PTA - Online Advantage - Academic Version

A faculty member begins the process by purchasing a given number of access codes to utilize Online Advantage based on the number of students in their program. The cost per access code is $35. The purchase must be made directly online using a credit card or purchase order through our web site www.scorebuilders.com. A credit card purchase allows instant access, while a purchase order allows access once a hard copy of the purchase order has been received by our office. The purchase order can be faxed to (207)883-8377. After the order is confirmed an email will be sent to the designated faculty administrator of the account. The email will provide the administrator with an ID and Password for their individual account and prompt them to enter the names of their students. Online Advantage assigns an ID and Password to each of the students entered into the account and allows the information to be printed. The administrator is able to disseminate the IDs and Passwords to the students at a time of their choosing. In some instances an academic program may elect to offer the comprehensive examination in a controlled setting such as the computer room, while in other cases it may be necessary to allow students to take the examination from a remote location. Formal testing occurs at a time of convenience by visiting our web site and clicking on the Online Advantage login found in the upper right hand portion of our homepage. Students will select the login button and will be prompted to enter their assigned ID and Password. After completing the examination students will have immediate access to their performance analysis summary, which allows them to directly compare their individual score to the mean score generated from all students exposed to the same examination. The analysis will summarize performance in five system specific areas and five content outline areas. The administrator will have immediate access to all of the described information, however, in addition they will be able to generate specific class data. Students will not have access to the class data nor will they be able to examine the individual performance of any of their classmates.

A diverse group of item writers contributed to the development of the academic version of Online Advantage. Great care was taken to ensure there was adequate representation in each of the system (musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiopulmonary, other) and non-system (equipment and devices, therapeutic modalities, safety and professional roles, teaching/learning, research) areas. Item writers were given explicit instructions including a training manual to ensure that submitted questions were consistent with the style and format of the questions utilized on the NPTE-PTA. Once created each examination was subjected to a minimum of three months of beta testing by physical therapist assistant students from academic programs throughout the United States.

Purchasers of the Academic Version of Online Advantage have to check a box upon ordering that indicates that they are an academic faculty member or are acting on behalf of a faculty member. As an additional security measure, all academic accounts are initially inactive and only made active after being formally reviewed by Scorebuilders' staff. This additional measure ensures that students are not attempting to breach an academic exam by impersonating a faculty member. Once the exam is completed, the academic administrator can choose to allow students to review their exam using a myriad of performance analysis features or can completely restrict student access. The program defaults to providing students with access to their exam, however, this can be easily altered within the administrator panel. We have a security feature that prohibits students from opening another internet browser while taking an Online Advantage exam. If a student attempts to engage in this type of activity, they will first be warned and then immediately logged out of the application. This action was taken since we received reports of several students engaging in this activity in an attempt to look up answers online while testing.
We have recently added a security feature that prohibits students from opening another internet browser while taking an Online Advantage exam. If a student attempts to engage in this type of activity they will first be warned and then immediately logged out of the application. This action was taken since we received reports of several students engaging in this activity in an attempt to look up answers online while testing.

Our goal is to provide students with the most realistic testing experience possible in order to better prepare students for the NPTE-PTA. We closely monitor all communication about the NPTE-PTA from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and attempt to immediately integrate relevant changes into our products.

We have had numerous requests for additional information on the type of data generated by the academic version of Online Advantage. In response, we have created a sample account that you or other designated faculty members can explore. The sample account will allow you to view data collected from a mock class of students and explore the entire performance analysis section of Online Advantage including actual sample examination items. Please contact us by email info@scorebuilders.com or phone (207)885-0304 to request an ID and Password that will allow access to the sample account. Access to the sample account is reserved only for academic faculty. We are confident that a quick tour of the sample account will provide you with a thorough understanding of the potential of this innovative product.

Online Advantage is fully scalable meaning that you can access the sample examinations on your personal computer, tablet or mobile device. Our goal was to create a product compatible with your busy lifestyle.

To date over 10,000 students have utilized the academic version of Online Advantage. This is important since the established mean score in each of the system specific and content outline areas is based on an extremely diverse group of students from academic programs throughout the United States.

There is not an established uniform "passing score" for the examination since the circumstances in which students are required to take the examination are very different. For example, some programs have students take the examination up to six months prior to graduation, while others bring the students back to campus after their final clinical experience and may administer the examination within a few days of graduation. The most relevant factor to consider when deciding on a passing score is the mean examination score for all candidates. This number, which is constantly updated based on student performance, reflects the relative difficulty of the established examination. Ideally, a score of greater than or equal to the mean represents a strong score. Students' scores typically range from 50-80%. The majority of academic programs who establish a minimum score require students to achieve a score no more than 5 or on occasion 10 questions below the mean score for all candidates. Academic programs offering more than one examination often have a more lenient minimum score requirement on the initial examination and then adopt a more stringent requirement on the final examination. Students who fail to achieve the established minimum score usually have a remediation period and then are required to retake a different examination with the same scoring requirement. Some academic programs require students to retake the same examination, however, it is important to note that a second attempt on the same examination is typically a poor indicator of mastery. The academic version of Online Advantage consists of two distinctly unique full-length examinations.

Many academic programs anecdotally report a moderate to strong positive relationship between Online Advantage scores and NPTE-PTA scores. It is important to note, however, that students should avoid determining their readiness for the actual examination based on a single practice examination. Research presented at APTA's Combined Sections Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee revealed a 0.665 correlation between the Online Advantage score and the NPTE-PTA scale score. In addition, a student who scores 73.3% on Online Advantage has a 95% chance to score 600 or greater on the NPTE-PTA.

Students will be able to view a complete summary of their individual data and compare their personal results to a broader external audience, however, they will be unable to view the results of their classmates or the overall class' performance.

Administrators will have access to class data for three years and can print summary data at any point during this period.

Administrators have access to individual student and aggregate class data, which provides a summary of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the students within the class and offers a direct comparison of the class to a broader external audience. Administrators will also be able to determine the percentage of users selecting each of the four options for every question.

The administrator will have immediate access to the students' results by logging on to the established administrator's account and utilizing the performance analysis summary.

Students will have access to their individual data for 60 days once they initiate taking the examination. Students can print their performance analysis summary at any point during the period and review both their first and second attempts throughout the course of the 60 days.

The 60-day period begins based on the date the student actually initiates the examination. The date of purchase is not associated with the initiation of the 60-day period.

Online Advantage permits students to take each examination a maximum of two times. Students should recognize that the second attempt is typically a poor measure of mastery since students have already been exposed to the questions. It is critical, however, for students to utilize the performance analysis section of Online Advantage multiple times in order to review correct and incorrect questions and to determine individual strengths and weaknesses.

Students are encouraged to take the examination in a single sitting since this most closely resembles the format utilized on the NPTE-PTA. It is possible, however, to exit the examination if necessary. When exiting Online Advantage all question data will be automatically preserved.

The time available for students to complete the 140 question examination is three hours. Students eligible for extended time (time and a half or double time) can easily be accommodated by calling our office (207)885-0304. Online Advantage is compatible with several systems that magnify computer type for students that are visually impaired.

If you are unable to find the name of your academic program on our menu, please contact our office (207)885-0304.

Online Advantage is designed to be an interactive web-based study tool and therefore does not permit students to print out the examination. The program allows students to print their performance analysis summary and have full online access to the examination questions and explanations an unlimited number of times within the 60-day period.

Online Advantage is a web-based application that requires connectivity. We recommend using any internet browser other than Microsoft Edge. Our technical staff often reminds us that Microsoft Edge tends to be less stable than almost any other browser. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are Scorebuilders' personal favorites.

Each question in Online Advantage includes an explanation of the correct answer and an explanation for each incorrect answer including a cited resource with page number.

Performance data for "all candidates" is based solely on data obtained from the students' first attempt. If students retake the same examination it is important to recognize that their ability to recall specific items from the examination will artificially inflate their actual score. As a result, the data from the second attempt is not utilized when determining summary data for "all candidates."

Students are not permitted to purchase the academic version of Online Advantage. This restriction substantially reduces the potential of students being exposed to examination items in advance and increases the meaningfulness of obtained examination scores.

Many academic programs provide their students with several opportunities to experience a formal comprehensive examination during their academic training. The rationale is that the first examination serves as a pre-test to establish a baseline and identify areas requiring remediation. The second examination then serves as a post-test to determine the amount of progress and the relative degree of preparedness for the NPTE-PTA. The growing number of academic programs utilizing the pre-test and post-test scenario led to the creation of a second academic examination.

The academic and student versions of Online Advantage are completely distinctive products that utilize independent examination questions. The academic version consists of two examinations and is designed solely for the use of academic programs electing to offer comprehensive examinations to their graduating students. The student version of Online Advantage consists of two examinations and is designed to assist students with their preparation for a comprehensive examination or the NPTE-PTA.

Each of our products utilize independent examination questions.

It is important for students to answer sample examination questions from a variety of resources. Each examination resource tends to have a slightly different style and difficulty level. Students exhibiting a level of comfort with the questions in multiple resources tend to feel more comfortable with the diversity of questions offered on the NPTE-PTA.

An item analysis is performed annually on each of the examinations. As part of the process selected items are removed and new questions are added. Items are also removed and added to make sure the questions remain consistent with changes in the examination content outline. On average 10-30 questions will be replaced annually in each of the examinations.

The NPTE-PTA consists of 180 questions, offered in four sections of 45 questions. 140 of the examination questions are scored items, while 40 of the questions are pre-test items used for possible inclusion as scored items in a future examination. Since a student's maximum attainable score on the actual examination is 140, all Online Advantage examinations consist of 140 questions offered in four sections of 35 questions.

Many academic programs require students to pay some or all of the expense associated with Online Advantage. Although the academic program must purchase the program using a credit card or purchase order, programs often require students to pay a predetermined fee back to the program prior to being issued their assigned ID and Password.

Online Advantage is a web-based comprehensive testing program and is not designed to serve as a review course. Our two-day On-Campus Review Course and our online review course ACE - A Competitive Edge allow students to explore all elements of preparing for the NPTE-PTA. Scorebuilders offers over 300 review courses annually at many of the finest physical therapist and physical therapist assistant programs in the United States. Additional information on our review courses is available on our web site.