- What is the relationship between students’ first HESI® Exit Exam scores and NCLEX-RN outcomes?
- What is the relationship between students’ final HESI® Exit Exam scores and NCLEX-RN outcomes?
- What is the relationship between students’ performance on HESI® Specialty Exam scores and HESI® Exit Exam scores?
- What is the relationship between students’ performance on HESI® Specialty Exam scores and NCLEX-RN outcomes?
- Do HESI® Exit Exam scores predict NCLEX-RN outcomes?
- What cutoff scores for HESI® Exit Exam scores yield the most accurate classification of students as predicted to pass and predicted to fail?
Methods: A retrospective, descriptive review of existing administrative data was used. This study was conducted in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in a public, regional university in a southern state. Students enrolled in the BSN program who completed at least one (1) HESI® exam and the NCLEX-RN were eligible to participate (N = 403). No other demographic data was collected.
Results: While there was at least a weak-positive, significant was found between each of the exams and NCLEX-RN outcomes, the most notable relationship was between the HESI fundamentals scores and exit exam scores (r = .418, p = .000) and the HESI® fundamentals scores and NLCEX-RN outcomes (r = .223, p = .001). Furthermore, a significant regression equation was found (F(1, 398) = 43.437, p = .000), R2 = 0.96.
Conclusion: These findings provide quantitative reassurance that early identification of at risk students coupled with an an intentional approach to teaching, assessment, and remediation is paramount to maintaining excellent student outcomes.