Importance of Entrance Testing in Prediction of Academic Difficulty in the First Semester of a Graduate Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

Abstract

Entrance testing has been found to predict passing on professional licensure examinations in various allied health fields. Physical therapy (PT) programs do not consistently use an entrance test for assessment of an applicant's prerequisite competence. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a correlation existed between a prerequisite entrance test and academic success measured by grade point average (GPA) in first-semester PT students. A 140-question entrance test assessing prerequisite knowledge was administered prior to matriculation to two consecutive cohorts at a medium-sized PT program in the southwestern United States. GPA was collected following completion of the first didactic semester. Inferential statistics were used including the Pearson product moment correlational coefficient (r) and a regression model. 108 students completed the entrance test and one semester of coursework. The entrance test scores ranged from 58.33-100, with a mean score of 79.71. There was a significant medium correlation between the two variables (r=0.423, p<0.001), and the exam and age contributed to the regression model. Entrance tests may provide programs with a more content-specific evaluation of graduate school readiness while providing administrators and faculty information regarding didactic areas of concern with which students may struggle.