Does your school allow you to keep your tests?

[DisneybearRN]

I find my Nursing classes so frustrating because we are not allowed to keep our scored test but only look at it briefly. We are not even allowed to make notes to ourselves on the questions that we missed. I think this is crazy as the test is a great indicator or what your weaknesses are. We can make an appointment to "visit our test", but too me it seems crazy and there is no good rationale for not allowing me to keep my test. How does your school work?

[DisneybearRN]

I still think it is a cop out. Just make up enough questions and make different tests. And for those that complain it is too much work, perhaps teaching isn't your calling. Now with powerpoints and scantrons you don't even have to write on the board or even read the tests yourselves. Laziness is not the answer. I also shouldn't be punished because someone cheats.Get some proctors in the class and mix up your questions. No one is gonna be able to memorize your whole test bank, and if they do, they probably have actually learned all the material by that time anyway! None of your reasons make sense to me still. I attempted nursing school 18 years ago and you COULD keep your tests, as every other course I have taken in the past 45 years. Nursing isn't rocket science, and even if it were they scientists probably keep their tests. Of course education has changed over the years. Teacher do seem to do less and I think classes are easier than when I was in college in the 80's. I don't understand this move to make passing grades higher either. A 60 would be passing at Harvard, but not at my community college. We have to get a 73, and starting next year students have to get a 78. Silly if you ask me.

[caliotter3]

For the most part, I tend to agree with you, but neither of us runs the show.

[DisneybearRN]

My biggest problem I guess is the whole nursing school setup. They are teaching for their nursing accreditation, and not the students education. I am in my 3rd semester (pulling a B+) so far, but 22 out of 40 students are currently failing. I know most of them, and they are not slackers. If the average on the tests are in the mid 70's and 73 is passing this is more a reflection on the education, than the students. We don't have A's in all 40 students. It is totally statistically rigged to lose people. All I hear is Nursing is different, I don't find it to be so, just that the school is teaching to weed out people for the NCLEX. That is not education to me. We should learn what we are taught. If we fail the NCLEX so be it. I want the school to educate me on the material, if over half the class isn't understanding it, it isn't the class. Learning is so much more than a test.

[DisneybearRN]

Nursing questions are also a lot different than any other subjects. Other subjects the questions are all knowledge based. With nursing questions it's not just as simple as saying "What does dyspnea mean?" They are actual scenarios therefore a lot more effort is put towards them.

Sorry. Not all questions in all subjects have to be knowledge based or multiple choice. If you had to grade essays, you would be begging to dream up new questions, or use a test bank. I just don't see why changing the variety and order of your test questions is that big a deal. You can reuse questions, just not reuse the same test. You even can reuse your tests, just not all the time. Too much paranoia about cheating.

[DisneybearRN]

Using a new test every semester is not only extremely pain-staking for all professors involved, but

For your professor who does not use the test bank, how do you figure there's 'no excuse' for her to not re-use them? I cannot stress how complcated it is to come up with questions and answers (as well as wrong answers).

And while you may pay and arm and a leg for nursing school, we are not paid an arm and a leg to come up with 300+ new questions every semester, especially when it is proven to be a scientifically unreliable measure.

There is no excuse because making exams is part of her job. You can reuse questions, just not the same test every semester. How hard is it to mix em up? And use a test bank if you want. My professors questions are a lot harder than the NCLEX, so I would prefer standardized questions anyway. Most people are not going to cheat, and mixing up questions and order of answers is gonna solve most of your problems anyway. Taking reasonable responsibility to curb cheating is fine, but the main responsibility is on the cheater. Your goal should be to make sure we understand the material and facilitate that. Giving each student an opportunity to track and thoroughly review their weaknesses is far more valuable in the grand scheme of things than cheaters with photographic memories of hundreds of scenarios and questions. In fact, as I have stated in another post, if a cheater can recall all possible nursing questions, which everyone here has said is such a different beast, they probably have a better grasp on the material than those that can't. You all protest too much.