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Exam score FAQ
What is the passing score for the National Certification Examination (NCE)? NCBTMB has set the passing score for the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork at a scaled score of 300.
How was the passing score determined?
The passing score was established via a systematic procedure (cut-score study) that employed the judgment of a representative group of nationally certified therapeutic massage and bodywork professionals from across the country. The group recommended to the NCBTMB Board of Directors a standard of what an NCE candidate needs to know about the tested content at a minimum in order to obtain the certificate, and a passing score. The NCBTMB Board of Directors decided what the passing score is.
What is a scale score?
A scale score is a transformed raw test score (the number of test questions answered correctly). The raw score has been transformed into other measurement units, a scale score – something like transforming height (a test performance) from centimeters (a raw score) into inches (a scale score). To interpret any test score, a uniform frame of reference is required. Scale scores provide that frame of reference based on the standard adopted by NCBTMB of the amount of knowledge necessary to receive the national certification designation for this profession without regard to the specific test form or version taken.
A scale score of at least 300 is required to obtain certification; scale scores range from a low score of 100 to a high score of 600. PLEASE NOTE THAT A SCALED SCORE IS NEITHER THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY NOR THE PERCENTAGE OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY.
Is the current test easier or harder than past or future tests?
Because of NCBTMB's commitment to quality and test security, there are multiple forms of the NCE examination for this certification designation. While these forms were developed from the same set of content specifications, the levels of difficulty of the forms may vary slightly because different questions appear on different forms. Since it would be unfair to require a candidate taking a slightly more difficult form of the test to answer as many questions correctly as a candidate taking an easier form, a statistical procedure known as equating and scaling is used to correct for differences in test difficulty.
Why are scores scaled?
If the number of questions answered correctly (the raw score) were reported on score reports, there would be a different passing score for each form of the test (because of differences in difficulty) and this could be very confusing. In order to keep the passing score constant across forms, while allowing the number of correct answers necessary for passing to vary, scaling and equating is used. Using specifications set by the NCBTMB examination committee, your raw score has been converted to a scale score.
What information will a score report provide?
Scaled scores of 300 or above will be reported as PASS; i.e., no numeric score will be reported for passing examinees. If you pass the test, your score report will simply indicate a passing score by saying PASS. If you fail the test, you will receive a numeric scaled score.
If a test is failed, the score report is provided that includes a scaled score and the level achieved in each subject area. These diagnostic scores are designed to help identify those areas in which a candidate may need further study before retaking the examination.
The information used in the diagnostic scores is explained below.
Area of improvement: The score you obtained is below an acceptable level; substantial study of this content area is recommended prior to retaking the examination.
Medium: The score you obtained is marginally acceptable; your understanding is not strong and further study is suggested.
High: The score you obtained is above the acceptable level; you have demonstrated an acceptable understanding of the content, but a review of this area may be helpful to you prior to retaking the examination.
The subject areas covered by the NCE examination are listed below:
| Subject Area |
Questions |
| General knowledge of body systems |
25 |
| Anatomy, physiology and kinesiology |
42 |
| Pathology |
18 |
| Massage and bodywork assessment |
30 |
| Massage and bodywork application |
35 |
| Professional standards, ethics, business and legal practices |
10 |
| TOTAL |
160 |
If another version of the NCE was administered, would the same score be obtained?
If another version of the NCE was taken, a candidate probably would obtain a slightly different score. No test measures performance with perfect accuracy and consistency. The content consistency of the test is about 0.93, using an index that varies from 0.00 (no content consistency) to 1.00 (perfect content homogeneity). This index tells you that the NCE test measures different kinds of content. If you took several different versions of the test, you would probably obtain a number of different scores that cluster around a typical or average value, due to differences in the content of each test form. Some of your scores would be higher and some would be lower than your average score. In actual practice, you do not know your average score, but only your score from this administration. The "error of measurement" can be used to determine where your average score would lie, that is 68% of the time your average score would lie somewhere within a band defined by the error of measurement. A statistical estimate of this variation is called the "standard error of measurement." The standard error of measurement for reported scale scores is less than 14 points. Thus, the standard error of measurement can be said to capture where your average score might lie by adding and subtracting it from your obtained score on this examination (i.e. + 14 points).
If the same test was taken a second time, would the same pass/fail status be obtained?
If you were permitted to take the same version of the NCE a second time, the estimate of consistently passing or failing the same people can be determined through a statistic known as a pass-fail classification reliability index. For candidates taking the NCE for the first time, the probability of obtaining the same passing or failing classification is about 0.89, indicating that without further study were you to take the test a second time, your test performance would have a moderately high probability of being classified as a PASS or FAIL exactly as occurred this time. |
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