Assessment Testing Madness

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Jan 14, 2010

My first impression is that your school is doing everything they can to ensure that their students are ready for the NCLEX. They are probably also gathering information about how effective their instruction is in preparing students, and whether they are presenting the right material. Both are reasonable goals. Tying advancement in the program to your performance on them seems a bit much. My school provided us with the results so that we could identify areas we needed to brush up on, but our scores on the tests didn't determine whether we passed.

phoenixrn · Jan 14, 2010

You might count your blessings that your school is doing the testing in 12 parts... my school nailed us with the "announcement" that we would be taking the entire ATI in one sitting .... 6 weeks before the test date!! We had to cram for that exam while still doing a full load of classes and clinics, and this was an accelerated BSN program so it was a FULL load.

Now, looking back, I'm kind of glad that we had the test close to the end of our program, because it was rigorous review of everything we had learned all year. And it was great preparation for the NCLEX.

Sendana · Jan 14, 2010

re: Orca

Thank you for your reply. I agree with you that my university is trying to prepare us for NCLEX with these tests. I also agree with you that tying advancement in the program to passage of the tests is possibly of questionable efficacy. To me, that's not necessarily weeding out bad students OR potential bad nurses- it's weeding out people who might struggle with NCLEX. And, as we know, first-time NCLEX passing rates are huge numbers for program coordinators.

By tying our advancement in the program to scoring certain numbers on these tests, we as students are essentially studying for two final exams (the ATIs are given about a week before finals). Also, class tests do not reflect ATI material. This may seem like a trivial issue when I put it that way, but more and more we have been running into information which is conflicted between the ATI books and our primary textbooks. Our professors give us very minimal guidance as far as what to study for tests ("every piece of material we give you" is usually what it amounts to), so, since the advent of the ATI books, students have been applying material in the ATI books to classroom tests and having questions scored wrong. It's become quite an aggravating issue for faculty, who say they will not hold our hands and tell us what to study for test material, and students, who are often told to shut up and color.

re: phoenixrn

Ouch. That had to have sucked.

The way our tests are broken down is by subject area, and we have so many tests because our BSN program is three years out of four. We take two assessment tests, then three tests for three consecutive semesters, and then a final NCLEX practice test in the final semester. Although it sounds as if it may be easier because it is more spread out, it is in fact a huge amount of work* to prepare for these tests on top of final exams. But I agree with you that what your school did to you was horrible.

*I am not allergic to work, and I do not want to be seen as complaining that nursing school is ZOMG TOO HARD. I am actually something of a workaholic and relish a good challenge. I am doing just fine in nursing school. My primary issue is the tying of these data to advancement in the program. There are many thousands of excellent nurses working today who never took ATI tests.

My mother, who has been an ER nurse for over 30 years, thinks this sort of schooling and testing is ludicrous. She has had many BSN grads come into her ER with their heads full of ATI that she says she's got to dig it out and make room for actual, practical skills.

Thank you for replying.