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NPTE Score Report – What’s That??? [Part 1]
For the students interested in knowing their stratified performance in the comprehensive exam, the FSBPT issues an Exam Performance Feedback Report upon requesting additional services (and additional charges). This feedback report could prove to be overwhelming and TMI (too much information) for most students; therefore, we decided to present this information in a simplified manner! So, before diving into comprehending the performance report, let us first understand the repeatedly used performance report-specific vocabulary in part 1 of this two-part blog.
‘Retake-Range’
‘Retake-Range’ is a broad estimation of scores one may receive with an equal amount of effort on comparable exams in the future. These exams may include practice tests from various NPTE preparation programs, PEATS, or another attempt at the NPTE.
The retake-range is denoted by box and whisker plots (boxplots). The boxplots are the means of descriptive statistics for explanatory data analysis. These boxplots consist of red- or orange-colored horizontal bars with a central vertical white band in the middle and two horizontal arms (whiskers) on either side. The red boxes appear with the marks sinking under 600, and the orange boxes appear with the marks rising beyond 600 for that section. The central white band indicates one’s actual score for that particular section. The two whiskers indicate additional ranges of minimum and maximum possible scores, contingent upon the amount of preparations.
Once again, it is a broad range of estimated scores, which means one may score as low as the lowest range (left most corner of the left-side whisker) and as high as the highest range (right most corner of the right-side whisker). The box range plunging under 600 warrants converging immediate attention and expending added energies into that section.
For example: If John scores 575 in the PT examination section, and the estimated box range lies between 550-600, with a similar amount of effort, he would score between 550-600 (50% times). If his efforts fall short, he may score between 525-550 (25% times), and if he spends additional time reading, he may score between 600-625 as well (25% times).
an aspirant can easily sail through by correctly marking +/- 135/200 (67.5%) per 2021 NPTE score reports. Great news!
‘On Track to Pass Score’
‘On Track to Pass Score’ sets down the target correct items and the corresponding percentage required to achieve a scaled score of 600 in each section. The difference between the target correct items and the actual correct items marked for that section explains the hard work required to inch closer to securing passing marks.
This section can be a blessing in disguise if one pays close attention. It is a no brainer to assume that achieving a scaled passing score of 600/800 requires one to mark 150/200 correct answers. However, on track to pass scores for any section in the score reports range only between 65-69%, which is far less than the assumed 75% target! This means an aspirant can easily sail through by correctly marking +/- 135/200 (67.5%) per 2021 NPTE score reports. Great news!
Another area worth mentioning is – different scores in different sections compensate for each other.
For example: If John earns 34 instead of 38 (on track to pass) correct items in the INTERVENTIONS section (-4) but obtains 25 instead of 19 (on track to pass) correct items in the NON-SYSTEMS DOMAIN (+6), he still runs excellent chances of passing the comprehensive NPTE since he compensated for the deficit in one section with the surplus in the other.
‘Scaled Score’
According to the ETS, there are two types of scores typically: raw scores and scaled scores. Raw scores are the simple actual number of questions correctly answered on any test. The scaled scores are obtained by statistically adjusting and consistently applying the standardization technique to the raw scores. Scaled scores are favored over raw scores in standardized exams: mainly to account for differences in difficulty among different exam forms and achieve comparability among different groups of students.
For example: If John receives a relatively straightforward exam form, he needs to answer a few extra questions correctly to achieve the scaled score of 600 to pass the exam, when compared to a student with an average exam form (approximately 137/200). In contrast, if Sarah receives a relatively more challenging exam form, she may answer fewer questions correctly to achieve the scaled score of 600 to pass the exam, when compared to a student with an average exam form (approximately 133/200).
We hope some of the terminologies from the score reports make more sense now. In part 2 of this blog, we will explain the stratified information presented in multiple tables.
