This is the data on entrance exams, not exit exams. Is there any data that actually shows minorities that finish med school and pass boards are any less competent?
The entire point of these programs is to make up for the lack of educational access for minorities by giving them a chance to prove themselves by admitting them with lower scores. But if they complete the same program, doesn't that mean they are just as good?
Now, in light of this study, it would be super interesting if this divide holds up in exit exam scores. But until we actually have that data, I'm not sure your claim is valid.
This: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00904... Suggests MEDIAN USMLE step 1 scores for White, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, and Black applicants were 242, 242, 237, and 232. It's urology specific, and practice specific, though.
This: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hsr2.161 Says The mean (±SD) USMLE step 1 score was significantly greater among non-[Black or Hispanic] applicants as compared to URiM applicants (223.7 ± 19.4 vs 216.1 ± 18.4, P < .01, two-sample t-test). This is at a specific medical school.
But more generally...imagine what would have to be true for us to go from BIG differences in g-loaded test performance to small / no differences. Either people fundamentally change somehow (get smarter / dumber), people's test scores systematically differ because they e.g. got better / worse at "tests" or something, independent of their underlying knowledge of the content or abilities, or it's attrition (e.g., very many minority med students wash out, leaving only those who should have been admitted in the first place).
None of those things seem plausible to me. The little glimpse we have from the two studies above is consistent with the obvious thing happening. Things are mostly the same, though I'd bet URM have higher wash-out rates, so differences get attenuated somewhat by the time they're practicing. Of course, URM vs non-URM will sort differently into specialties and geographies so there's that...you'll see bigger or smaller differences depending on how they sorted. A good question, as well, is why the USMLE people don't split reporting by race. I bet one of the reasons is they'd get a lot of flak because there would be big disparities. And good on them (maybe!) because one reason they might care about that is they want to produce good doctors, and watering down their test won't help with that.
The entire point of these programs is to make up for the lack of educational access for minorities by giving them a chance to prove themselves by admitting them with lower scores. But if they complete the same program, doesn't that mean they are just as good?
Now, in light of this study, it would be super interesting if this divide holds up in exit exam scores. But until we actually have that data, I'm not sure your claim is valid.