ATI Testing!!!!

RossayRN · Dec 16, 2008

we have to pass ATI after every course even if you pass the course , if you don't pass ATI you have to repeat the course the following year. It's like we have to take 2 finals; the final to pass the course and get a grade, and a final to move on to the next semester. It's their way of weeding out, and also getting you used to nclex questions. I say weeding out because we also have to pass HESI before we can graduate and all these tests have been put in place because of passed nclex failure rates. It real does suck.

Altered · Dec 16, 2008

ati is supposed to help prepare you for the nclex. the passing score is pretty low but if you're still worried about it, i recommend asking your teacher for the practice assessment code. you can also find the cd on amazon.

do you get one chance to pass or 3 chances?

86toronado, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

Wow! We have to take the ATI's, but they don't count for anything, except this semester when everyone bombed the mental health class exams, the school gave us the option to sub in our ATI grade if it was better. That saved my GPA... I'm surprised so many people actually have to get a passing score!

jjnmrsmom · Dec 23, 2008

ATI tests are part of our grade in my program too. Our final semester we were required to pass the comprehensive exam with 80% or retake it at home and attain an 80% on the non-proctored. It was worth 20% of our grade and was curved (80% = 100%). All of our other exams required 70% on the proctored or 100% on the non-proctored. I hope it does help prepare for the NCLEX otherwise it was a whole lot of extra work for nothing!

theRNuLOVE2009 · Dec 23, 2008

Our program just started taking the ATI this semester. Passing the course is not based on how well or bad you did on this test. They want us to make level 2 or better. We always seem to take this test after one of our regular exams. Most of us are depressed after testing, so what really makes them think that we would be focused enough for the ATI?

dmansmith10 · Dec 25, 2008

My school also uses the ATI but we can still progress through the program it you dont pass, you just have to do remediation with your adviser...BUT the final ATI, the one you have to take in order to graduate or you have to stay during the summer, practice and retake it.....has anyone actually gone through the final ATI before they graduated Nursing school? If so how was it?

gillytook · Dec 26, 2008

I have not taken the test personally. The class that just graduated did. They just started ATI in October and 34 out of 38 passed on the first try. Of the four that did not pass, a couple were nearly flunking anyways and the others had not done any of the practice exams. They didave two more tries to pass and all ended up passing the ATI test.

fragino · Dec 28, 2008

My wife is having a hard time passing the ATI tests. She is reading her ati book, using her other nursing books and we even google the crap out of some ofo these questioins and she is still getting a 73.6 or lower. Is there a trick to using the ati book? Is there a secret that nobody has told her?

The best way I've found to prepare for the ATI tests, is the same way we were told to prepare for NCLEX. Do as many NCLEX review questions and understand their rationales as possible. Do this from the time you enter the program until you take the NCLEX and you will be ready for any test.

I didn't listen to my instructors the first semester. I became an NCLEX review question fanatic starting the second semester to the point where it became a priority over doing the required reading. I owned five of them. Not the review books with some questions, but the books with just the questions. After all, the whole purpose of nursing school is to give us permission to take the NCLEX.

It still wasn't easy, but I think it was well worth the effort. Think of these ATI tests as mini NCLEX tests and diagnostics. You want to know NOW whether you will have a problem, not later.

jsluv2run · Dec 28, 2008

We have to take the ATI also and pass at 90% otherwise we remediate and must handwrite all of the remediated items missed from the focused review. We have to take it twice a semester in our last semester. But recently heard the third semester student had to take it also.

newbie08 · Dec 28, 2008

We have the books and stuff but we just got the access codes about 2 weeks before the end of the semester. This is the first year the school has used them so I don't think they have quite figured out how they want to incorporate it into their curriculum yet. I guess we'll find out... :nurse:

KatieM74 · Dec 29, 2008

ATI is really a pain. My program (UMDNJ) uses it as well. It was 5% of our grade, or it was going to be until they took that % out. Here's my theory, not that its right:

I think that ATI should be a tool. There should be plenty of practice tests for the students to do if they choose to do them. I think they can be very helpful for the boards, but my program is accelerated and finding the time to do something I'm not getting credit for isn't easy nor my priority.

The ATI books are a complete waste of time for the most part. We had to get a 90% on the practice exam to sit for a proctored test. Our instructors restrict us from seeing the answers during the practice test, so we have to search for answeres, I am still wondering what some of the answeres were for PIC lines... for the med surge test..

Needless to say its an imperfect system.

goodgrief · Feb 9, 2009

our school in Utah is actually doing research to find out if ATI is actually helping us. The ONLY data they've found so far is that those who get 95% and above on the comprehensive predictor test have never failed NCLEX. But, those type of students usually also take well over 2000 practice questions before actually taking NCLEX. I honestly feel that ATI only prepares you to take ATI exams, NOT NCLEX!!