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Yes this is pretty common. My schools is almost exactly the same as your friends. It's frustrating because passing isn't that scary but for me A's are important because I plan to apply for graduate study after I graduate and graduate nursing programs are about as hard to get into as nursing school.
I think that most nursing schools have grading schools that are different from the "traditional" one that most people are used to. That seems pretty harsh though, even for a nursing program. At the school I go to, our scale is 92 = A, 83 = B, and anything below a 75 is failing. I'm also in an ASN program at a CC.
Anything below 75 is failing in my program. One month into my program and most people thus far are scoring in the 80's and 90's so don't get too worried about it. A couple of people fell below the 75 for the first test, it takes a while for some people to adapt to critical thinking style questions, but most that fell below 75 on the first exam scored much better on the 2nd exam. One thing I will say, when you hear about these things, don't let them scare you. I'm only a month into my program but I haven't found the tests super difficult, as long as you study and manage your time well you can be successful. I was worried when they told us that we had to get 100% on our math exams. Now that I've been practicing doing the dosage calculations, its really no big deal. Just put the work in and you will reap the rewards!
I can see considering anything below 75% failing.. 85% leaves too little wiggle room and gives instructors a lot more power over a student's grade. An instructor can make or break you.. and some are simply impossible even for great students.. I've had instructors who only 10% of the class make above 75%.. that eliminates a lot of potentially awesome nurses.. imho
WittyUsername
24 Posts
I talked to a friend early today who just started an RN program and is already worried about getting kicked out. Her nursing calculations and nursing funds has the following grading scale: A=95%, B=90%, C=85%, anything below is failing.
Has anyone ever heard of something like this? This is for an ADN program at a rather unspectacular CC.