States Who Have Banned HESI

Nursing Students HESI

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what do we know about the states that have banned HESI? I know New York is one...any others?

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
My school had a 100% pass rate the last few semesters in a row and that is WITHOUT requiring the HESI and not counting our NLN scores against us or our grades, so they must be doing something right.

Mine did as well...it was the first year in several that they were able to.

In fact, the instructors (granted, very unofficial research) called each student that passed and came up with a tally of how many questions each one of us got on the NCLEX...less than 10% of all of the students even got over 100 questions.

Each course in a nursing program has a final exam at the end...I had to take them. We did have to take a final exit exam but it was for evaluative purposes only for the program and to help us know what we had to study...but it didn't count for anything...if you did great it was ok but if you bombed it you still walked with your degree.

There were about 6 students in our class that really, really bombed the exit predictor...but all 6 also passed the NCLEX, first time.

To me, there is an ASSumption by the schools that if you cannot pass HESI that you won't be able to pass the NCLEX and there is so much evidence that it's not true....so to hold back degrees from people that have completed every class, taken every exam, completed every assignment, is a crying shame...all just so the schools can artificially play with the BON stats.

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
So, anyone who thinks an exit exam is just a part of the curriculum....they automatically lack integrity?

...ah..someone obviously didn't read the post.

I would like to return to the original topic and ask if there is truly any state in which HESI is "banned" by the state Board of Nursing or any other entity. I agree that there are some genuine concerns.

There is inconsistency about the passing scores among various schools. And there is variability in how different schools have implemented HESI (or ATI) testing. Academically, there is concern that schools may be pressured to "teach to the test", even if it isn't consistent with the school's overall curriculum. (For example, a school may wish to present some pediatric material in the context of school nursing or community health, but must instead present it all together in the pediatric course which accompanies the HESI.)

I believe that we may maintain a commitment to nursing excellence without resorting to commercially prepared and marketed testing packages.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
To me, there is an ASSumption by the schools that if you cannot pass HESI that you won't be able to pass the NCLEX and there is so much evidence that it's not true....so to hold back degrees from people that have completed every class, taken every exam, completed every assignment, is a crying shame...all just so the schools can artificially play with the BON stats.

But you can't have it both ways. Either the HESI IS a good predictor of passing the NCLEX, or it's not. If it's not, as you say, then they're not artificially playing with any stats.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.
...ah..someone obviously didn't read the post.
ah... someone who obviously has no answer to back up her attack on my integrity.
Specializes in being a Credible Source.
There were about 6 students in our class that really, really bombed the exit predictor...but all 6 also passed the NCLEX, first time.

To me, there is an ASSumption by the schools that if you cannot pass HESI that you won't be able to pass the NCLEX and there is so much evidence that it's not true....

You're not really calling your anecdotal numbers evidence, are you?

Is there any actual evidence? Any?

If we're going to permit anecdotal stories then I'll offer up that my program has a 100% first-time pass rate and we use standardized subject-matter finals to pass each class and a standardized comprehensive final in order to graduate. All that and we also have a 90% graduation rate...

...ah..someone obviously didn't read the post.

...ah.... someone who is obviously prone to making assumptions.

I would like to return to the original topic and ask if there is truly any state in which HESI is "banned" by the state Board of Nursing or any other entity. I agree that there are some genuine concerns.

There is inconsistency about the passing scores among various schools. And there is variability in how different schools have implemented HESI (or ATI) testing. Academically, there is concern that schools may be pressured to "teach to the test", even if it isn't consistent with the school's overall curriculum. (For example, a school may wish to present some pediatric material in the context of school nursing or community health, but must instead present it all together in the pediatric course which accompanies the HESI.)

I believe that we may maintain a commitment to nursing excellence without resorting to commercially prepared and marketed testing packages.

Ultimately I can only see the possibility of the bolded section happening if the HESI was used as a final exam for each course....not as an exit exam. Since all the material that HESI tests on should be covered during the program in order to pass the NCLEX.

"Ultimately I can only see the possibility of the bolded section happening if the HESI was used as a final exam for each course....not as an exit exam. Since all the material that HESI tests on should be covered during the program in order to pass the NCLEX. "

HESI does make subject specific tests that are given throughout the curriculum by some schools. The HESI score may be computed into the course grade, or (possibly) a certain score may be required for the student to pass the course.

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
You're not really calling your anecdotal numbers evidence, are you?

Is there any actual evidence? Any?

If we're going to permit anecdotal stories then I'll offer up that my program has a 100% first-time pass rate and we use standardized subject-matter finals to pass each class and a standardized comprehensive final in order to graduate. All that and we also have a 90% graduation rate...

Nursing professors are Master's or Doctorate prepared educators and are supposed to be qualified to write exams.

If a nursing program doesn't have the confidence to trust the educators and the program to adequately prepare students for the NCLEX rather than relying on a 3rd party contract that the school pays for so that they up their stats with the BON, then it's not a nursing program I would be interested in attending.

There is integrity in transparency....if you have something to hide, then there is a problem with integrity.

Integrity is important to me and obviously isn't important to you....it goes to the heart of nursing and professionalism.

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
But you can't have it both ways. Either the HESI IS a good predictor of passing the NCLEX, or it's not. If it's not, as you say, then they're not artificially playing with any stats.

Which goes back to my ORIGINAL statement that the ONLY people that claim it's a predictor is the people that SELL the HESI to the schools.

Specializes in NICU.

I agree with most of the statements made here. I don't recall who said it, but i 100% with the fact that the HESI is allowing schools to falsely skew their pass rates to make it seem like they have a higher pass rate then they really do.

The school I graduated from is one of them. They used HESI as their final. We were given 3 HESI exit exams, if you didn't satisfy their requirements then they'd hold you back, not let you graduate and only let people who passed HESI take the NCLEX. Which is artificially skewing results, which shouldn't be allowed. If a student makes it through the entire nursing program and can't pass the exit HESI then there is something wrong with the nursing program, the exam, or both.

Nearly half of my graduating class was allowed to take the NCLEX. My has an extremely high pass rate, and now I know why.

FYI, there were people who passed HESI and failed NCLEX.

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