DPT Class of 2020 Earns Perfect First-Time Pass Rate on National Exam
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Doctor of Physical Therapy’s Class of 2020 particularly hard. The class, comprised of 28 students, saw their clinical rotations postponed and their graduation day delayed.
Still, those students managed a remarkable feat—out of the program’s four graduating classes, they are just the second to achieve a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). Students must pass the exam to receive their license to practice physical therapy.
“They really had a big challenge in front of them,” says Dr. Kay Malek, director of the DPT program. “This group of students worked really hard, beyond what would be typically expected of them to complete the program. To have this kind of success is a really great reward for them.”
Not only did the Class of 2020 exceed the national and state averages for the first-time pass rate, it also beat out the program’s 10 regional competitors in eastern Pennsylvania, which had a first-time pass rate of 92.6 percent.
