Physical Therapist Assistant Selection and Academic Success
Assessment of a standardized test as one criterion for student admission to a physical therapist assistant program is made. Comparisons are made of ACT scores between the physical therapist assistant and associate degree nurse, and the physical therapist assistant and the practical nurse. A correlation matrix was used to analyze data with differences among the three groups determined by t test computation. This sample supports a positive correlation of ACT test scores with graduation grade point average. The means show no significant difference between the two associate degree programs and a significant difference between the associate degree programs and the practical nurse program.
As community college programs de velop for physical therapist assistants, a sub stantial number of prospective applicants must be considered for a limited number of class positions. Admission groups are forced to establish criteria to predict the applicant's potential success that are realistic and consist ent with the equal education opportunities expressed in community college philosophies. One method to help assure success is to use standardized tests to assist in student selection. The use of a particular standardized test as an admission criterion for the physical therapist assistant student is examined after a four-year period of use. The American College Testing program (ACT) is one of the two most widely used admissions testing programs in community colleges and is reported to have value for student selection. 1-3 The ACT results consist of four subtest scores, one each for English, mathematics, social science, and natural sciDr. Aldag is Associate Dean for Regional Affairs, School of Associated Medical Sciences, University of Illinois, Peoria, IL 61606. Miss Martin is Chairman, Health Occupations Division, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL 61611.
Volume 55 / Number 7, July 1975
ence, in addition to a composite score repre sentative of the four subtests. At Illinois Central College, admission criteria for the physical therapist assistant program were developed based on experience with admissions to other two-year health occupation associate degree programs. The ACT test was used, as well as high school rank, to determine eligibility for admission and was the same for all associate degree programs in 1968. The community college also established admission criteria to its one-year certificate programs which were less rigorous than those for asso ciate degree programs. All applicants who did not meet the criteria initially were given an opportunity to qualify for admission by com pleting an outlined program of academic study in the community college with a grade point average of C or better. All student admissions were processed in a uniform manner to main tain as much objectivity as possible. The purpose of the study was to assess the following hypotheses: 1. The ACT scores for the physical therapist assistant group are positively correlated with graduation grade point average. 2. The ACT composite scores for the physical therapist assistant graduation group are 747
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JEAN C. ALDAG, Ph.D., and MARJORIE F. MARTIN, M.S.
METHOD Sample
The physical therapist assistant, associate degree nurse, and practical nurse certificate samples were admitted to the community college programs from 1968 to 1972. During this interval, 104 students were admitted to the physical therapist assistant program, 251 to the associate degree nurse program, and 311 to the practical nurse program. Of the 104 physical therapist assistant students admitted, 69 or 66 percent received the Associate of Applied Science Degree by June of 1974. Of the 251 associate degree nursing students admitted, 188 (75%) received the Associate of Applied Sci ence Degree by June 1974. Of the 311 practical nursing students admitted, 262 (84%) received the certificate by June 1974. Data Collection and Analysis
From the students' permanent record, the ACT subtest and composite scores, physical
therapist assistant (PTA) course grades, gradua tion status, and final grade point average were obtained and coded for computer analysis. The correlation matrix for the physical therapist assistant variables reported in Table 1 was developed using a missing data product moment correlation program. The missing data program was necessary because each individual did not complete all variables. As the matrix involved a large number of correlations and the predic tions were 1 tail, the significant level of probability was established at .01, or r = > .29. The independent variable means, range, and standard deviations were computed for the physical therapist assistant (PTA), associate degree nurse (ADN), and practical nurse (PN) and are reported in Table 2. To determine the differences in the three group means, t tests were computed for the ACT scores and are reported in Table 3. The .01 level of probability was established with a t test of 2.575 or greater accepted as significant. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The ACT subtest and composite scores reported in Table 1 all correlated significantly with the college graduation grade point average. The correlations ranged from r = .36 to r = .49 and were consistent with those reported in the literature. 2 The findings support the feasibility of using ACT test scores as one of the variables in predicting the academic success of the applicants upon graduation. The ACT subtests were not significantly
TABLE 1
Correlation Matrix for Physical Therapist Assistant Variables for a Community College Sample Variable No. 1 - ACT 2 .53 3 .52 .48 4 .61 .59 5 .78 .80 6 .36 .40 7 .28 .26 8 .20 .20 9 .18 .24 10 .24 .26 11 .13 .28 1
2
English ACT Mathematics ACT Social Sciences .59 ACT Natural Science .81 .86 ACT Composite Score .37 .46 .49 Grade Point Average .08 .12 .21 —.10 Age .16 .19 .23 .73 —.19 PTA 110—Foundations P.T. Assistance .72 .02 .58 PTA 120-Foundations P.T. Assistance :22 .18 .27 .71 —.09 .52 .56 PTA 200-Foundations P.T. Assistance .20 .28 .31 .71 -.10 .51 .55 .66 PTA 201-Foundation P.T. Assistance .26 .29 .31 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
1 1
Sig. 01 > .29
748
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
significantly higher than the ACT composite scores for the dropout group. 3. Physical therapist assistant and associate degree nursing ACT scores are not signifi cantly different. 4. Physical therapist assistant and associate degree nursing ACT scores are significantly higher than practical nurse certificate stu dent ACT scores.
TABLE 2
Range, Mean, and Standard Deviation of Independent Variables for Associate Degree Nurse, Practical Nurse, and Physical Therapy Assistant Groups
Variable English Mathematics Social Science Natural Science Composite
Mean
08-30 04-30 06-29 10-30 07-33 17-57
20.15 17.60 20.39 20.32 19.74 24.15
S.D. 7.70 5.59 5.70 5.20 3.98 7.22
Range
Mean
S.D.
Range
Mean
S.D.
01-24 01-26 05-27 03-28 07-28 17-55
15.54 12.98 14.37 15.59 14.73 26.48
4.43 3.67 5.89 4.78 3.74 9.88
09-26 01-28 04-28 03-30 07-27 17-43
19.10 17.84 18.59 19.52 18.92 19.40
3.75 5.65 5.40 5.24 4.19 4.35
for the graduation group was significantly higher than the composite mean for the dropout group, the magnitude of the differ ence was a modest 1.20 points. In addition, 20 percent of the dropout group had ACT com posite scores of 22 or higher, and 20 percent of the graduation group had ACT composite scores of 15 or lower. For practical purposes, the ACT should be used cautiously in predict ing academic success. The correlations of .36 to .49 account for a modest portion of variance, and undoubtedly the interplay of ability, motivation, interest, and life circumstances has an impact on whether the student drops out or graduates from an academic program. The range, mean, and standard deviation for each group are given in Table 2 for the independent variables. Inspection of Table 2 reveals a substantial range overlap within each group. The practice of permitting students who do not qualify for initial admission to the occupational program sequence to become admission-eligible by completing a prescribed program of study possibly contributes to the wide-range of scores reported. This practice is consistent with the community college philoso TABLE 3 phy. The age of the physical therapist assistant t Values for the Means of the Variables between student tends to be lower than that of either Physical Therapist Assistant, Associate Degree Nursing, nursing group. As age is not considered a and Practical Nursing Student Groups criterion for admission to any community ADN PTA PTA college program, no subsequent test of signifi PN PN ADN Independent Variable cance was applied to the age variable. Inspec tion of Table 2 shows that the mean scores for a 5.324 a 4.497 1.121 ACT English a 5.502 each ACT variable tended to be lower for the a 6.362 .246 ACT Mathematics a 7.431 a 5.113 ACT Social Science 2.340 practical nurse group than either of the two a 4.379 a 6.011 .854 ACT Natural Science associate degree groups. To test if the differ a 7.304 a 5.249 1.000 ACT Composite ences were significant, t tests were computed and reported in Table 3. No significant differa t > Sig. .01
correlated with the physical therapist assistant course grades with the exception of the natural science and the final semester course PTA 201 grades where r = .29. The composite test score correlated significantly with both sophomore courses PTA 200 and 201. Using the ACT to predict individual course grades seems to be limited particularly in the freshman year. The correlation of the ACT and grade point average was significant for that portion of the students admitted who completed the program by graduation. To determine if the ACT was useful in predicting graduation or dropout, a t test was computed for the composite scores for the dropout and graduation groups. The mean for the dropout group was 18.121, with a standard deviation of 4.1435. For the gradua tion group, the mean was 19.3181 and the standard deviation, 4.1675. The t test of 2.7216 was significant at the .01 level with the graduation group mean higher than the dropout group mean. Although the mean for the composite score
Volume 55 / Number 7, July 1975
749
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ACT ACT ACT ACT ACT Age
Range
PTA
PN
ADN
SUMMARY
The study supports the hypothesis that ACT test scores are positively correlated with college grade point average for a sample of physical therapist assistant students. In addition, the
study supports the hypothesis that ACT scores for the physical therapist assistant students and associate degree nursing students are not signifi cantly different and that ACT scores for both groups are significantly higher than practical nurse test scores. Support was found for the hypothesis that ACT composite scores of the graduation group are higher than the dropout group for the physical therapist assistant sample. The suggestion was made, however, that motivation, interests, and life circum stances may have had a greater effect in attrition than ability as measured by the ACT tests. REFERENCES
1. Assessing Students on the Way to College. Vol 2, College Student Profiles: Norms for the ACT Assessment. Iowa City, American College Testing Program, 1972 2. Assessing Students on the Way to College. Vol 1, Technical Report for the ACT Assessment Pro gram. Iowa City, American College Testing Pro gram, 1973 3. Wallace WL: ACT. In The Seventh Mental Measure ment Yearbook, by Buros OK. New Jersey, The Grypon Press, 1972, pp 607-615
Chest Disorders in Children A monograph based on proceedings of a symposium on Chest Dis orders in Children, held at Boston University, and sponsored by the Departments of Occupational and Physical Therapy, Sargent College of Allied Health Professions of Boston University and Physical Therapy, Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association. Articles in the monograph have appeared in the Journal. Edited by Helen J. Hislop, Ph.D., and Joan Sanger Paper; 163 pp, illus, $2.25
Order from:
American Physical Therapy Association 1156 15th St., N.W.. Washington, D C. 20005 750
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
ences were evident between the means of any of the variables for the associate degree groups of physical therapist assistants or nursing students. Both of the associate degree groups differed significantly from the certificate group of practical nurses on all of the ACT test scores. For these samples, the two associate degree groups appear to be drawn from the same population as measured by the ACT. Appar ently, the practical nursing groups do differ significantly from the associate degree groups and the group admitted had lower scores as measured by the ACT. The practical nurse program is intended to be less rigorous in the academic requirements; however, 84 percent of the students graduated compared to 66 percent for the physical therapist assistant group and 75 percent for the associate degree nurse group.
Assessment of a standardized test as one criterion for student admission to a physical therapist assistant program is made. Comparisons are made of ACT scores between the physical therapist assistant and associate degree nurse, and the physical therapist assistant and the practical nurse. A correlation matrix was used to analyze data with differences among the three groups determined by t test computation. This sample supports a positive correlation of ACT test scores with graduation grade point average. The means show no significant difference between the two associate degree programs and a significant difference between the associate degree programs and the practical nurse program.
As community college programs de velop for physical therapist assistants, a sub stantial number of prospective applicants must be considered for a limited number of class positions. Admission groups are forced to establish criteria to predict the applicant's potential success that are realistic and consist ent with the equal education opportunities expressed in community college philosophies. One method to help assure success is to use standardized tests to assist in student selection. The use of a particular standardized test as an admission criterion for the physical therapist assistant student is examined after a four-year period of use. The American College Testing program (ACT) is one of the two most widely used admissions testing programs in community colleges and is reported to have value for student selection. 1-3 The ACT results consist of four subtest scores, one each for English, mathematics, social science, and natural sciDr. Aldag is Associate Dean for Regional Affairs, School of Associated Medical Sciences, University of Illinois, Peoria, IL 61606. Miss Martin is Chairman, Health Occupations Division, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL 61611.
Volume 55 / Number 7, July 1975
ence, in addition to a composite score repre sentative of the four subtests. At Illinois Central College, admission criteria for the physical therapist assistant program were developed based on experience with admissions to other two-year health occupation associate degree programs. The ACT test was used, as well as high school rank, to determine eligibility for admission and was the same for all associate degree programs in 1968. The community college also established admission criteria to its one-year certificate programs which were less rigorous than those for asso ciate degree programs. All applicants who did not meet the criteria initially were given an opportunity to qualify for admission by com pleting an outlined program of academic study in the community college with a grade point average of C or better. All student admissions were processed in a uniform manner to main tain as much objectivity as possible. The purpose of the study was to assess the following hypotheses: 1. The ACT scores for the physical therapist assistant group are positively correlated with graduation grade point average. 2. The ACT composite scores for the physical therapist assistant graduation group are 747
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
JEAN C. ALDAG, Ph.D., and MARJORIE F. MARTIN, M.S.
METHOD Sample
The physical therapist assistant, associate degree nurse, and practical nurse certificate samples were admitted to the community college programs from 1968 to 1972. During this interval, 104 students were admitted to the physical therapist assistant program, 251 to the associate degree nurse program, and 311 to the practical nurse program. Of the 104 physical therapist assistant students admitted, 69 or 66 percent received the Associate of Applied Science Degree by June of 1974. Of the 251 associate degree nursing students admitted, 188 (75%) received the Associate of Applied Sci ence Degree by June 1974. Of the 311 practical nursing students admitted, 262 (84%) received the certificate by June 1974. Data Collection and Analysis
From the students' permanent record, the ACT subtest and composite scores, physical
therapist assistant (PTA) course grades, gradua tion status, and final grade point average were obtained and coded for computer analysis. The correlation matrix for the physical therapist assistant variables reported in Table 1 was developed using a missing data product moment correlation program. The missing data program was necessary because each individual did not complete all variables. As the matrix involved a large number of correlations and the predic tions were 1 tail, the significant level of probability was established at .01, or r = > .29. The independent variable means, range, and standard deviations were computed for the physical therapist assistant (PTA), associate degree nurse (ADN), and practical nurse (PN) and are reported in Table 2. To determine the differences in the three group means, t tests were computed for the ACT scores and are reported in Table 3. The .01 level of probability was established with a t test of 2.575 or greater accepted as significant. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The ACT subtest and composite scores reported in Table 1 all correlated significantly with the college graduation grade point average. The correlations ranged from r = .36 to r = .49 and were consistent with those reported in the literature. 2 The findings support the feasibility of using ACT test scores as one of the variables in predicting the academic success of the applicants upon graduation. The ACT subtests were not significantly
TABLE 1
Correlation Matrix for Physical Therapist Assistant Variables for a Community College Sample Variable No. 1 - ACT 2 .53 3 .52 .48 4 .61 .59 5 .78 .80 6 .36 .40 7 .28 .26 8 .20 .20 9 .18 .24 10 .24 .26 11 .13 .28 1
2
English ACT Mathematics ACT Social Sciences .59 ACT Natural Science .81 .86 ACT Composite Score .37 .46 .49 Grade Point Average .08 .12 .21 —.10 Age .16 .19 .23 .73 —.19 PTA 110—Foundations P.T. Assistance .72 .02 .58 PTA 120-Foundations P.T. Assistance :22 .18 .27 .71 —.09 .52 .56 PTA 200-Foundations P.T. Assistance .20 .28 .31 .71 -.10 .51 .55 .66 PTA 201-Foundation P.T. Assistance .26 .29 .31 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
1 1
Sig. 01 > .29
748
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
significantly higher than the ACT composite scores for the dropout group. 3. Physical therapist assistant and associate degree nursing ACT scores are not signifi cantly different. 4. Physical therapist assistant and associate degree nursing ACT scores are significantly higher than practical nurse certificate stu dent ACT scores.
TABLE 2
Range, Mean, and Standard Deviation of Independent Variables for Associate Degree Nurse, Practical Nurse, and Physical Therapy Assistant Groups
Variable English Mathematics Social Science Natural Science Composite
Mean
08-30 04-30 06-29 10-30 07-33 17-57
20.15 17.60 20.39 20.32 19.74 24.15
S.D. 7.70 5.59 5.70 5.20 3.98 7.22
Range
Mean
S.D.
Range
Mean
S.D.
01-24 01-26 05-27 03-28 07-28 17-55
15.54 12.98 14.37 15.59 14.73 26.48
4.43 3.67 5.89 4.78 3.74 9.88
09-26 01-28 04-28 03-30 07-27 17-43
19.10 17.84 18.59 19.52 18.92 19.40
3.75 5.65 5.40 5.24 4.19 4.35
for the graduation group was significantly higher than the composite mean for the dropout group, the magnitude of the differ ence was a modest 1.20 points. In addition, 20 percent of the dropout group had ACT com posite scores of 22 or higher, and 20 percent of the graduation group had ACT composite scores of 15 or lower. For practical purposes, the ACT should be used cautiously in predict ing academic success. The correlations of .36 to .49 account for a modest portion of variance, and undoubtedly the interplay of ability, motivation, interest, and life circumstances has an impact on whether the student drops out or graduates from an academic program. The range, mean, and standard deviation for each group are given in Table 2 for the independent variables. Inspection of Table 2 reveals a substantial range overlap within each group. The practice of permitting students who do not qualify for initial admission to the occupational program sequence to become admission-eligible by completing a prescribed program of study possibly contributes to the wide-range of scores reported. This practice is consistent with the community college philoso TABLE 3 phy. The age of the physical therapist assistant t Values for the Means of the Variables between student tends to be lower than that of either Physical Therapist Assistant, Associate Degree Nursing, nursing group. As age is not considered a and Practical Nursing Student Groups criterion for admission to any community ADN PTA PTA college program, no subsequent test of signifi PN PN ADN Independent Variable cance was applied to the age variable. Inspec tion of Table 2 shows that the mean scores for a 5.324 a 4.497 1.121 ACT English a 5.502 each ACT variable tended to be lower for the a 6.362 .246 ACT Mathematics a 7.431 a 5.113 ACT Social Science 2.340 practical nurse group than either of the two a 4.379 a 6.011 .854 ACT Natural Science associate degree groups. To test if the differ a 7.304 a 5.249 1.000 ACT Composite ences were significant, t tests were computed and reported in Table 3. No significant differa t > Sig. .01
correlated with the physical therapist assistant course grades with the exception of the natural science and the final semester course PTA 201 grades where r = .29. The composite test score correlated significantly with both sophomore courses PTA 200 and 201. Using the ACT to predict individual course grades seems to be limited particularly in the freshman year. The correlation of the ACT and grade point average was significant for that portion of the students admitted who completed the program by graduation. To determine if the ACT was useful in predicting graduation or dropout, a t test was computed for the composite scores for the dropout and graduation groups. The mean for the dropout group was 18.121, with a standard deviation of 4.1435. For the gradua tion group, the mean was 19.3181 and the standard deviation, 4.1675. The t test of 2.7216 was significant at the .01 level with the graduation group mean higher than the dropout group mean. Although the mean for the composite score
Volume 55 / Number 7, July 1975
749
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
ACT ACT ACT ACT ACT Age
Range
PTA
PN
ADN
SUMMARY
The study supports the hypothesis that ACT test scores are positively correlated with college grade point average for a sample of physical therapist assistant students. In addition, the
study supports the hypothesis that ACT scores for the physical therapist assistant students and associate degree nursing students are not signifi cantly different and that ACT scores for both groups are significantly higher than practical nurse test scores. Support was found for the hypothesis that ACT composite scores of the graduation group are higher than the dropout group for the physical therapist assistant sample. The suggestion was made, however, that motivation, interests, and life circum stances may have had a greater effect in attrition than ability as measured by the ACT tests. REFERENCES
1. Assessing Students on the Way to College. Vol 2, College Student Profiles: Norms for the ACT Assessment. Iowa City, American College Testing Program, 1972 2. Assessing Students on the Way to College. Vol 1, Technical Report for the ACT Assessment Pro gram. Iowa City, American College Testing Pro gram, 1973 3. Wallace WL: ACT. In The Seventh Mental Measure ment Yearbook, by Buros OK. New Jersey, The Grypon Press, 1972, pp 607-615
Chest Disorders in Children A monograph based on proceedings of a symposium on Chest Dis orders in Children, held at Boston University, and sponsored by the Departments of Occupational and Physical Therapy, Sargent College of Allied Health Professions of Boston University and Physical Therapy, Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association. Articles in the monograph have appeared in the Journal. Edited by Helen J. Hislop, Ph.D., and Joan Sanger Paper; 163 pp, illus, $2.25
Order from:
American Physical Therapy Association 1156 15th St., N.W.. Washington, D C. 20005 750
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article-abstract/55/7/747/4567643 by University of Texas at Dallas user on 15 February 2019
ences were evident between the means of any of the variables for the associate degree groups of physical therapist assistants or nursing students. Both of the associate degree groups differed significantly from the certificate group of practical nurses on all of the ACT test scores. For these samples, the two associate degree groups appear to be drawn from the same population as measured by the ACT. Appar ently, the practical nursing groups do differ significantly from the associate degree groups and the group admitted had lower scores as measured by the ACT. The practical nurse program is intended to be less rigorous in the academic requirements; however, 84 percent of the students graduated compared to 66 percent for the physical therapist assistant group and 75 percent for the associate degree nurse group.
