Nursing schools across the country are focused on preparing students for the NCLEX® exam. For this national, standardized exam, students must have the same knowledge of advanced science and nursing principles, no matter what school they attended. Subsequently, the knowledge must be applied using critical thinking skills and sound judgment to answer higher level questions. Nursing administrators and faculty are in the all too familiar role of trying to figure out whether students are mastering the material and if they are ready to move forward in their studies. Many nursing schools find themselves abiding by the mantra “test early and often,” but is testing really the best or only method of gauging students’ learning and ability?
To achieve testing goals, programs often create a high stakes environment whereby students must pass an exam or risk not advancing with their cohort, completing the degree or achieving licensure. What separates a high stakes test from a “normal” test is that the consequence is determined by a minimum score on one test – instead of being determined by an accumulation of scores that can be achieved across multiple exams. As a positive, high stakes exams, by nature, implore students to take tests more seriously.
Also, referred to as end-of-course exams, these tests expose students to the significance of being prepared for, feeling the pressure of and, ultimately, learning the breadth and depth of the material being assessed. In theory, these tests may help to reduce anxiety – particularly as students prepare for the ultimate high stakes exam – NCLEX! By implementing minimum passing standards, schools are creating benchmarks across a course of study that can be utilized to understand the impact of curriculum or program changes. Benchmark tests are normed, providing valid and reliable data for nursing schools to judge matriculation and progress over time.
While there are positives to high stakes testing, there are other important considerations. The NLN and some state boards are not in favor of these policies and procedures surrounding high stakes testing.1 The thought is that they may incentivize some students to pass by any means necessary including cheating. High stakes testing can make a single test more important than any instructor’s lesson or clinical experience. The test may measure the student’s ability to test instead of the student’s learning and knowledge, potentially, just weeding out poor test takers. If schools rely on high stakes testing to determine progression from semester to semester or program graduation, it can affect attrition. For example, ESL/EAL students are susceptible as there is a measurement of error in every exam. If the ESL student does not perform well on a high-stakes test, school administration/faculty cannot be sure if it was related to a lack of knowledge or English proficiency. Holistically, any test with probability has a margin of error. Schools must always consider the margin of error and take into account other areas of student performance.
‘Reflections & Dialogue’, the NLN’s core values and strategic mission, incorporates consideration of “multiple measures for competency evaluation.” Multiple sources of evidence are required to evaluate basic nursing competence. 2 Assessment of knowledge and clinical competencies are particularly important when decisions are being made regarding progression and graduation. It is very easy to allow only students who achieve high scores to move forward or sit for the NCLEX exam, but how does a school handle students who encounter trouble during the course of study?
It is critical to include remediation in benchmark programs. High stakes testing only measures performance at the moment, and students don’t actually learn anything from taking a test. The learning happens in study prior to the exam and after the exam if remediation is encouraged or required. During proper remediation, students will spend time on each question and series of answer choices to clearly understand why the correct answer is correct and why the incorrect answers are incorrect. Without this process, students run the risk of repeating the error and not obtaining the knowledge to understand the concept. A key component of the Kaplan program, remediation is included within the resources.
In the nursing community, there is ongoing discussion of how each school implements benchmark testing and the effects on matriculation, graduation and NCLEX success. We’d love to get your feedback on the trend towards high stakes testing. Please use the following link to tell us how your school has implemented benchmark testing and/or remediation: http://bit.ly/13G2zGk.
References:
1 http://www.nln.org/aboutnln/reflection_dialogue/refl_dial_7.htm
2 http://www.nln.org/facultyprograms/facultyresources/fair_testing_guidelines.htm
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