Predicting Performance on the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification Examination From Grade Point Average and Number of Clinical Hours.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether grade point average, hours of clinical education, or both are significant predictors of performance on the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification examination and whether curriculum and internship candidates' scores on the certification examination can be differentially predicted. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data collection forms and consent forms were mailed to the subjects to collect data for predictor variables. Subject scores on the certification examination were obtained from Columbia Assessment Services. SUBJECTS: A total of 270 first-time candidates for the April and June 1998 certification examinations. MEASUREMENTS: Grade point average, number of clinical hours completed, sex, route to certification eligibility (curriculum or internship), scores on each section of the certification examination, and pass/fail criteria for each section. RESULTS: We found no significant difference between the scores of men and women on any section of the examination. Scores for curriculum and internship candidates differed significantly on the written and practical sections of the examination but not on the simulation section. Grade point average was a significant predictor of scores on each section of the examination and the examination as a whole. Clinical hours completed did not add a significant increment for any section but did add a significant increment for the examination overall. Although no significant difference was noted between curriculum and internship candidates in predicting scores on sections of the examination, a significant difference by route was found in predicting whether candidates would pass the examination as a whole (P =.047). Proportion of variance accounted for was less than R(2) = 0.0723 for any section of the examination and R(2) = 0.057 for the examination as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: Potential predictors of performance on the certification examination can be useful to athletic training educators in assisting students. These findings must be used cautiously because of the low proportion of explained variance. Low R(2) values suggest that the largest contributors to performance on the examination were not identified in this study. Although the results of this study support the decision to discontinue the internship route to certification, continued research focusing on identification and investigation of the constructs that contribute to examination success is needed.
Middlemas
David A.
DA
Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ.
Manning
James M.
JM
Gazzillo
Linda M.
LM
Young
John
J