Preparing Future OT Students: A Look at High School Variables & Their Effect on First-Time Board Pass Rates

To enter practice as an occupational therapist, one must complete an occupational therapy (OT) program at an accredited institution and then pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Exam. Not passing the first time can lead to stress, increased costs, and delayed entrance into the profession. Academic OT programs often put much time and effort into supporting students throughout their OT educational journey to best prepare them for this high stakes exam. Many studies have been found linking first time pass success to cognitive variables such as undergraduate GPA, college course grades, pre-certification exam performance, and pre admission standardized tests. However, there is a lack of literature pertaining to high school variables and their possible effect on certification exams. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to identify high school variables impacting first time pass rates of OT master’s students. Data was collected relating to 200 master of science OT students who took the NBCOT exam between 2015 and 2021. Data was mined and recorded on one Excel spreadsheet that was de-identified before analysis. Analysis was conducted using MS Excel’s Statistics Package with a level of significance set at 0.05. The most significant result contributing to first time passing was Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores (p-value = 0.000017). Other significant findings include high school grade point average, whether or not the student earned an A in high school chemistry or biology, and whether or not the student took high school physics. Results of this study can inform OT programs’ admissions standards and help high school educators better prepare and support students before they begin an OT program. In addition, these results can help OT program faculty identify students who may need more intensive advising and support throughout the OT curriculum to facilitate first time success on the NBCOT exam.

References

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Spohn, R., Schweinle, W., Berg-Poppe, P., South-Winter, C., & DeJong, D. (2021). Factors for successfully passing certification exams: A systematic review. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 18(4). https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1160