What Is/ Was your grading scale in nursing school?

Nemhain · May 4, 2005

My two year program has a scale of:

75-81 =C

82-90 =B

91-100=A

The classes are broken down into four 9 credit classes with 4 tests and a paper each semester (no quizzes or projects). Clinical is pass/fail. Must have at least a 75 to pass the classes.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · May 4, 2005

I think the important part is the lowest passing grade, ours was 75 (lowest grade for a C) and they would push for 74.5 and above. Sounds lower than many of the others out there now (this was a few years ago). However we had a high pass rate for our class; 36 of 37 passed on first attempt, and she passed on her 2nd attempt.

brina · May 4, 2005

Mine was the same as the above. Anything less than 80 was failing. I found out that those who struggled with this grading scale were also the same people who failed the NCLEX at least once.

The thought that this grading scale will help me with NCLEX is sometimes the only thing that keeps me from screaming from frustation! Being that we have to basically keep a B average in these nursing courses where they give us NCLEX type questions, I do feel that we get good practice. BUT.... it is still sad that some very competent people end up falling by the wayside with what sometimes amounts to missing ONE question.

nurse4theplanet, RN · May 4, 2005

Great Minds think alike :rotfl:

At our school lowest passing grade is 78. Clinicals are pass/fail. Tests (7) acct for 60%, and then we have med term quizzes and careplans. If you don't pass the tests with 78 or better, they don't even bother to add in anything else...

This has actually been pretty tough bc I have a very good(no GREAT) friend that is not passing and needs a 96 on the final to pull through...highly unlikely for her since her highest test grade is a 78 thus far, but she is SUPER smart and would make a great nurse, she just doesn't have time to study...4 kids, full time job for ins., unsupportive hubby, etc.

I have been working my butt off to help her and she is dead on. But I think she gets test anxiety and that is what is holding her back. I do AGREE that as nurses we should be held to a higher standard, but I also would let this girl work on me anyday! Some people just don't test well I guess.... Whereas I am an A student and I feel like I SUCK at pt care. I wish they could give us a grade for clinical, but I guess that would be too subjective!

Anyway...I'm rooting for this girl with all my heart, and there are too students that really want to see her fall on her face so you guys be thinking about us!!!

Best of Luck!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · May 4, 2005

i have a friend who is in 4th level clinicals in a bsn nursing program. she is supposed to graduate this august. well she calls me last nite hysterical because her final grade for her critical care class was a 79%.... 79.4 to be exact. well with our schools grading scale, she has failed 4th level clinicals!! the lowest grade that we can have in order to pass is an 80. i feel so bad for her. i am trying to tell her to look on the bright side of things ( that she will be able to repeat 4th level this summer have 5th in the fall, and graduate in december). but to her, there is no bright side..... and i can totally understand this. it makes me so mad that we are in the middle of this "nursing shortage" yet they let capable and competent people who can fill those positions slip through the cracks based on one question!! one more correct question on the final would have given her at least a 79.5 and she would have passed. how was everyone else's grading scale in nursing school? for us: 80-85 is a c 86 - 91 is a b 92 to 100 is an a. i know that we should be held to a higher standard because we will have people's lives in our hands, but in the real world an 80 is a b, and for people to fail and flunk out because they made a 79 is ridiculous! i was just curious as to what other nursing schools did. pray that my friend can somehow put this behind her and continue on to get that rn behind her name...... we really work hard to get those 2 letters.... when i get it, i'm going to guard it like a guard dog! :chuckle
brina bsn graduate..... december 2005

wow! your school seems alot stricter than mine:

94-100=a

93-90=a-

89-85=b+

84-80=b

79-76=c+

75-73=c

anything below=failing

lsunurse · May 5, 2005

My school's scale:

100-93=A

92-85=B

84-77=C

Anything below a 77 and you fail.

We get a grade for both clinical and theory. You must get a 77 or above in both clinical and theory, if you fail either clinical or theory you fail the class. I don't know anyone who has failed clinical, most people have trouble with theory.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · May 5, 2005

My grading scale was also 80% or fail. I agree that it is more difficult, but the schools pass rate on board Is 99%. The thing that I tell nursing students is to give up a striving for the A all the time. When you do graduate and pass boards no one cares what the grades were, only that you have a degree in hand. :cheers:

Unless they want to attend grad school. I know many people who now wish they hadn't just "gotten by" when they were in nursing school because they are now having a hard time getting into grad schools.

daitheflu · May 5, 2005

It amazes me that there is such variation in grading among schools. I wonder if any graduate programs take your school's grading scale into account (I seriously doubt it). My first semester in nursing school all of my grades were above a 90, yet I only received one A. That was very frustrating to say the least.

100-93 A

86-92 B

79-85 C

below 78.5...SOL

angelbyte · May 5, 2005

ours is 94-100 A, 87-93 B, 80-86 C, anything below that you fail.
it has been very hard to adjust to this scale. it gets us working harder, but it is frustrating to get a 93 on an exam and have that be a 'B'.

I could have graduated with a 4.0 if the final average was based on numbers, not letter grades. My lowest overall grade in any course was 92% and my graduating average was 96%, but because each individual course was reduced to a letter, I had a 3.75 because of 3 B's (all 92%). That may sound picky to some of you, but I worked hard for my grades and find it irritating that an overall 96% average ended up being a 3.75.

Donna

Antelope · May 5, 2005

Less then 80% you fail.

seems resonable to me. I wouldn't want a nurse with grades less then that caring for me.

jdkaos · May 5, 2005

Unless they want to attend grad school. I know many people who now wish they hadn't just "gotten by" when they were in nursing school because they are now having a hard time getting into grad schools.

I am one of those who gave up on looking at the grade and going with the number. An A is still 94 to me, I don't care what the teachers said. I have gone on to grad school, they did not look at my grades, just wether I passed or failed. Where are they trying to get on that hey are having such a hard time?

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · May 6, 2005

I am one of those who gave up on looking at the grade and going with the number. An A is still 94 to me, I don't care what the teachers said. I have gone on to grad school, they did not look at my grades, just wether I passed or failed. Where are they trying to get on that hey are having such a hard time?

Ever peeked at the CRNA forum? Competition for some graduate programs is fierce!