School's hidden agenda, "NCLEX pass rate: Weed out students who will not pass" - Page 11

Register Today!
  1. May 25, '12 by
    It is not just pass rate. There is an algorithm that takes retention as well as pass rates. They cant flunk 75 % of the class to get a 100% NCLEX pass rate. In my school, it was the LPN-RN bridge where the numbers were low. The last class has just graduated. The "regular" ADN students had around 98% pass rate but it averaged to a 75% pass rate, which is too low. This year about half the LPN students passed the program. We will see how many pass boards.
    I feel like we all struggled (well, almost all), but they did all they could to help us. We took diagnostic tests to see what our chances of passing were and we were pretty good. I feel good about my class's chances of passing.
  2. May 25, '12 by
    Quote from Stephalump
    It's not quite as big a deal to me in public colleges, but private technical schools seem to be major players in this. Charge students $60,000 (for an ADN!) with almost zero barrier to entry, then 60% don't graduate because they didn't pass the exit HESI.

    It's taking advantage of desperate people who heard their commercials about the millions of jobs paying a million dollars a year waiting for them - and you don't even have to put in all the hard work and effort all those other fools who went to real schools did!!!
    Praying on the desperate!! You're absolutely right!! These are people with no other options, who are naive enough to think that it's fast and easy. It breaks my heart!
  3. May 25, '12 by
    Quote from mmc51264
    It is not just pass rate. There is an algorithm that takes retention as well as pass rates. They cant flunk 75 % of the class to get a 100% NCLEX pass rate.
    It's called retention and attrition. NLN accredited schools have to explain themselves. They have to then explain their admissions process (why did you admit these students, what is your criteria/benchmark for admission, and if your retention rate is so low, don't you think you need to 'up' your standards for admission? Also, what are you doing to remediate your failing students (services, such as tutoring).

    I know this from recent experience. Schools who are legit do not get away with such things. Also, certain states prohibit exit exams from being the sole indicator of graduation. You cannot breeze through a program, and fail out b/c of the exit exam. If your school has this policy, then your high grades are bogus.
  4. May 25, '12 by
    My school is trying to get NLN accredited. We did not have an exit exam, just a regular final for our last class. We certainly did not have high grades, but the NLN "Diagnostic Readiness Exam" showed that we were, indeed taught. Good critical thinkers b/c there was a lot of material that we did not cover and some people did NO NCLEX prep before taking that DRT and still were in the 80th percentile for passing. We got a good education, it was just tough. Passing was an 80% and it was a 6 point scale, so my 86.4% avg for one class was a "C". I passed the program, I feel well prepared, we had something ridiculous, like 600+ clinical hours. I already have a job so I feel blessed. I would do it again. I feel like I really earned it.
    SCSTxRN likes this.
  5. May 25, '12 by
    I completely disagree with how this was worded. Yes, nursing school is tough and it should be.. we are dealing with peoples lives. Our instructors WANT and NEED us to pass. The nursing shortage is only going to get worse in the future. But, your degree isn't going to just be handed to you, you have to work HARD for it!
  6. May 26, '12 by
    BINGO! and veterans need be very careful inre this same schools.
    Quote from de2013
    There has been a lot of talk recently about schools that exploit federal financial aid by accepting sub-par students and charging them high tuition before flunking them out. These are predatory programs that target students wanting to enter nursing with poor GPAs who are too excited to be accepted to research the quality of the program. The downside is we all absorb those failures in our interest rates for grad school and/or taxes.

    Nursing is lucky we have the NCLEX because if we didn't they would graduate these people into practice!
  7. Guide
    May 26, '12 by
    I do believe most schools are aboveboard and that they strive to produce competent new grads who should be able to pass boards and begin work.

    In these schools, one should expect it to be extremely challenging considering the huge responsibility and knowledge required to be safe.

    It comes down to survival of the fittest. I have to wonder if the many complaints we hear about programs being "unfair" is not due to one's inability to accept that they are actually not one of the fittest.

    That's an ego-blow, but the reality is that not everyone can make the cut.

    No one wants to believe they are not "good enough" or "the best".

    So the fittest survive and sit for the NCLEX... the final determinate in becoming a nurse.
    It does not matter how ridiculously easy or stupid one thinks the NCLEX is, one has to earn the right to even sit for it.

    If one gets "weeded out" before that point, then they did not earn it.
    Period.
    A student needs to realize that they are a very small fish in a big pond full of other incredibly intelligent people and the cut off has to happen somewhere.
    Bottom line: if the cut happened with you, then there was a reason for it and it is up to you to figure it out and correct it.

    I'm going to put my neck out and say I think much complaining is directly related to a bruised ego and an inability to face the fact that somewhere, emanating from within themselves, was the reason for the failure.

    I am talking about schools that are on-the-level (though some students may label them otherwise due to... the bruised ego).
    brillohead, loriangel14, kaydensmom01, and 1 other like this.
  8. May 26, '12 by
    Quote from Hygiene Queen

    It comes down to survival of the fittest. I have to wonder if the many complaints we hear about programs being "unfair" is not due to one's inability to accept that they are actually not one of the fittest.

    That's an ego-blow, but the reality is that not everyone can make the cut.

    No one wants to believe they are not "good enough" or "the best".

    So the fittest survive and sit for the NCLEX... the final determinate in becoming a nurse.
    It does not matter how ridiculously easy or stupid one thinks the NCLEX is, one has to earn the right to even sit for it.

    If one gets "weeded out" before that point, then they did not earn it.
    Period.
    Thank you Hygiene Queen. For as many times as this is reiterated here, people just don't want to hear it. Yes, it is a HUGE bruise to the ego. I always tell me students (to try to put it in perspective that this is like a reality show. Yes, you all came here to win, no one came here to lose. But one the differences is, there does not have to be only one winner. You can all be winners, but you have to work at it.

    Acceptance into the program does not guarantee completion, or success. You would think this is common sense, but ut's not. This is my problem with admitting people who don't meet the criteria. Who had to repeat pre-requisites, who maybe failed a course in another program, etc. It gives students false hope.
    Hygiene Queen and loriangel14 like this.
  9. May 26, '12 by
    I have not read all through this thread just a few posts but I have a very different opinion then many it seems. I do think theres something wrong with a program, I'lll use one by me as an example that my aunt survived and a few friends. Okay so they take in 215 students and graduate usually less then 100 and have a fairly average NCLEX pass rate. I do think there is something wrong with this. First, yes I completely understand there are some people that are going to fail out on their own accord and thats not a problem to me. Secondly, I also realize there are many that may realize nursing just isn't for them and tehy will fail out or quit, it is different then I thought and I felt very educated about teh profession before starting. Lastly, I do not feel that the people that make up those first two categories will ever be over 50% of a admitted nursing class. I think that to me is a poor school that takes students money, to make more money with repeats and so on. I don't thinks its because those students jsut couldn't hack I think those professors are the ones that can't hack it. No I did not fail out of this program, just inc ase you're thinking that. I have made the dean's list and progressed through my BSN program normally. My school takes in 75 students a year, my class of seniors have lost 4 students=5% of its student body and our most recent graduating class had a 100 percent pass rate. To me that is the mark of an excellent school.
    morte likes this.
  10. May 26, '12 by
    The class of 215: do you think they were all as qualified as you?