Program Factors As Predictors of National Physical Therapy Examination Pass Rates
Purpose/Hypothesis: Physical therapy programs continue to encounter changing expectations related to preparation for professional practice, expectations for faculty scholarship, updated requirements for faculty qualifications, and overall composition of core faculty (percentage of faculty with academic doctorates). Previous studies have investigated institutional and program factors associated with and predictive of PT program outcomes with limited consensus. The purposes of this study were to a) identify program factors related to licensure examination pass rate in physical therapy education programs in the US, and b) determine whether related factors were predictive of successful graduate outcomes.
Number of Subjects: De-identified data from 231 PT programs in the US that had graduates in 2014 were utilized.
Materials and Methods: Spearman rank correlation coefficients were calculated to examine relationships among selected predictor variables and outcome variables of first-time licensure pass rates and 3-year ultimate pass rates. Prediction models were developed using multiple regression analyses for variables that demonstrated significant correlations.
Results: Nonparametric analyses revealed significant weak positive correlations with 2015 first time NPTE pass rate for 4 variables: average overall GPA (r=.390, p=.000), average prerequisite GPA (r=.319, p=.000), total peer-reviewed publications and presentations/faculty member (r=.291, p=.000), and percentage of core faculty with academic doctorates (r=.254, p=.000). Nonparametric analyses also revealed significant weak positive correlations with 2014-15 ultimate pass rate for 4 variables: average overall GPA (r=.230, p=.000), average prerequisite GPA (r=.193, p=.006), total peer-reviewed publications and presentations/faculty member (r=.233, p=.000), and percentage of core faculty with academic doctorates (r=.191, p=.005). The single predictor of first-time and ultimate pass rates was average overall GPA.
Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with previous studies that identified undergraduate GPA as a predictor of NPTE pass rates. Cook et al. reported that scholarly research activity was not related to higher NPTE pass rates, but our findings indicated that artifacts of scholarship, which included total peer-reviewed publications and presentations, were positively associated with NPTE pass rates. The optimal percentage of core faculty with academic doctorates has not previously been investigated, and our findings indicate that the percentage of faculty with academic doctorates is associated with NPTE pass rates.
Clinical Relevance: The results of this study may inform stakeholders in PT education, including program administrators, students, faculty, the public, and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.