In this blog post, we have created a comparison chart of the mean Step 1 scores by specialty reported by students in the 2009 NRMP match as compared to the 2011 match. As you can see, the trend seems to be that, for the vast majority of specialties, the Step 1 scores for matching in each specialty are on the rise. In most cases, it is only by 2-3 points, for U.S. Seniors. For Independent Applicants, the spread is wider, with the increase being between 3-5 points. An increase in average Step 1 scores was seen in 10 of the specialties in both the US. Senior and Matched Independent Applicant groups.

Interestingly, the Step 1 averages in the Unmatched U.S. Seniors went up in six specialties and down in seven. In eleven of the specialties, Unmatched Independent Applicant Step 1 score averages went up, and very few were on the decrease.