The LASSI as a measure of doctoral of physical therapy students study skills and its relationship to PEAT and NPTE

Abstract

[EMBARGOED UNTIL 6/1/2023] Physical therapy students, like most students frequently use poor study strategies that do little to promote long term retention. This undermines the ability to pass a comprehensive entry level licensure exam. This research correlated the Learning and Study Skills inventory (LASSI) with retrospective GRE scores and prospective performance on the National Physical Therapy Examination. The sample was physical therapy students from the University of Missouri including five cohorts of students (N= 456). Measures included the LASSI, GRE, Practice Exam and Assessment Tool (PEAT), and National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). The PEAT and NPTE represent the board exam performance. A factor analysis was performed to determine the most appropriate factor structure for this sample. A six-factor structure was the most appropriate but complicated by numerous cross loadings of items. Analyses used the 3rd addition of the LASSI and the total score. Students did not significantly increase in LASSI scores as they progressed through the program, suggesting that they did not improve their use of study strategies. The GRE did not predict LASSI scores for this sample. The LASSI predicted student performance on the PEAT and for the NPTE, but prediction was not statistically significant for the NPTE.