Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Lori Walton

Abstract

Background. This study explored relationships between Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) scores. -- Methodology. This is a retrospective correlational design utilizing a purposive sample (n = 102) of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students from three consecutive cohorts. Correlations were examined between GRE Verbal (GREV), GRE Quantitative (GREQ), and GRE Total (GRET) socres with the NPTE first time pass rate utilizing a Spearman rho correlation coefficient. Discriminant analysis was used to calculate the cut-off score that would correlate with a minimum passing score of 600 on the NPTE. -- Results. The results showed a weak, but significant correlations between GREV and NPTE scores (r = .454, p<.001), GREQ and NPTE socres (r=.420, p<.001) and GRET and NPTE scores (r = .484, p<.001). Discriminant analysis revealed cut-off scores at pass rates of 80%, 90%, and 100% for GREV (320, 420, 540), GREQ (350, 510, 610), and GRET (680, 950, 1000), respectively. -- Conclusion. The cut-off score results from this study reflect minimal (80%), acceptable (90%), and exceptional (100%) first time pass scores deemed acceptable according to the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and the program goals for this institution. Future research with a larger and more diverse sample is needed with emphasis on the predictive ability of GRE and first time pass scores on the NPTE.

Subject Area

Graduate Record Examination., National Physical Therapy Examination.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

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