Components of the Test of Essential Academic Skills as a Predictor of First Year Success in a Baccalaureate Nursing Program

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine potential predictors of early academic success for students in a selected BSN programs. Many studies evaluated the predictive value of nursing program admission tests for NCLEX-RN success, but few evaluated early academic success. Students were at most risk for failure in the first semester of nursing programs. One goal of the research was to develop a cut score for the TEAS based on results of the predictive value of the test. The other goal was to identify at-risk students early in the nursing curriculum with the intention of developing a retention program designed to enhance weak academic skills identified from TEAS results.

Methods: This was a correlational study investigating 218 baccalaureate nursing students in a selected university nursing program. Predictor variables included the components and subcomponents of the TEAS test while criterion variables included final grades and ATI Course Mastery Tests in first-year nursing courses. Correlation analysis was used to determine strength and direction of relationships. The TEAS composite scores were evaluated by independent t-tests. The independent and dependent variables were assessed using correlational coefficients to determine the strength and direction of relationships between the variables. Correlation was used to determine if fundamental research assumptions were met prior to model selection for regression analysis and to check for multicollinearity. Stepwise regression analysis was used to explore the research hypotheses that components and subcomponents of the TEAS are predictive of successful grades in first-year, upper division BSN courses and higher CMT scores. Stepwise regression analysis was used to determine the power of predictive validity between the independent and dependent variables.

Results: The TEAS Reading and English components were the most frequently occurring predictor for the first-year course grades. The TEAS Science components showed predictive validity for Pharmacology course grades in the BSN program. The TEAS Science component demonstrated predictive validity for the ATI Pharmacology and Fundamentals Course Mastery Tests, while Reading and English were predictive of success on the Fundamentals ATI Course Mastery Tests. Significantly predictive TEAS subcomponents for course grades included Paragraph Passage, Informational Source Comprehension, Grammar and Word Context Meaning, Structure, Life Science and Human Body Science.

Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of reading comprehension in nursing school. Many students enter higher education with reading difficulties. Some students, perhaps unknowingly, learn to compensate for their reading difficulties. Students with diagnosed or undiagnosed reading disabilities simply require more time to read and comprehend reading materials. Attrition rates early in nursing programs could potentially result from students who can no longer compensate for poor reading comprehension with the workload normally associated with a full-time traditional baccalaureate nursing program. Nursing faculty could potentially use TEAS component and subcomponent scores to identify students who are at risk of failure in the nursing program and faculty could potentially develop remediation unique to the students’ needs.