Program Data
To meet ACOTE’s reporting standard, a program's pass rate is calculated based on the number of new graduates who passed the NBCOT exam during the testing year, regardless of the number of attempts.
New graduate is defined as an exam candidate testing within one year of graduation, regardless of the number of exam attempts. The date of graduation is what is listed on the official transcript, not what the student enters when they create a MyNBCOT account.
The testing year is defined as January 1 to December 31.
Email pdirectors@nbcot.org with details about the discrepancies that you noticed, and our team will follow up with you.
The graduation date is what is listed on the official transcript.
The Customized Score Report (CSR) contains first-time new graduate (FTNG) exam scoring information for the date range you request. FTNG refers to exam candidates who take the exam for the first time within one year of graduation.
The Program Data tab on the PD Portal provides annual aggregate new graduate (NG) data for candidates testing from your program. NG refers to exam candidates testing within one year of graduation, regardless of the number of exam attempts.
Exam Applications
Background checks are initiated by NBCOT when a student submits their initial exam application.
All testing accommodations (TA) requests are reviewed on an individual basis, based on documentation and recommendations from the student's qualified medical provider. Additional information regarding the TA process is available in the TA Handbook.
In the Program Director Portal, go to NBCOT Products and click the "Order" button. On that page, choose "Exam Application Voucher" from the list of products. Enter the desired amount for the voucher. Then choose the name of the student(s) you wish to purchase the voucher for, click "Add to Cart," and go to the cart to submit the order. The amount on the voucher will be applied automatically to the student’s online account when they go to pay for the exam.
Study Tools
Except for the OT Knowledge Exam (OTKE), study tools are immediately available in your students’ MyNBCOT accounts as soon as you complete your purchase. You can view your order history at any time in your Program Director (PD) Portal.
If you purchase the OTKE, you must release it to your students from the PD Portal by clicking on the OTKE tab, then "Manage OTKE Tests." On this page, you can see your OTKE orders and verify that the OTKE has been released to your students.
Only the score report for the OT Knowledge Exam (OTKE) is provided in the Program Director Portal. If you wish to see the score report for a practice test or tools in the StudyPack that your students have completed, you will need to ask your students to provide you with a copy of the report.
OT Knowledge Exam (OTKE)
The OTKEs have been renamed to facilitate better quality data for program directors and to make more meaningful comparisons. The choice of when to administer the OTKEs is up to the program director; however, program directors will be able to make more meaningful comparisons if they administer the OTKEs according to the recommended timing. For example, when all test-takers who test on a particular version of the OTKE are at a similar level of preparation, it makes comparisons to the national average and across cohorts easier to interpret.
Choose the OTKE using the name of the test and the corresponding administration time. For instance, if a program director wishes to administer an OTKE at the very beginning of the program, they should choose the Pre-Level II Fieldwork OTKE, since that is the recommendation that is closest to the beginning of the program. Program directors should use their own discretion to determine the appropriate OTKE.
If a program director wants to administer an OTKE at a time other than indicated in the name, that is their prerogative.
The score report provides program directors with in-depth information about their students' performance in the following areas:
- Percentage of items scored correctly by each student at each task level
- Number of items scored correctly by each student across the whole test
- Percentage of items scored correctly at the domain level by overall cohort group
- Percentage scored correctly by cohort group vs. national mean
The NBCOT online practice test contains 110 items that mirror the exam outline of the actual certification exam. The online practice tests are available for students to purchase directly through their MyNBCOT account or for the program director to order through their Program Director Portal. At the end of the test, only the test-taker receives a report showing their overall scaled score and scores across each of the major domain areas of the test. The OT Knowledge Exam (OTKE) is an online, cohort-based test designed exclusively for program directors to analyze student performance related to the content outline of the exam.
The test delivery platform for the OTKEs allows the student to:
- Highlight text: Highlight text that is identified as being important.
- Strikeout feature: Place a line through options to be eliminated from consideration.
- Flag for review: Flag items for review, which can be returned to prior to submitting the test.
Program Director (PD) Portal
A DVF can be used when students have met all degree and graduation requirements, but they will not receive their transcript due to the release schedule of their school. The form must be submitted within six months of the exam candidate’s anticipated graduation date and within the same calendar year of graduation. Visit our website for additional information about the DVF Policy.
Log in to the Program Director Portal. Click on "Degree Verification" at the top of the page. Click “Approved” in the top left-hand corner of the page to see any DVF requests that have been previously approved. As long as NBCOT has not received a transcript for the student, their DVF will be listed there.
It will not cause any issues to simply leave the request unapproved. The request will disappear once the student’s transcript is received. Otherwise, you will need to email pdirectors@nbcot.org to request that NBCOT manually remove the request from the student’s account.
Log in to the Program Director Portal. You will see a number listed under "Students to Verify" on the dashboard if there are students who have created accounts but have not been verified. Click the “Click to Verify” button under the number to be taken to a different page. Check the boxes beside the names of the students you wish to verify, and then click the green "Verify" button. If there are students who have never attended your program, click the "Remove" button.
If you accidentally click "Remove" for a student who currently attends or previously attended the program, go to "Denied Verification" at the top of the page to verify them.
Log in to the Program Director Portal. Click on "Admin Actions > Receipts" in the top right-hand corner of the page. All previous receipts can be found there.
Log in to the Program Director Portal. Go to NBCOT Products and click the "Order" button. On that page, choose the items you wish to purchase from the list of products. Then choose the name of the student(s) you wish to purchase the products for, click "Add to Cart," and go to the cart. Click the “View Quote” button on that page to generate a quote that will add any applicable discounts.