Exam Year Reports (Data current as of April 2008. Next scheduled update May 2009.)
These reports are for an exam year the time period in which a particular form is used. An exam year is approximately 12 months and now runs from March to February. The reports may include physical therapist/assistant graduates from different graduation years. The reports do not consider when a student graduated; they only consider when a student tested. The reports only include pass rate results on the first attempt. Exam year reports are updated May of each year with pass rates for the preceding year.
Physical Therapist
% Passing - PT
2007
2006
2005**
2004
2003*
1st Time Candidates Graduates of US Accredited Programs
88
86
82
73
75
1st Time Candidates - All
73
78
75
64
65
*A new job analysis was conducted and a new passing standard was set as of November 15, 2002. The 2003 pass rate reflects the updated test contents and standard.
**A new standard was set on the PT exam as of May 12, 2005. The 2005 pass rates reflect performance across both standards.
Physical Therapist Assistant
% Passing - PTA
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003*
1st Time Candidates Graduates of US Accredited Programs
79
74
74
72
75
1st Time Candidates - All
78
73
73
71
74
*A new job analysis was conducted and a new passing standard was set as of November 15, 2002. The 2003 pass rate reflects the updated test contents and standard.
Graduation Year Reports (Data current as of April 2008. Next scheduled update August 2008.)
These reports are for a graduation year. They represent all physical therapist/assistant students graduating in a given year who have taken the exam. The reports do not consider in what year a student tested, only in what year the student graduated. These reports include pass rate results for the first attempt as well as the ultimate pass rate, which is the percentage of students who pass the exam irrespective of the number of attempts it takes to pass.
Graduation year reports are updated May each year. First-time pass rates are provided for the previous graduation year, and ultimate pass rates are provided for the graduation year 2 years prior to the posting.
Ultimate pass rates are posted a year after first time pass rates are posted to allow students time to retest, if necessary. By delaying posting, the ultimate pass rates will be less likely to change significantly over time.
Physical Therapist
% Passing - PT
2007
2006
2005**
2004
2003*
1st Time Candidates Graduates of US Accredited Programs
89
86
83
72
77
Ultimately Passing Graduates of US Accredited Programs
Not Available
98
97
97
98
*A new job analysis was conducted and a new passing standard was set as of November 15, 2002. The 2003 pass rate reflects the updated test contents and standard.
**A new standard was set on the PT exam as of May 12, 2005. The 2005 pass rates reflect performance across both standards.
Physical Therapist Assistant
% Passing - PTA
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003*
1st Time Candidates Graduates of US Accredited Programs
81
75
74
72
71
Ultimately Passing Graduates of US Accredited Programs
Not Available
91
91
90
90
*A new job analysis was conducted and a new passing standard was set as of November 15, 2002. The 2003 pass rate reflects the updated test contents and standard.
Three-Year Ultimate Pass Rate by School (Data current as of April 2008. Next scheduled update August 2008.)
These reports are the three-year average of the ultimate pass rate for graduation classes from 2004, 2005 and 2006 for CAPTE-accredited programs. These reports are based on data as of April 1, 2008.
The ultimate pass rate is defined as the percentage of students in a graduation class that took the NPTE and passed, no matter how many attempts it took.
The weighted average is computed using the following formula:
(A*X) + (B*Y) +(C*Z)
(X+Y+Z)
A = ultimate pass rate of program for graduation year 2004
B = ultimate pass rate of program for graduation year 2005
C = ultimate pass rate of program for graduation year 2006
X = number of students in graduation year 2004 who took the NPTE
Y = number of students in graduation year 2005 who took the NPTE
Z = number of students in graduation year 2006 who took the NPTE
Pass rates are not reported for programs that graduated only one class during these three years. The pass rates for these programs are designated with an asterisk (*).
First-time pass rates are also not reported. To obtain first-time pass rates or other information regarding a specific program please contact the program. Program contact information along with accreditation status can be obtained from the website for the Commission for the Accreditation of Physical Therapy Programs (CAPTE), http://www.apta.org.
