Abstract
Purpose To investigate how lag time between graduation from an education program and exam date influenced candidates' performance on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) certification and registration exams for radiography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, and magnetic resonance imaging. Methods Data for this quasi-experimental study were obtained for 39 898 candidates taking the 4 certification and registration exams from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019. Comparisons were made between candidates who took their certification exam within 8 weeks of graduation and candidates who waited 9 to 16 weeks after program completion. Results All 4 exams had a significant decrease in their total scaled scores and content category-scaled scores on 4 exams from the first 8 weeks after program completion to the subsequent 8 weeks. Discussion These results should encourage students to take their ARRT certification and registration exam as soon as possible after program completion, ideally within 8 weeks. Conclusion Taking certification and registration exams soon after program completion can benefit students as well as the education programs from which they graduated because specialized-accredited programs must document ARRT pass rates with a minimum 5-year average of 75% or higher.
NSTL