The National Physical Therapy Exam (or NPTE) is the measuring stick by which all new physical therapy graduates are measured. To get into PT school, you had to overcome many course exams, and most PT schools require the GRE to even apply, but the NPTE is in a league of its own.

As of 2023, there are 38,879 students enrolled in 306 PT programs and 10,171 students enrolled in 391 PTA programs throughout the USA according to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Each of these students must graduate from a CAPTE accredited school and take and pass the NPTE in order to begin their career as an entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy or Physical Therapist Assistant.

The NPTE is an exam that is designed to not just test the basic recall memory of PT and PTA students. From personal experience, I can tell you that the questions on the NPTE really stretch your skills of clinical reasoning and putting multiple subject materials into on problem. The entire exam is comprised of multiple choice questions that can trick even the most seasoned veterans.

The NPTE is administered through the chain of Prometric testing centers throughout the country. Upon completion of the exam, the score is then transmitted to licensing authority of the state in which you are applying. The minimum passing score is identical for all state licensing boards.

This is probably the hardest question to answer. The short answer is 600/800.

The long answer is this:

The PT exam has 225 questions on it, but only 180 are scored and the PTA has 180 questions on it, but only 140 are scored. They add extra questions to “test” their testability to make sure they are not too hard or too easy. When you are taking the test, THERE IS NO WAY to distinguish these unscored items from the scored questions. Therefore, answer every question like it counts!

Each question is then scaled into the perfect 800 score. The FSBPT then tweaks the passing score of 600 up or down to give some leeway for a test that is “too easy,” or “too hard.” Above 600 and you pass the NPTE. Below 600 and you fail the NPTE.

The bottom line is that you have no way of knowing if your test is “easy” or “hard,” so I would recommend not worrying about the details. Just do your best and study all of the available material. Here are the current pass rates published by FSPBT.

The FSBPT is clear in its development standards for the NPTE. The questions used for the exam all come from common, core physical therapy textbooks (Magee, O’Sullivan, etc.)

Each question is written based on the information found in these textbooks. That being said, NPTE questions always have some sort of clinical spin or PT application on them.

This means that not only do you need to know the information in the PT textbooks. You need to also understand it well enough to apply it to novel situations.

One of my favorite ways to teach material is via case studies. As we deconstruct a real PT case, we can talk about how to apply the textbook knowledge to the case. This not only helps students get to know the content on the exam, it also helps them apply the material in PT setting, thus becoming more proficient clinicians.

Key strategies to pass the NPTE include:

• Use the core PT textbooks as a foundation
• Practice applying content to clinical scenarios
• Interact with the material actively (workbooks are great!)
• Digest the content and try explaining it aloud
• Learn the blueprint for the NPTE so there are no surprises

We go over all of these things in our NPTE review courses. You’ll be able to easily see why we’ve been so successful in helping students achieve their dreams and pass the NPTE!

Nothing hurts worse than failing the NPTE. To see the word “fail” after so much hard work is so discouraging.

A while ago, I wrote an article addressing some of the negative emotion that comes after a failed NPTE attempt. You can see the full article here.

Basically, remember that the NPTE does not define you–it only refines you. Don’t let this exam keep you down. Channel all of that negative emotional energy and work to crush the NPTE on your next attempt.

PT Final Exam is among the few programs recognized as providers of state-required remediation. This is especially helpful for students who reside in states that require remediation after a few attempts on the NPTE.

We provide certificates of completion that can be used during the NPTE registration process. For more information, click here.