Accuracy of Undergraduate Athletic Training Student Performance Factors for Determining Board of Certification Exam First-Time Pass Outcomes

Abstract

Context There is a lack of current evidence to help athletic training programs identify students poised for first-time Board of Certification (BOC) exam success as a means to ensure compliance with contemporary accreditation standards. Various academic variables have been previously identified as predictors of first-time success; however, these investigations reflect prior versions of the credentialing examination based on what are now obsolete editions of the professional practice analysis. Objective To determine the accuracy of undergraduate athletic training student performance factors as indicators of successfully passing the current version of the BOC exam on a first attempt. Design Casual-comparative (ex–post facto) quasi-experimental. Setting An accredited undergraduate athletic training program. Patients or Other Participants A recent sample of athletic training program graduates (n = 43). Intervention(s) Archived data were collected from student academic records and analyzed. Main Outcome Measure(s) Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis computed the area under the curve (AUC), which was used to determine accuracy of variables. Optimal thresholds for passing the BOC exam on a first attempt were computed for each variable by the index of union method. Results The AUC and associated thresholds for factors were as follows: cumulative grade point average (GPA) upon entry to the major (AUC = 0.67, threshold = 3.20); preprofessional-phase course GPA (AUC = 0.81, threshold = 3.48); averaged admission interview score (AUC = 0.49, threshold = 8.46); averaged preceptor evaluation of applicant score (AUC = 0.53, threshold = 93.88%); unique composite score (AUC = 0.80, threshold = 7.34); cumulative GPA upon graduation (AUC = 0.68, threshold = 3.19); combined math and reading SAT score (AUC = 0.90, threshold = 960); clinical education hours (AUC = 0.61, threshold = 1131.08). Conclusions Preprofessional-phase course GPA provided the greatest accuracy of the secondary admissions criteria; however, the combined math and reading SAT score provided the greatest accuracy of all examined variables. Furthermore, the unique composite score may represent an accurate, all-inclusive indicator of success. Program administrators and athletic training educators may use these outcomes to shape their related programmatic operations.