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Educational Program Characteristics and Pass Rates on the National Physical Therapy Examination

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Spring 2005 by Mohr, Thomas, Ingram, Debbie, Hayes, Sherrill, Du, Zuru

Background and Purpose. There has been a recent move to identify benchmarking criteria for indicators of quality in an educational program. One measure of program quality is performance on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of educational program characteristics on NPTE pass rates. Subjects and Methods. Program directors from 132 Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited physical therapist education programs completed a survey about their program. This information was matched with the NPTE pass rate for that program. A regression analysis was performed examining 21 independent variables and their role in predicting the program's pass rate. Results. The final regression model consisted of three educational program variables that best predicted the pass rate on the NPTE examination: 1) accreditation status, 2) number of faculty with a PhD and/or EdD, and 3) years of preprofessional and professional coursework combined. Discussion and Conclusion. Although we found that the total length of the program (ie, preprofessional and professional combined) was a significant variable in the regression model, the length of the professional program by itself was not. The program pass rate is dependent on a number of factors including individual student characteristics as well as the quality of the professional educational program and its faculty.

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Key Words: National Physical Therapy Examination, Physical therapy education, Pass rate on National Physical Therapy Examination, Benchmarking criteria.

INTRODUCTION

The National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) is developed under the supervision of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT).1 The NPTE serves two purposes: 1) to provide examination services to regulatory boards charged with the licensing of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, and 2) to provide a common element in the evaluation of candidates so that standards will be comparable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The examination is designed to test professional (entry-level) competence of the candidate who has met the academic requirements set by the licensing board. Eligibility to take the examination is determined by the jurisdiction in which the candidate sits for the examination.

The determination of a passing score is set by the jurisdiction in which the candidate wants to become licensed. As of July 1996, all jurisdictions have adopted criterion-referenced scoring.2 As a result of this decision, candidates with passing scores in one jurisdiction have passing scores in all jurisdictions and conversely, candidates with failing scores in one jurisdiction have failing scores in all jurisdictions. The NPTE scale score is an arithmetic conversion of raw scores to a scale that ranges from 200 to 800. In order to pass the examination, a candidate must achieve a scale score of 600. '

The NPTE is constructed from items that are reflective of the test content outline.2·3 The test content outline is based on the results of a formal, professionally conducted job analysis of physical therapists completed approximately every 5 years. Each job analysis is accomplished by means of a survey that assesses the tasks and duties of professional physical therapy practice, and that are directly relevant to public protection. Each physical therapist (PT) examination has a predetermined percentage of questions regarding assessment and evaluation, interpretation and planning, and intervention. The PT examination consists of 200 scored multiple-choice items. It is presumed that the academic training acquired from a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited PT education program constitutes sufficient preparation for the examination. To be eligible to take the NPTE, candidates must have graduated from a CAPTE-accredited program, if they are US graduates.

Although the academic education should prepare the candidate to successfully pass the examination, the national pass rate on the NPTE in 1999 for United States-educated physical therapists for first-time test takers was 77.78%.4 This pass rate would imply that, because approximately 22 % of the eligible graduates of US programs failed the examination, the academic preparation may not have been adequate or the candidate did not prepare sufficiently for the examination.

Literature Review

There is little published information regarding predictors of pass rate performance on the current forms of the NPTE. Roehrig5 performed an analysis of several variables and their effect on the licensing examination passing scores of 63 candidates from one physical therapy program. The variables tested were ACT scores, pre-physical therapy prerequisite course grade point averages (GPA), scores from letters of recommendation, and interview scores. Using regression analysis, the three variables of ACT score, prerequisite grade point average (GPA), and interview score accounted for 28% of the variance. The letters of recommendation were not significantly correlated with the passing scores. In a more recent study, Dockter6 also reported a significant correlation between the preadmission GPA and scores on the NPTE. She did not find a significant correlation between age, degree status or preadmission clinical experience, and NPTE scores.

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Educational Program Characteristics and Pass Rates on the National Physical Therapy Examination

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Spring 2005 by Mohr, Thomas, Ingram, Debbie, Hayes, Sherrill, Du, Zuru

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