ATI Testing is BS!

Nursing Students General Students

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Why is it that I can make A's and B's on all of my unit exams but then at the end of the semester I have to take an ATI Fundamentals test on the same material and then I fail? Not to mention the fact that I have to go to a testing center where people are walking around, talking, and slamming doors? Also I have to pass this test or the whole semester is wasted! I only get one more chance to take it. I feel sick. :barf01: :angryfire :banghead:

I totally agree with everybody. ATI rep came to my school and made a big presentation about "how ATI helps students to improve NCLEX passing rate". We had to purchase ATI package even before school had started (the first quater), had to pay for this package about $400, and we will be taking ATI tests each quater. This quater we got lucky though: We will get the points just for taking the ATI test, and it is only a diagnostic, which means that we don't have to study for it. Starting next quater it will be different, we will be graded for ATI tests

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Specializes in L & D.

We have to take the ATI tests also, but they are only for our own use - not for a grade or extra points. Our instructors said we should use the analysis of our test to see what areas to review before our final exams. We took maternal health & pediatrics today. I was surpised how much easier they were than the exams we take for the class!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psychiatry.

I know...I do agree that the books are pretty helpful with my regular nrsg classess, but I also strongly agree that I am becoming more freaked about them than my unit tests and my upcoming final. I took the practice tests but oddly enough they weren't very similar to the test I had to pass. They were well above and beyond my level of thinking at this point. I wonder if they make the test questions so tricky just to make the material seem harder than it really is?

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Here is the kicker: The ATI tests are not folks that have developed the program at your school...so that is why you can do well in school and screw up the ATI tests.

I agree. That's why I bought all of the ATI practice exams. With a few exceptions, it's completely different than any of the tests we've had at school. So, you're basically starting from scratch.

Unfortunately, this is pretty much true of any of the NCLEX guides, really. They all test differently.

BTW: our ATI exam also counts as points toward our grade based on percentile. However, we will be the last class to take the ATI.

Our school is switching to HESI since it's closer to the way they teach the material in our program.

:typing

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Our class has been using the ATI tests for 3 semesters. For me, they are so much easier than our class tests. I've scored 99th percentile every time. If only the NCLEX would be this easy.

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Our school used ATI testing for several years (before I entered the program). So many students and professors complained about the test, we ended up getting HESI instead. The senior nursing students I talked to said that the HESI was a much better test and was closer to the NCLEX and to what the professors taught. (But really, that's second-hand information)

Maybe you can propose a different test and see what happens?

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

We do ATI's and have to score something like a 60 or better but it can be re-taken. We also have access to the practice tests which really helped me get in the right mode of thinking with the rationales. Apparantly our schools NCLEX scores actually went up after they started using ATI. I guess the books that come with it are good, I just don't have time to read them all in addition to my other books.

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ok we have ati in our classes also, but, our proctored tests do not reflect on our grade for the course. our first proctored test in on tuesday... i completly agree with the ati rep comment.. she was of no help at all!!! the ati books are helpful and our intructors use the cae studies out of them for some of our other classes and they are great! but the system for grading i feel like a complete faliure when i recieve a 70% on them! im really gld that they dont reflect on our final grades!

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ok we have ati in our classes also, but, our proctored tests do not reflect on our grade for the course. our first proctored test in on tuesday... i completly agree with the ati rep comment.. she was of no help at all!!! the ati books are helpful and our intructors use the cae studies out of them for some of our other classes and they are great! but the system for grading i feel like a complete faliure when i recieve a 70% on them! im really gld that they dont reflect on our final grades!

i just finished my ati this morning with a 75% and am also feeling like a complete failure! the grade does not reflect my grades in my classes. i used the ati book on my last theory test and raised my grade by 8 points over the last test, so ati has come in handy in one way!

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Specializes in L & D.

I was telling my instructor that some schools average in ATI grades or require students to pass ATI to pass the course. She said our school looked into doing that, but New York State said that was not permitted. (I'm assuming it was the Department of Education.)

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Why is it that I can make A's and B's on all of my unit exams but then at the end of the semester I have to take an ATI Fundamentals test on the same material and then I fail? Not to mention the fact that I have to go to a testing center where people are walking around, talking, and slamming doors? Also I have to pass this test or the whole semester is wasted! I only get one more chance to take it. I feel sick. :barf01: :angryfire :banghead:

In my opinion, ATI will not help in any way in passing NCLEX..I took NCLEX about 3 months ago and ATI did not do anything for me...Nursing schools think ATI will help students pass NCLEX but in reality, it does not help at all..Students are better off studying Kaplan or the Saunders book to pass the NCLEX..

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Specializes in Mostly peds as a tech.

okay, i failed my first ati last week. over half my class failed the med/surg one. we are seniors. i think most of us went home planning our suicides. :o some of the things on that test were ridiculous! i have never failed an ati test...why this one? the thing is, some of the smartest people in the class failed...that's not good! we have to retake it on monday, have class an hour later, prelab for the following day, have a makeup clinical on tuesday, and this is all during finals week. aaahhhh!!!!!!:scrying:

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