Learning Objective #1: Discuss the problem, research questions, methodology, and results of the study

Learning Objective #2: Compare the results from the presented study to other program evaluation methods within an academic educational setting

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Predicting how students will do on the licensure examination has become important to educational programs. One such program assisting in that prediction is the Health Education Systems, Incorporated (HESI) exit examination, given to seniors in their last semester of school (Lauchner, Newman, & Britt, 1999). The HESI exit examination gives an actual score to the students and the school to indicate preparedness for licensure exams. Examining predictors of the HESI exit examination score should assist in predicting how students will perform on the licensure examination and serve as a measure of program outcomes. The problem statement for this study is: What nursing course final grades and academic variables are the predictors of first time HESI scores in senior students completing the last semester of their educational program at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University? A retrospective design of data collection examined 4 years of student data related to admission status, number of course retakes, test requirement status, course grades, and HESI score results. For privacy reasons, only the investigators listed collected the data, resulting in a 98% interrater reliability. Appropriate statistical measures and regression analyses are being examined at this time and will be ready by Spring, 2005.