Strategies for Passing the Physical Therapy Licensure Examination for Students with English as a Second Language: Experience at the University of Puerto Rico DPT Program.

The skill to answer items successfully in a standardized exam requires a student to master the language in which the exam is written. This implies total mastering of the English language for students with English as a Second Language (ESL). This commentary shares the experience of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program at the Medical Science Campus at the University of Puerto Rico in identifying strategies used by the program to ensure students pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). The DPT Program implemented several strategies to improve students' language proficiency to pass the NPTE. Some of the implemented strategies were providing tests in English, developing assignments to encourage students to read text¬books in English, increasing test questions complexity, increasing exposure to computer-based tests, and recommending students to complete NPTE review courses. These strategies seem to improve NPTE passing rates in students with ESL to the level required by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Strategies identified in the literature to help ESL students pass national licensure examinations were: increasing mastery of dialect (English proficiency), enhancing vocabulary development, raising comprehension of questions, and supplementing preparatory activities for at-risk students. Therefore, PT programs with non-native English speakers should identify the factors that affect the passing rate at the NPTE and analyze the information to develop specific strategies for these students.