Predicting Physical Therapist Assistant Program Graduate Success on the National Physical Therapy Examination

Journal of Physical Therapy Education 33 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE As we move into the 21st century and the average age of the United States population continues to increase, the need for qualified physical therapists and physical therapist assistants continues to grow. Schools need to graduate qualified students to meet this demand. Therefore, finding prediction models that identify student and program characteristics associated with success of licensure and work-readiness is key. Although nursing educators have a long history of investigating factors that predict student academic success,1-4 the literature reveals few studies that address physical therapist (PT) student success and fewer still that address physical therapist assistant (PTA) ——————————————————— RESEARch REpORT ——————————————————-