A Strategy to Increase High Stakes Exit Exam Success

Thursday, March 26, 2020: 3:45 PM

Mary A. Wcisel, MSN, RN
Nursing, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Mary Kay Welle, MSN, RN, Associate Professor Emeritus
Department of Nursing, Saint Mary's College, Granger, IN, USA

Background:

In order to graduate, students in a small private mid-western college Baccalaureate nursing program are required to pass a high-stakes, nationally standardized Kaplan exam. When evaluating the first-time pass rate results over a period of several years, faculty identified that students were unsure of how to prepare for the exam, how to use available resources and underestimated the value of remediation.

In consultation with a Kaplan representative, faculty on the Nursing Department’s Evaluation Committee, developed a policy and a guideline to assist students to prepare for the exam and utilize online resources. The new policy and guidelines were then presented to and approved by the nursing faculty.

The guideline, entitled ticket for admission (TFA), consisted of a battery of prescribed Kaplan exams with predetermined benchmarks. In addition, the students were required to spend time remediating each exam, regardless of the score obtained. Permission to sit for the high stakes exam was based on completion of all of the TFA requirements.

Orientation sessions regarding the TFA and the policy were scheduled with students one semester prior to administration of the high stakes exam. These sessions provided policy details, time management, test-taking strategies, and instruction on the sequence in which the Kaplan exams were to be completed. The policy incorporated a deadline for submission of the TFA and the procedure in the event of an exam failure.

Data analysis occurred following each graduating cohort over a period of 6 years. Modifications were made periodically to the TFA and test-taking policy based on aggregate results.

Purpose:

The focus of the strategy was to give students a means and tools to prepare for the high stakes exam and to improve first time exam pass rates.

Methods:

This was a non-experimental, retrospective before and after design measuring the results of first-time pass rates of graduating cohorts. Results were measured 3 years prior and 3 years post implementation of the TFA. Outcomes were measured as percentage pass rates.

Results:

The strategy of implementing the TFA was effective and beneficial in the preparation and improvement of first-time pass rates on a high stakes exam.

Conclusion:

The development of strategies to improve the preparation and ultimately the success on a high stakes exam is important in the assessment of the nursing curriculum. The TFA demonstrated that students benefitted from a strategy that provided tools to help prepare for the exam and use online resources. The results also indicated the merit of remediation.

Conclusion:

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