Report on Predictive Factors of Success on
the National Board for Certification in
Occupational Therapy Exam
Dawndra Sechrist, OTR, Ph.D.
Cynthia Tiongco, OTR
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to:
•
Sandra Whisner, OTR, MA
Student researchers:
•
Samantha Breidenbach, MOTS
•
Hannah Curtis, MOTS
•
Brandi Featherston, MOTS
•
Cassidy Hunsaker, MOTS
•
Kate Karper, MOTS
•
Alex Lawton, MOTS
•
Courtney McGuire, MOTS
•
Jan Milstead, MOTS
•
Gretchen Saathoff, MOTS
•
Ben Wright, MOTS
Learner Objectives
• Identify factors significant and predictive to
first time pass rate on the NBCOT exam
• Discuss additional factors that could be
explored for future research
Purpose of the Study
 To determine the key factors to successfully pass the NBCOT
certification exam on the first attempt.
 To guide Master’s of Occupational Therapy programs to select
appropriate candidates for their program.
 To identify risk factors for students who do not pass the NBCOT
exam on the first attempt.
Literature Review
ACOTE Standard (#A.5.4)
“The average total pass rate of OT Master’s program graduates taking the national
certification exam for the first time over the three most recent calendar years must be
70% or higher” (Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education [ACOTE],
2006, p. 5).
NBCOT Requirements
Graduate from ACOTE program
Complete fieldwork
Agree to abide by NBCOT Candidate/Certificant Code of Conduct
•
(NBCOT, n.d., Eligibility Requirements).
Literature Review
• Overall grade point average (GPA) at admission.
• Final cumulative GPA at time of graduation from
program.
• NBCOT review workshop
• Interviews and essays
Predictor Variables
 Overall grade point average (GPA) at admission into the Master of







Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program
Science GPA at admission into the MOT Program
Completion of a Baccalaureate Degree at time of admission into the
MOT Program
Number of volunteer/observation hours at time of admission into the
MOT Program
Score on admission interview (percentage)
Final score in Gross Anatomy (part of MOT curriculum)
Introvert or Extrovert type on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Sensing or Intuition type on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Predictor Variables
 Score on 100-Question NBCOT practice pre-test (administered by






MOT Program the first semester of the occupational therapy
curriculum)
Score on Occupational Therapy Knowledge Exam (OTKE) NBCOT
practice pre-test (administered by MOT Program the first semester of
the occupational therapy curriculum)
Score on 100-Question NBCOT practice post-test (administered by
MOT Program the sixth semester [last semester of didactic portion of
the curriculum])
Score on OTKE NBCOT practice post-test (administered by MOT
Program the sixth semester [last semester of didactic portion of the
curriculum])
Student placed on academic probation during MOT program
Final cumulative GPA at time of graduation from the MOT Program
NBCOT review workshop attendance
Methodology
Recruitment of Subjects
Retrospective review of student academic information and does not
require recruitment of any subjects.
Consent Procedures
No consent procedures due to the nature of this study.
Methodology
Subjects
Subjects consisted of graduates from an entry-level Masters of
Occupational Therapy program over a five-year period to include
approximately 156 graduate records.
 Inclusion Criteria
• Enrolled and graduated from TTUHSC
• Took the NBCOT exam within 12 months of graduation
 Exclusion Criteria
• Inaccessible or unreported information
Methodology
Data Collection Procedures
 The MOT Program Director collected the information from the
student files located in the MOT program and TTUHSC Office of
Admissions.
 All data was de-identified by using RANDOM.org to randomly
assign a number and compiled into an Excel file.
 Information was stored on a password protected spreadsheet on the
Principal Investigator’s computer.
 The master list was destroyed once all data was obtained.
Methodology
Design for Analyzing Data
 Predictive modeling applying logistic regression was conducted to
determine the relationship of all the variables on the outcome
variable.
 Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to run
the data analysis.
Methodology
Design Limitations
 Limited sample size
 Sample of convenience
 Possible missing factors
 Researchers lack of experience with logistic regression
Methodology
Potential Risks
 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was considered
by the investigators and student information was adequately protected
and destroyed once master list was made.
Results
Data Analysis
 Researchers obtained data from 97 records over a three year period (20082010)
 Of the 97 records, 92 were complete and were included in the final analysis
 Of the 92 records, 75 passed the NBCOT exam on the first attempt and 18
did not
Results
 Descriptive statistics were run on the following 12 variables:
 Overall grade point average (GPA) at admission into the Master of
Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program
 Science GPA at admission
 Bachelor’s degree at admission
 Interview score
 Myers-Briggs Type (sensing vs. intuitive)
 Gross Anatomy Grade
 Score on 100-Question NBCOT practice post-test
 Graduation GPA
 NBCOT review workshop attendance
 Fieldwork II:2 score
 Number of observation hours at admission
 Range of observation hours at admission
Results
Results
 After initial analysis, 4 factors were identified as possible predictors
 Overall GPA at admission
 Myers-Briggs type indicator (sensing vs. intuitive)
 NBCOT 100 question practice post-test
 MOT Program Graduate GPA
 A binary logistic regression was run using these variables with passing the
NBCOT exam on the first attempt as the outcome variable.
Results
Predictors
Score
df
p
Overall GPA at admission
6.35
1
.012
Myers Briggs Type (S or N)
2.288
1
.130
100 question post-test
13.378
1
.000
Graduate GPA
10.130
1
.001
Overall
18.473
4
.001
Score = Roa’s efficient score statistic; df = degrees of freedom; p=probability value
Results
Included
B(SE)
Odds
Ratio
Constant
-13.613(4.54) .000
Posttest
.037*(.011)
1.037
Lower CI
Upper CI
1.015
1.061
B = beta values; SE = standard error; CI = confidence interval; *p<.05
Discussion
 A higher score on the NBCOT 100-question posttest was predictive of
students passing the NBCOT test on the first attempt.
 This was the only variable shown to be a predictor at this time. More
research is needed to increase strength of these findings.
Discussion
 Pilot study
• Need to follow-up this study with more analysis
 Program Implications
• Programs will be able to identify students that are at risk
• Programs and students will have a better understanding of what is necessary for
them to increase the likelihood of passing the NBCOT exam on the first
attempt
 Future Research
• Continuing over the years with TTUHSC MOT Students
• Other programs
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