Variables associated with successful performance on the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Part IV examination

The objectives of this study were to (1) identify factors predictive of performance on the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Part IV exam and (2) investigate correlations between the scores obtained in the Part I, Part II, Physiotherapy, and Part III exams and the Part IV examination.

A random sample of 1341 records was drawn from National Board of Chiropractic Examiners data to investigate the relationships between the scores obtained on the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exams. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis related the performance on Part IV to examinee's gender, Part IV repeater status, and scores obtained on the Part I, Part II, Physiotherapy, and Part III exams.

The analyses revealed statistical relations among all National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exams. The correlations between Part IV and Part I ranged from r = .31 to r = .4; between Part IV and Part II from r = .34 to r = .45. The correlation between Part IV and Physiotherapy was r = .44; between Part IV and Part III was r = .46. The strongest predictors of the Part IV score were found to be examinees' scores in Diagnostic Imaging, β̂ = .19, p < .001; Chiropractic Practice, β̂ = .17, p < .001; Physiotherapy, β̂ = .15, p < .001; and the Part III exam β̂ = .19, p < .001.

Performance on the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Part IV examination is related to the performance in all other National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exams.