What to Expect

Make sure you're ready

You may have studied for the national physical therapy exam (NPTE^®), but are you prepared for what happens on the day you take the test? Knowing what to expect may help you focus on the test itself and eliminate any pre-test jitters.

Below are some of the topics you should review from the NPTE candidate handbook with links to the complete answers.

• Requirements for admission

  Find out how early you need to arrive prior to your scheduled test and what to bring with you.

• Length of exam

  Find out how many hours you will have to take the exam.

• Pretest questions

  Find out what pretest questions are and whether they will affect your score.

• Penalties for items answered incorrectly

  Find out whether you incur additional penalties for incorrect answers.

• Breaks during exam

  Find out how many breaks you can take during the exam.

• Moving back and forth between questions

  Find out if you can skip forward or backward through the section you're in.

• Scratch paper, earplugs, food and beverages

  Find out what's allowed and what isn't.