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.