Graduating from massage school is a tremendous accomplishment. You have proven your competency in the classroom and in a clinical setting. You are on the verge of beginning a new, exciting career.

There is just one final hurdle to overcome before officially becoming a licensed or certified massage therapist; the MBLEx.

I have talked to instructors and students all over the country preparing for the MBLEx. Test-takers just like you.

• There are people who have used every website, app, and study guide without success.
• Fresh students right out of massage school.
• Therapists taking the exam after practicing massage for twenty-plus years.
• Massage students with terrific hands-on skills, but the thought of an exam leaves them exhausted from anxiety.

Wherever you are in your MBLEx preparation, these are seven tips I have compiled from years of helping hundreds of members on Massage Exam Academy.
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As you prepare for the MBLEx, you may have seen the acronym “CAT” or heard an instructor talk a little about it. After talking to hundreds of MBLEx takers, both those that passed and failed, I know being familiar with CAT can make the difference in seeing the “passing” or “must retest” result on your MBLEx score report.

Without getting too crazy and throwing around terms like psychometrics, calibrated pool questions, and termination criterion, let’s learn a little more about the basics of CAT and what it means to your MBLEx preparation.

What is CAT?

CAT, or computer adaptive testing, is a computer-based test that adapts to the examinee’s (that’s you!) ability level during the exam. This type of exam gauges the examinees’ competence levels as test questions are tailored to each examinee’s knowledge levels during the exam.

To do this, each question in the CAT question bank has a predetermined difficulty level.
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Do any of these situations resonate with you?

Fear of Failure

You failed your licensing exam soon after attending school, got discouraged, and put your massage career on the back burner for a few years. Fear of failing again paralyzed you from moving forward with your massage career.

Maybe exam anxiety kept you from even attempting an initial licensing exam after massage training.

Hi Ivy,
I graduated MT school in 2006 located in Illinois, took the NCETMB exam and did not pass. I missed by 2 points and then life happened. I see the NCETMB is not being given anymore and I had a friend that has mentioned the MBLEx to me to help me get my Illinois massage license. In being out of school for that length of time, would I need to go back to school? Can I still take the MBLEx?

Moving to a New State

You were previously licensed in a state that did not require an exam. Now have moved and find yourself in a situation where you must take an exam to keep practicing massage.
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While studying for your exam, you begin to research the passing score on the MBLEx. You see a few numbers out there (like 630 and 900), your teacher has told you it is 75% or 80%, and other sources say that there isn’t a passing score. Who is right?

The answer to this question is complicated.

We first need to review the goals of the MBLEx, recount a little history about exam scoring, and then cover the latest changes to the exam scoring reports. This way you will know exactly what to expect to best prepare for your exam day.

The goal of the MBLEx is not to measure different levels of competence between test-takers, or to see who can get the highest score in a massage class. A better score does not indicate a person will be a better massage therapist. The aim of the exam is to distinguish whether a candidate meets the minimum level of competence required to practice as an entry-level massage professional. The MBLEx is used by nearly every state, along with minimum education requirements, to determine if a person can safely practice massage and be issued a massage license by the state.
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