Exam Integrity and Security

What should I know about NPTE Security?

Passing the NPTE is a big step toward receiving your license to practice physical therapy. Understandably, you want to take advantage of all available resources when preparing for this important examination. In the past, when you prepared for examinations in school, you may have considered fellow students to be good resources for learning about questions that were on those tests. This should not be the case when preparing for the NPTE.

The NPTE is the property of FSBPT and is protected by contract, trade secret, and federal copyright laws. It is a violation of these laws, and thus illegal, to share any information whatsoever about any NPTE question. Sharing information about a question recalled from memory, or asking someone who has taken the NPTE to share such information, is illegal.

Sharing questions I remember from the exam illegal?
Yes! Soliciting recalled questions from test takers who have previously taken the exam is deeply unethical. You are expected to pass the test based on your own merit and without assistance. The members of the public who will entrust you with their well-being expect that you are a trustworthy and competent individual. By asking previous test takers to share questions with you, you are committing an illegal act and are undermining the very purpose of the exam. Also, by soliciting questions from previous test takers, you are encouraging others to commit illegal acts.

What happens if I share questions I recall or ask someone to share questions with me?
FSBPT aggressively protects the integrity of the NPTE. This protection is important to safeguarding the public from persons who do not have the requisite knowledge of physical therapy and therefore are not qualified to practice physical therapy. Any person for whom FSBPT has a reasonable suspicion of sharing or soliciting information about any NPTE question may be prohibited from sitting for the NPTE until a full investigation has determined that the person did not share or solicit such information.

FSBPT has prosecuted and will continue to prosecute individuals who share, or solicit others to share, any information whatsoever about any NPTE question. FSBPT will also report any incidents of candidates requesting questions or sharing questions to licensing jurisdictions.

Are there other ways I can violate the security of the NPTE?

In addition to any attempt to share questions, any attempts to bring in materials to aid with answering questions on the exam is strictly prohibited. This can be done by trying to hide notes in your clothing, making notes on a body part that you think will not be seen, or leaving notes in an area outside of the testing room. It is also prohibited to attempt to remove any notes you may have taken about the exam while in the secure testing room.

The bottom line: Violating the security of the NPTE is taken very seriously, and candidates who are determined to have done so will severely damage their chances of ever being licensed in any jurisdiction and are subject to prosecution and civil action.

How is security handled on test day?

Candidates are required to provide two currently valid forms of identification to be able to sit for the examination. Before entering the testing room, a Prometric staff member will scan you with a metal detector wand, take a digital image of your fingerprint, and take your photograph. You will need to give a fingerprint scan each time you enter or leave the testing room. Additionally, Prometric records all testing sessions on video.

You can review Prometric’s Testing Center Regulations and view a video outlining what to expect on test day on Prometric’s website, www.prometric.com.

If you give or receive assistance during the examination or if you violate any other security policy, you may be required to stop testing immediately and leave the testing room. Your examination will not be scored. Prometric and FSBPT monitor all candidates and will statistically analyze scores for the purposes of detecting and verifying cheating. If FSBPT determines that your score is unable to be validated due to an unlikely response pattern, we will cancel your score and notify your licensing authority.

How is security handled after I take my test?

FSBPT conducts additional validation and screening analyses following testing. In some cases, examination scores are withheld for additional validation analyses. Reasons we may hold scores include:

• An incident at a test center that requires investigation,
• A mismatch between registration data and data received from Prometric,
• Response patterns that suggest a very narrow range of studying,
• An answer selection pattern that is very similar to another candidate’s,
• The score is very low (near guessing), or
• A very large score increase from the previous testing attempt.

Candidates whose examinations are held for additional validation will be contacted via email by FSBPT staff. Candidates will be required to provide additional information about how they prepared for the NPTE before their scores are released. FSBPT will not release these candidates’ scores until they complete this additional step or if the candidates provide inaccurate information. Responding promptly and accurately to this request will help to facilitate the release of your exam scores. See FSBPT's website for additional information about withheld scores.
Candidates who do not complete the investigation within 60 days of testing are subject to having their scores canceled.

NPTE Security Agreement, General Terms of Use, and Arbitration Policy

For purposes of examination security, each candidate who wishes to take the NPTE is required to enter into an agreement as part of the registration and examination-taking process. The full NPTE Security Agreement, General Terms of Use, and Arbitration Policy can be found at this webpage: NPTE Security Agreement.

Additional Security Information

If you have questions about examination security, or if you know of someone who has violated FSBPT’s exam security policies, please email security@fsbpt.org.