A Guide to Passing the NPTE® PTA Exam

The National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE®) physical therapist assistant (PTA) exam is administered four times yearly. The exam measures if PTA candidates are prepared to practice physical therapy safely to obtain licensure. 

Administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), the NTPE® PTA isn’t a walk in the park. Yet, many PTA graduates find a way to conquer and pass the exam—and you will too. Learn how to pass the NPTE® PTA exam with study advice and TrueLearn’s new PTA SmartBank.

1. Understand the exam and its content

This will be your very first step to prepare for test day. The exam has a total of 180 multiple-choice questions divided into 4 sections. You will have a total of 4 hours to take the exam and will receive a 15-minute break after you’ve completed the first two sections.

Up to 35 questions are scenario-based, and the exam consists of content outlined by the FSBPT.

2. Register 

Next, you should register for your exam. NPTE® PTA exam dates are only available in January, April, July, and October. To register, your accredited PTA school must validate you’re on track to graduation or that you have graduated. Registration deadlines are published by FSBPT and are typically a little more than a month before the exam date.

You must pay a $485 exam fee upon registering. After you receive your authorization to test (ATT), you may schedule your exam at a Prometric Center. Beginning in 2025, the fee to take the NPTE® PTA exam at a Prometric Center will be $92. 

Remember to comply with registration deadlines and confirm your appointment a week or two before your exam date.

3. Create a study plan 

Craft your action plan by scheduling sufficient study time before your exam date—you’ll need about three months.Your date will dictate your timeline, so be wary of scheduling the exam sooner rather than later. 

During these 12 weeks, designate a number of study hours throughout your week and break down every system you want to cover in a planner. We recommend 2-4 hours per day, 5-6 days per week. And throughout this time, make sure you also plan some down time for relaxation. Exercising and spending time with friends and/or family are great ways to manage stress.

Example 12-Week Study Schedule

• Week 1–2: Assessment and Planning
  • Diagnostic Test: Take a practice test to gauge your current level.
  • Study Materials: Gather textbooks, review courses, and online resources (FSBPT content outlines, review books, and a question bank of PTA practice questions).
  • Get Focused: It’s going to be an adjustment to create good study habits. Give yourself time to get into this new routine.
• Week 3–5: Musculoskeletal and Neuromuscular Systems
  • Musculoskeletal System: Focus on anatomy, pathology, and interventions.
  • Neuromuscular System: Study conditions like stroke, spinal cord injuries, and neurological assessments.
  • Practice Questions: Do daily quizzes on each section after review sessions.
• Week 5–7: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary and Other Systems
  • Cardiovascular and Pulmonary System: Study heart and lung conditions, rehab techniques, and related anatomy.
  • Integumentary, Metabolic, and Endocrine Systems: Cover topics such as wound care and diabetes.
  • Daily Practice: Integrate these areas with practice tests and quizzes.
• Week 8-9: Special Topics and Clinical Scenarios
  • Non-Systems Topics: Focus on equipment, devices, technologies, therapeutic modalities, ethics, and safety.
  • Clinical Simulations: Review case studies and practice clinical reasoning skills.
• Week 10: Review and Simulate Exam
  • Comprehensive Review: Go back over areas identified throughout your studies.
  • Full-Length Practice Exam: Simulate the actual test environment, following the NPTE time limits.
  • Analyze Results: Feel good about your strengths, then focus on your mistakes and fine-tune your understanding.
• Week 11-12: Final Review
  • Targeted Review: Spend time on weak areas your practice exam identified
  • Mental Preparation: Review test-taking strategies, relax, and ensure you get enough rest.

What is a passing score for the NPTE PTA exam?

The NPTE® PTA passing score is 600 or higher. Scores are reported on a scale of 200 to 800 even though the exam is pass or fail. The FSBPT reports that 80% of first-time candidates passed in 2023.

When should you take the PTA exam?

Some candidates rush to schedule their exams for April after they’ve completed their last clinical rotation. Don’t feel pressured to follow the crowd. If you haven’t started studying quite yet, you should hold off on scheduling the exam. Carefully choose your exam date to ensure you feel prepared and confident.

Top 5 NPTE® PTA Study Tips

1. Avoid Unnecessary Resources

Believe it or not, an abundance of resources can harm your study progress and quality. Avoid constantly taking practice exams, skimming multiple review books, and purchasing review courses. It is normal to want to be prepared but keep study resources to a minimum. 

One key resource you need to succeed is TrueLearn’s PTA SmartBank. TrueLearn’s SmartBank has more than 1,000 practice questions mapped to the exam blueprint. Written by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, the PTA SmartBank offers real-time benchmarking and rich answers to prepare you for the exam.

2. Divide and Conquer Topics 

You must be extremely specific when you make your study plan. For each major topic, break it down further into subtopics. With this method, you can note what topics are taking longer to understand and revisit them in the future.

We recommend finishing every session strong with a quiz. Use TrueLearn’s custom quizzes to create a quiz that covers your daily subtopics. Quizzes in TrueLearn’s platform can be timed or untimed, and you can easily use SmartSearch to input keywords and find related questions to your PTA topic.

3. Know the Why

It’s normal for feelings of frustration to arise during study time. After you’ve taken a quiz or practice exam, take a deep breath when reviewing your answers. With TrueLearn, you’ll view high-quality explanations for every answer you get wrong to improve your understanding and get the right answer next time. All you have to do is try.

4. Measure Your Progress

A key feature of TrueLearn’s PTE SmartBank is real-time benchmarking so you can see how you measure up to your peers nationally. Your practice exam performance can anticipate how you do on exam day, and results help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, evaluate your study approach, and map your progress. 

5. Set a Study Reminder

As a PTA student, you’re probably always on the go. Avoid distractions by setting an alarm or calendar reminder before your study time. Prefer a little spontaneity? TrueLearn’s SmartTexts feature sends text reminders to re-expose you to key topics during busy days so you don’t forget those PTA learning points. 

With our tips, you’re all set to knock the NPTE® PTA exam out of the park. Subscribe to TrueLearn’s new PTA SmartBank for 90+ days to take advantage of our first-time pass guarantee!