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Acronyms A-Z

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FSBPT members and staff use a variety of acronyms. We have compiled a list of these acronyms along with descriptions and website links when appropriate.

 

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 

A

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
ACAPT The American Council of Academic Physical Therapy ACAPT is dedicated to excellence in physical therapist education programs as a whole and provides a voice representing academic physical therapy.
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act A federal law that requires reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities
AERA American Educational Research Association AERA is one of the joint authors of The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, which provides guidance for developing the NPTE.
AIN Alternate Identification Number For NPTE candidates who don't have SSNs
AOP Analysis of practice; also called practice analysis Using a large survey of practicing PTs and PTAs, determines what tasks and knowledge are required of an entry-level PT or PTA to practice competently.
APA American Psychological Association APA is one of the joint authors of The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, which provides guidance for developing the NPTE
APTA American Physical Therapy Association Professional association representing both PTs and PTAs
APTE APTA Academy of Education A section of the APTA that supports excellence in physical therapy education and education research.
ASWB Association of Social Work Boards Represents the social work regulatory boards and colleges in the US and Canada
ATP Association of Test Publishers Represents providers of tests and assessment tools and/or services related to assessment, selection, screening, certification, licensing, educational or clinical uses.
ATT Letter Authorization to Test letter Letter sent to candidates allowing them to schedule a time to take the NPTE

 

B

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
BUROS Buros Center for Testing The Institute's goals are to serve the public interest and contribute positively to the measurement field. Buros provides critical appraisals of tests and testing programs.

 

C

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
CAC Citizen Advocacy Center CAC serves to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of health professional oversight bodies.
CAPR Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators Represents the physiotherapy regulatory colleges in Canada.
CAPTE Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education CAPTE is an accrediting agency that grants specialized accreditation status to qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist
CAT Computer Adaptive Testing Computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is a method for administering tests that adapts to the examinee's ability level. For this reason, it has also been called tailored testing.
CBA Council of Board Administrators An FSBPT council of physical therapy board administrators
CBT Computer Based Testing Testing using an electronic format rather than a paper and pencil format.
CGFNS Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools An organization that evaluates the credentials of foreign-educated nurses and allied health care providers
CLEAR Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation Resource for any entity or individual involved in the licensure, non-voluntary certification or registration of the hundreds of regulated occupations and professions
CWT Coursework Tool A validated tool developed and maintained by FSBPT to evaluate if an FEPT’s educational credentials are substantially equivalent to US CAPTE standards

 

E

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
ECFMG Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates An organization that evaluates the credentials of foreign educated physicians.
EDC Examination Development Committee This FSBPT committee is responsible for performing oversight of the item bank review process and for reviewing the forms of the NPTE.
ELDD Exam, Licensure and Disciplinary Database FSBPT database that holds individual PTs' and PTAs' exam, licensure and disciplinary history.
ETS Educational Testing Services Develops the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

 

F

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
FARB Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards Organization established to promote excellence in the regulation of professions to protect the public
FCCPT Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy An organization that evaluates the credentials of foreign-educated physical therapists and physical therapist assistants and issues Health Care Worker Certificates to those who wish to immigrate and/or work in the United States
FEPT Foreign educated physical therapist Physical therapists educated outside the US CAPTE-accredited physical therapy system
FOIA Freedom of Information Act Established the statutory right of public access to executive branch information.
FSBPT Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy Non-profit organization whose members are US physical therapy licensing boards; owns & maintains the NPTE, PEAT, CWT
FSMB Federation of State Medical Boards Represents the 70 medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories

 

H

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
HMD The Health and Medicine Division The Health and Medicine Division of The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine, provides independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conducts other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. HMD previously was the Institute of Medicine (IOM) program unit of the National Academies.
HRRI Healthcare Regulatory Research Institute An FSBPT-created nonprofit regulatory research organization

 

I

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
IBRC Item Bank Review Committee A former FSBPT Committee responsible for performing oversight of the NPTE item bank review process. This committee was merged into the the Examination Development Committee
iBT TOEFL Internet-Based Test of English as a Foreign Language Online test of English language proficiency that is replacing written TOEFL, TWE, TSE
ICD International Consultants of Delaware Sub-organization of CGFNS that evaluates foreign educated PT credentials
ICE Institute for Credentialing Excellence ICE is a non-profit, organization dedicated to providing educational, networking and advocacy resources for the credentialing community.
IERF International Education Research Foundation An organization that evaluates the credentials of foreign educated health care providers.
INPTRA International Network of Physiotherapy Regulatory Authorities INPTRA was an organization designed to support physiotherapy regulation through international collaboration. INPTRA closed in 2020.
IRT Item Response Theory Method for statistically analyzing items and test data. Primary method FSBPT uses to evaluate the items on the exam and to build forms of comparable difficulty and reliability.

 

J

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
JDI Jurisdiction Data Import Jurisdictions can use the online systems to enter licenses one by one as they get them or they can send FSBPT a copy of their licensure database for import. JDI is the process and tools used to import licensure data when jurisdictions choose the latter method.
LRG Licensure Reference Guide FSBPT resource listing licensure information by state and in aggregate

L

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
LCASO Licensing Compact Administration Services Corporation Provides administrative, operational, and other services to the PT Compact.

 

M

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
MPA Model Practice Act for Physical Therapy Provides jurisdictions with model language for their physical therapy practice acts

 

N

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
NBCOT National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy Certification body for occupational therapists
NCCA National Commission for Certifying Agencies National certifying body for ICE
NCME National Council on Measurement in Education The professional organization for individuals involved in assessment, evaluation, testing, and other aspects of educational measurement. NCME is one of the joint authors of the The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing which provides guidance for developing the NPTE.
NCSBN National Council of State Boards of Nursing Represents the nursing regulatory boards in the United States
NPDB National Practitioner Data Bank NPDB is the national data bank for reporting adverse actions taken by state licensure boards.
NPTE® National Physical Therapy Examination Licensure examinations developed by FSBPT for PTs and PTAs.

 

P

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
PEAT® Practice Exam and Assessment Tool A timed, computer-based, multiple-choice practice exam for NPTE candidates

 

 

T

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language English language proficiency test

 

U

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
USCIS United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency responsible for immigration service functions of the federal government; issues regulations and visas for temporary health care workers, e.g., H-1B
UT Austin University of Texas at Austin Credentials evaluation organization for the State of Texas
 

 

W

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Acronym Stands for: Description:
WCPT World Physiotherapy Nonprofit organization that represents PTs world-wide