A physical therapist assistant is treating a 68-year-old woman two days after a posterior-approach total hip arthroplasty. The supervising PT's plan of care lists standard posterior hip precautions. Which of the following activities should the PTA STOP if the patient begins to perform it?

Bending forward to pull a sock onto the operated foot

Sitting on a raised toilet seat with the knees below the hips

Lying supine with an abduction pillow between the legs

Standing with the operated leg slightly behind the body

A physical therapist assistant is measuring knee flexion range of motion with a goniometer on a 34-year-old man eight weeks after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, per the plan of care. Which of the following landmarks is the correct placement for the stationary arm?

Aligned with the lateral midline of the femur toward the greater trochanter

Aligned with the lateral midline of the fibula toward the lateral malleolus

Aligned with the anterior midline of the tibia toward the tibial tuberosity

Aligned with the medial midline of the femur toward the pubic symphysis

A physical therapist assistant is performing gait training with a 72-year-old man who is toe-touch weight bearing on the right leg after an open reduction and internal fixation of a tibial plateau fracture. He is using a standard walker. During the session he reports he is tired and begins placing nearly full weight through the right foot. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Stop, re-instruct him on the toe-touch pattern with the walker, shorten the distance, and document and report the difficulty maintaining the restriction

Allow it, since the fixation hardware protects the fracture

Progress him to partial weight bearing, since he is clearly ready

Switch to a wheelchair for the rest of the stay and discontinue gait training

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 45-year-old woman with low back pain whose supervising PT documented a directional preference for extension and prescribed prone press-ups. During the session the patient reports that her leg pain, which previously reached her calf, is now felt only in the buttock. Which of the following BEST describes this response and the appropriate action?

Centralization; continue the exercise as prescribed and document the change

Peripheralization; stop the exercise and report immediately

A new nerve root injury; refer the patient to the emergency department

An adverse reaction to the exercise; switch to flexion-based exercises

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 58-year-old man with a rotator cuff repair four weeks ago. The plan of care allows passive range of motion only, with active motion to begin at week six. The patient asks to try lifting the arm on his own because it feels strong. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate response?

Explain that the repaired tendon is still healing and that active contraction before the protocol allows it can tear the repair, continue passive range of motion, and note the request for the supervising PT

Allow active motion since the patient feels ready and is motivated

Perform active-assisted motion as a compromise

Discontinue the session and send the patient home until week six

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 66-year-old man with left hemiplegia after a right middle cerebral artery stroke. The plan of care includes bed mobility training. During a session the PTA notes that the patient consistently fails to attend to objects and people on his left side and collides with the left door frame when wheeled through it. Which of the following strategies is MOST appropriate within the plan of care?

Approach from the left side, cue the patient to scan to the left, and place items of interest on the left to encourage attention to that side

Approach and position all activities on the patient's right side to reduce frustration

Cover the patient's left eye with a patch during sessions

Avoid mentioning the left side so the patient does not become anxious

A physical therapist assistant is carrying out a plan of care for a 24-year-old man with a complete T6 spinal cord injury. During wheelchair propulsion training in the parallel bars he suddenly reports a pounding headache and the PTA observes flushing and sweating above the chest. His blood pressure is 190/105 mm Hg. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate FIRST action?

Sit him upright, loosen tight clothing and straps, check the catheter and tubing for kinks or a full bag, and call for help if the pressure does not fall

Lay him supine and elevate his legs

Give him water and continue training at a lower intensity

Apply a cold pack to the back of his neck and recheck in 15 minutes

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 70-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease whose plan of care includes gait training. She freezes repeatedly when approaching a doorway. Which of the following cueing strategies is MOST likely to help her resume walking?

Provide a rhythmic auditory cue such as counting or a metronome and ask her to take a large step over a visual line on the floor

Tell her to walk faster to push through the freeze

Have her hold onto the PTA and shuffle through the doorway

Stop gait training until the freezing resolves

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 42-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis in an outpatient clinic in July. The plan of care includes endurance training. Twenty minutes into the session she reports blurred vision and marked weakness in both legs that she did not have at the start. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Stop the exercise, move her to a cool area, allow her to rest and cool down, and report the response to the supervising PT

Continue, since fatigue is expected in multiple sclerosis

Increase the intensity to push through the fatigue

Place her in a warm whirlpool to relax the muscles

A physical therapist assistant is monitoring a 62-year-old man during phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation. His resting blood pressure was 128/80 mm Hg. During the exercise bout his blood pressure reads 112/78 mm Hg while the workload is increasing, and he says he feels lightheaded. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Stop the exercise, seat the patient, continue monitoring, and report to the supervising physical therapist

Continue, since a lower blood pressure during exercise is a good sign

Increase the workload to raise the blood pressure

Have him hold his breath and bear down to stabilize the pressure

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 74-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The plan of care says to keep oxygen saturation at or above 88 percent during activity. During stair training the pulse oximeter reads 84 percent and she is breathing rapidly. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Stop, seat her in a forward-leaning supported position, coach pursed-lip breathing, and let saturation recover before deciding whether to resume at a lower level

Continue the stairs, since 84 percent is normal for lung disease

Turn up her supplemental oxygen to 6 liters per minute

Have her lie flat to reduce the work of breathing

A physical therapist assistant is treating a 59-year-old woman four days after a total knee arthroplasty. Before gait training she reports new calf pain on the operated leg, and the calf is warm, swollen, and tender compared with the other side. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Hold the session, keep her at rest, and contact the supervising physical therapist and the medical team immediately

Massage the calf and perform ankle pumps to relieve the cramp

Apply a hot pack and proceed with gait training

Proceed with walking, since activity prevents clots

A physical therapist assistant performing a skin check before positioning finds an area over the sacrum of a bed-bound patient that is intact, red, and does not blanch when pressed. Which of the following BEST describes the finding and the appropriate action?

Stage 1 pressure injury; relieve pressure from the area, document, and report to the supervising PT and nursing

Stage 2 pressure injury; apply a dry gauze dressing

Normal skin reaction to lying down; continue the session as planned

Deep tissue injury; perform sharp debridement

A physical therapist assistant is about to begin an exercise session with a 55-year-old man with type 1 diabetes. He checks his blood glucose and it reads 62 mg/dL, and he reports feeling shaky and sweaty. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Hold the session, provide about 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrate, recheck the glucose in about 15 minutes, and report the episode

Begin the session, since exercise will raise his blood glucose

Have him take his scheduled insulin dose and begin the session

Send him home to rest for the day

A physical therapist assistant reviews the chart of a 60-year-old man receiving chemotherapy before an exercise session. This morning's platelet count is 15,000 per microliter and his absolute neutrophil count is 450 per microliter. The plan of care includes resistance and aerobic exercise. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Hold the exercise session, document the values, and contact the supervising physical therapist, because the platelet count is below the threshold for resistance exercise and the neutrophil count requires infection precautions

Proceed as planned, since lab values are the physician's concern

Perform resistance exercise only and skip the aerobic portion

Move the session to the busy gym so he benefits from social interaction

A physical therapist assistant is fitting a single point cane for a 78-year-old woman with right knee osteoarthritis, per the plan of care. Which of the following describes the correct fit and use?

Hand grip at the level of the greater trochanter with the elbow flexed about 20 to 30 degrees, cane held in the left hand and advanced with the right leg

Hand grip at the level of the iliac crest with the elbow straight, cane held in the right hand

Hand grip at waist level with the elbow flexed 90 degrees, cane held in the right hand and advanced with the left leg

Hand grip at the level of the wrist crease with the elbow straight, cane held in the left hand and advanced with the left leg

A physical therapist assistant is preparing to apply a moist hot pack to the low back of a 70-year-old woman with diabetes, per the plan of care. Before applying it the PTA tests sensation in the area and finds that she cannot reliably distinguish hot from cold. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Hold the hot pack, document the sensory finding, and contact the supervising PT, because impaired thermal sensation is a contraindication to superficial heat

Apply the hot pack with extra toweling and check the skin every five minutes

Apply the hot pack for half the usual time

Substitute ultrasound, which does not require intact sensation

A physical therapist assistant is about to enter the room of a patient whose door sign indicates droplet precautions for influenza. Which of the following describes the correct personal protective equipment to add to standard precautions?

A surgical mask, worn when within about 3 to 6 feet of the patient, plus gloves and gown if contact with body fluids is expected

An N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room

No additional equipment, since influenza is not contagious once symptoms appear

A physical therapist assistant is treating a patient whose supervising physical therapist is at another location and reachable by phone. The patient has improved and asks to be discharged today. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action?

Explain that discharge and the discharge evaluation are the physical therapist's responsibility, document the patient's current status and progress, and contact the supervising PT to arrange it

Discharge the patient, since the goals appear to be met

Perform a reassessment and sign the discharge summary in the PT's name

Continue treating until a physician writes a discharge order

A supervising physical therapist shares two studies on a new balance program. One is a systematic review of randomized controlled trials; the other is a case series of eight patients. A physical therapist assistant is asked which provides stronger evidence that the program reduces falls. Which of the following is the BEST answer?

The systematic review of randomized controlled trials, which sits at the top of the hierarchy of evidence for questions about whether an intervention works

The case series, because it describes real patients in detail

Both are equally strong, since both were published

Neither, because only expert opinion can establish effectiveness

Free NPTE-PTA Practice Test

Free NPTE-PTA Practice Test 2026: 20-Question Timed Simulation

A 20-question timed NPTE-PTA practice exam with questions distributed proportionally to the official FSBPT NPTE-PTA content outline. 20 minutes, the same pacing pressure as the real National Physical Therapy Examination for physical therapist assistants. Instant score, content area breakdown, and full rationales with detailed explanations at the end, written and reviewed by a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Before You Start

Questions

20:00

Time Limit

60s

Per Question

15/20

Passing Target

This PTA practice exam covers every NPTE-PTA content area, weighted to the FSBPT blueprint and framed from the PTA perspective: implementing the plan of care, collecting data, and knowing when to stop and call the PT
Timer runs continuously: 20 minutes total, 60 seconds per question, slightly faster than the 80 seconds per question you get on the real exam
Navigate freely between questions and flag any for review
Exam auto-submits at time zero if you have not submitted manually
Instant score, content area breakdown, and full rationales at the end

Question 1 of 20 | 0 answered | 0 flagged

20:00

Click any question to jump

0/20

Content Area Breakdown

This is the same kind of breakdown Practitionr’s AI runs across its full NPTE-PTA question bank to find your specific weak spots.

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About the NPTE-PTA

NPTE-PTA Exam Format and Scoring Guide

180

Total Questions

140 scored plus 40 unscored pretest items, multiple choice

4 hrs

Time Limit

Administered at Prometric testing centers

600

Passing Score

Scaled score required to pass

The NPTE-PTA is the National Physical Therapy Examination for physical therapist assistants, administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Its 140 scored items follow the FSBPT NPTE-PTA content outline: the musculoskeletal system (31 to 40 items), the neuromuscular and nervous systems (27 to 35), the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems (20 to 27), the integumentary system, the metabolic and endocrine systems, the gastrointestinal system, the genitourinary system, and the lymphatic system together with system interactions (14 to 35 combined), and the non-systems domains of equipment, devices, and technology; therapeutic modalities; safety and protection; professional responsibilities; and research and evidence-based practice (22 to 32). The 20 questions in this practice exam follow that same distribution. For a complete breakdown, see our NPTE-PTA Exam Format Guide.

The PTA exam uses the same scaled scoring system as the PT exam. Raw scores from the multiple-choice questions are converted to a scale of 200 to 800, with 600 as the passing score. Your score report is delivered through your state licensing authority. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so every question gets an answer. What differs from the PT exam is the frame of the questions: the plan of care is already written, and the items ask whether you can carry it out, collect data, recognize a change, and report to the supervising physical therapist.

First-time pass rates for graduates of US accredited PTA programs were 79% for the 2025 exam year and 76% for 2024 per FSBPT exam year reports, noticeably lower than the PT exam, and the ultimate pass rate for the 2024 graduating class was 93%. Roughly one in four PTA candidates does not pass on the first try. For the full breakdown, see our NPTE-PTA Pass Rate Analysis.

How to Prepare

How to Study for the NPTE-PTA the Right Way

Most PTA students approach exam prep the same way: work through a generic question bank, glance at the incorrect answers, repeat. The problem is that this treats every candidate identically regardless of where they actually need to improve, and it ignores the thing that makes the PTA exam different, which is that it tests the PTA role rather than the PT role. High-quality preparation for the physical therapist assistant licensure exam requires three things most tools do not provide: an accurate assessment of your starting point, a study plan that focuses on your weak areas, and a reliable way to know when you are ready to sit for the exam. For a complete framework, see our full NPTE-PTA Study Guide, and build your week-by-week schedule with the NPTE-PTA Study Plan Customizer.

1. Start with a diagnostic assessment

Before you open a textbook, take a diagnostic assessment that covers all major NPTE-PTA content areas. This gives you a baseline PraxScore and tells you exactly where your knowledge gaps are. Without this starting point you are studying blind.

2. Study your weaknesses, not your strengths

Most students naturally gravitate toward topics they already understand well. This feels productive but it does not improve your score. Identify your three weakest content areas and prioritize them relentlessly. Our content-area practice sets can help: Musculoskeletal, Neuromuscular, Cardiopulmonary, Other Systems, and Non-Systems, each with 10 NPTE-PTA practice questions and full rationales. Pay attention to the topics PTA candidates most often get wrong on a practice exam: scapula and shoulder mechanics, the joint mobilizations the PT performs and the PTA supports but does not select, stance phase gait deviations after a transfemoral amputation, and the vital sign rules in the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems.

3. Practice under timed conditions

The NPTE-PTA gives you 4 hours for 180 questions, about 80 seconds each. Many students who understand the material still struggle on exam day because they have not practiced at the speed required. Regular timed practice, like this 20-question simulation, trains both your knowledge and your pacing.

4. Understand why answers are wrong

The NPTE-PTA is designed to test clinical reasoning inside the PTA role, not memorization. When you answer a multiple-choice question incorrectly, reviewing the correct answer is not enough. You need to understand why each incorrect answer is wrong, and on the PTA exam the wrong answers usually fall into predictable patterns: a decision that belongs to the PT, a precaution ignored, a finding that should have stopped the session, or a response that overreacts to a normal one. Naming the pattern is how you build the recognition the exam rewards, which is why every question in this practice exam comes with detailed explanations of the wrong answers as well as the right one.

5. Track your readiness over time

One of the most common reasons students fail the NPTE-PTA is sitting for the exam before they are truly ready. Without an objective readiness metric, it is easy to feel prepared when significant gaps still exist. Track your performance by content area over time and only schedule your exam when your scores consistently meet or exceed the passing threshold.

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FAQ

NPTE-PTA Practice Test: Common Questions

The NPTE-PTA contains 180 total items, 140 scored and 40 unscored pretest items, administered in a 4-hour session with scheduled breaks. Questions are presented in patient scenario format and follow the FSBPT NPTE-PTA content outline. For the full breakdown, see our NPTE-PTA Exam Format Guide.

The passing score is a scaled score of 600 on a scale of 200 to 800, the same standard used for the PT exam. Raw scores are converted to scaled scores so that different forms of the exam are comparable. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every question.

Both exams draw from the same body systems and non-systems domains, but the NPTE-PTA has 180 items and 4 hours instead of 225 items and 5 hours, and its questions are written around the PTA role: implementing a plan of care the physical therapist has already established, collecting data, adjusting within the plan, and recognizing when a finding needs to go back to the PT. The PT exam asks you to evaluate, diagnose, and design the plan. Every question on this page is framed the PTA way. See our NPTE-PTA Study Guide for the full comparison.

The NPTE-PTA is offered on fixed dates four times per year, in January, April, July, and October. Per FSBPT’s retake rules, you can sit a maximum of three times in any 12-month period, with a lifetime limit of six attempts. Each sitting requires an Authorization to Test issued by your licensing authority after your PTA program confirms eligibility.

For graduates of US accredited PTA programs, the first-time pass rate was 79% for the 2025 exam year and 76% for 2024, per FSBPT exam year reports. The ultimate pass rate, counting all attempts, was 93% for the 2024 graduating class. For the full breakdown, see our NPTE-PTA Pass Rate Analysis.

Most PTA students need 6 to 12 weeks of focused preparation, depending on their starting point and how well they target weak areas. Rather than following a fixed timeline, track your performance by content area and schedule the exam when you are consistently at or above the passing threshold. Our NPTE-PTA Study Plan Customizer builds a week-by-week schedule around your exam date and available hours.

The 20 questions on this page were written and reviewed by Dr. Cara Dobbertin, PT, DPT, a licensed physical therapist, and are formatted to mirror the patient scenario style, PTA framing, and content distribution of the real NPTE-PTA, so the page works as a short PTA practice exam rather than a topic quiz. The distribution across content areas follows the FSBPT blueprint. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by FSBPT. For official sample questions, visit fsbpt.org.

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More NPTE-PTA Practice Resources

10 Questions

NPTE-PTA Practice Questions

10 NPTE-PTA-style clinical vignette questions across the highest-weighted content areas, with instant scoring.

Content Area

Musculoskeletal Practice Questions

10 questions on post-surgical precautions, goniometry, weight-bearing rules, and when to hold treatment.

Content Area

Neuromuscular Practice Questions

10 questions on stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and vestibular care.

Data

NPTE-PTA Pass Rate 2026

The FSBPT numbers for PTA candidates: first-time versus ultimate pass rates, the PT comparison, and what they mean for prep.

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