposes of ranking. This scale has points ranging from !/ to ""C$ with a midpoint of #B which/corresponds to the midpoint of #BB in the normali1ed standard score scales. An e4aminee3s raw score or num-er of correct answers in a su-test is converted to its equivalent standard score. The eight su-tests have a common normali1ed scale. This makes possi-le the comparison of reported scores across the eight su-tests. The APT (omposite and )A (omposite are the summative raw scores of Part I and Part II$ respectivel $ which are then converted to their equivalent standard scores from a common normali1ed scale. The @eneral Performance )core (@P)) is the summative raw score of the eight su-tests which is converted to its equivalent standard score and corresponding percentile rank. Thus$ the three standard scores are independent scores although the ield to the same interpretation of standard scores and percentile ranks. TEST RES'*TS 7our NMAT score will -e printed in the &4aminee Aeport 8orm (&A8) and the original cop of this form will -e mailed to ou (or -e read for pick/up) si4 weeks after the test date. To safeguard the authenticit of the results$ our score will also appear in the masterlist of test scores which will -e sent to all Philippine medical schools$ (ommission on Digher &ducation

((D&')$ Digher &ducation Aegional *ffices (D&A*)$ and the office of the Association of Philippine Medical (olleges (APM(). To maintain confidentialit $ the &A8 is given onl to the e4aminee himself>herself. Phoned/in inquiries on an individual3s scores will not -e entertained. In case an e4aminee needs a second cop of the &A8$ he>she ma file a written request for a second cop of the &A8 at (&M after two weeks from the release of the test results. A minimal retrieval fee is charged for ever cop of the &A8. The (&M does not entertain rechecking of NMAT answer sheets. The results contained in the &A8 and in the NMAT masterlists are official and are guaranteed free of discrepancies. Medical schools and Digher &ducation Aegional *ffices must therefore refer onl to the masterlist for official scores. The masterlist safeguards the authenticit of the NMAT results. NMAT consists of two parts E Part I is given in the morning and Part II in the afternoon. An e4aminee must sit for -oth parts of the test. If the e4aminee fails to sit for Part II of the test in the afternoon$ he>she automaticall waives the reporting and release of his>her NMAT results. Dis>her answer sheet will not -e processed and no official NMAT results will -e released or received - the e4aminee.