Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI)

  The process of determining the minimum pass level to separate the competent students from those who do not perform well enough is called standard setting. A large number of methods are widely used to set cut-scores for both written and clinical examinations. There are some challenging issues pertaining to any standard setting procedure. Ignoring these concerns would result in a large dispute regarding the credibility and defensibility of the method. The goal of this review is to provide a basic understanding of the key concepts and challenges in standard setting and to suggest some recommendations to overcome the challenging issues for educators and policymakers who are dealing with decision-making in this field.