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PURPOSE: Few studies have addressed the relationship of factors inherent in the clinical site to students' performance on the licensing examination or how a comprehensive examination relates to performance on the licensing examination. Also, there are no studies relating Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) ratings to students' scores on the licensing examination. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationships between clinical site characteristics, clinical instructor characteristics, CPI ratings, and comprehensive examination scores to student's scores on the licensing examination. SUBJECTS: A total of 125 graduates of Tennessee State University's Physical Therapy program from 1996 to 1999 were used in the study. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The following data was used in the study: CPI average scores and number of "with distinction" marks, licensing examination scores, comprehensive examination scores, and select information from the Clinical Center Information Forms (CCIF). ANALYSIS: A linear regression analysis was used to correlate the comprehensive examination scores with the licensing examination scores. A multiple regression analysis was used to correlate the information from the CPI and CCIF information with the licensing examination scores. RESULTS: The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between licensing examination scores and the following: the comprehensive examination, the number of "with distinction" marks given in the CPI, the number of criteria used to choose the clinical instructors, and the number of rarely and occasionally available learning experiences at the clinical site. The number of specialty clinics correlated positively with the licensing examination scores in an initial clinical affiliation and negatively in the last clinical affiliation. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive examination can help educators identify students who may perform poorly on the licensing examination. Students who perform "with distinction" may perform well on the licensing examination. Clinical sites should provide varied experiences., Edmondson DA. Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee, [...]