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Prematriculation Predictors of Academic Difficulties During the First Year of a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Jeffrey B Taylor1, Dora J Gosselin, Paul W Kline
1Dep. of Physical Therapy, High Point University, One University Parkway, High Point, NC 27268, USA. Tel 336-841-9728. jtaylor@highpoint.edu.
Purpose:
To analyze the ability of pre-matriculation metrics to predict difficulties during the first year of a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program with a pass-fail grading system.
Methods:
Undergraduate cumulative, science, and pre-requisite grade point averages (GPAs) and verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Examination (GRE) percentiles were collected during the admissions process of 190 students in an accredited DPT program at a southeastern US private university between 2019-2021. Students were dichotomized to groups with and without academic difficulties in coursework and a first-year comprehensive assessment (CA). Independent t-tests identified differences between groups, and logistic regression analyses identified predictors of academic difficulties. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to identify cut-off scores and risk ratios were calculated.
Results:
Students with coursework difficulties had lower verbal (d=0.36, p=0.009) and quantitative (d=0.31, p=0.02) GRE scores. Verbal GRE scores were also lower in students who failed the CA (p=0.049). Students who scored less than the 47th percentile on the verbal GRE were 53% more likely to have academic difficulties and 4.2 times more likely to fail the CA than those who scored in the 70th percentile or higher.
Conclusion:
Verbal GRE percentile best predicted academic difficulty in the first year of a DPT program.
