How is the Clinical Decision Making (CDM) Section Graded?
There are 26 CDM Cases on the COMLEX which means that there will be 70-80 questions total (some tests have more or less questions depending on the draw from the Qbank). Each case has 2-4 questions to answer.
The CDM portion will take 3.5 hours (2 sections). There are a total of 8 sections on the entire COMLEX, so 2/8 = 25% of your grade.
For Extended Multiple Choice, partial credit can be awarded if you answer some but not all of the correct answers (for example, the question has 5 correct choices, and you select 4). You will receive a zero if you select more choices than allowed (for example, you select 7 answer choices when only 6 were allowed). You will receive a zero if you select an answer choice that would harm the patient.
All answers are weighted equally (one question is not worth more than another question). The Short Answer responses will get a point if you enter the correct response. You will get a zero on the short answer response if you put more than 1 response in a single box (for example: IV fluids and administer lisinopril). You will also get a zero for that question if you enter a response that could harm the patient.
This is an important part of Level 3, so this section should be taken seriously as 1/4th of your total grade which can make or break your score. We hope that you will take this seriously and study with us. We have over 100+ cases that will allow you to study and be confident on test day to rock this section.
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