First nursing exam grade ....... ughh

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So I just received my grade for my first nursing exam....85, which was the mean for the class.

I'm a little dissapointed as I got A's in all of my pre-reqs prior to taking nursing 101. Hopefully, as I get used to the format of the testing, my scores will get better, but it's still dissapointing. As I think back to the test questions, I know what I answered wrong and I get so upset at myself......

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I feel your pain, we just got our first grades back. Just remember your're not alone, we all got into these nursing programs, most of us were like top 10% of applicants. We all have high GPAs and are not use to getting anything lower then high 90s. I think after a few tests we will all be humble about the 80s again :) These tests are tricky. What was your test taking strategy? I read the question, underlined the key words and crossed out answers that were obviously wrong. If i knew the answer with no doubt in my mind i circled the answer and put a check mark on the question. If i were stuck between 2 possible answers and wasnt ready to guess i put a question mark on the question number. So in the end I didnt not re-look at any of the ones with checks. I reread the question marked ones and realized on a few i had over looked something and now could answer. I think this really worked because sometimes you can add alot of what ifs to these questions if you reread them too many times. Good luck!!

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It's a B, why be upset? You're well above passing! I'm a high B/low A student and I'm very happy with that. However....the test I took today was the hardest test I've taken in nursing school so far and I'm sure I did horrible, so my happiness will go out the window when we get our grades back. :/ Anyway...seems like you're doing fine so far! Good luck!

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Don't beat yourself up over the first exam. It's probably the worst one, because you don't have a feel for the types of questions/how the instructor words the questions. Plus, an 85 is NOT a bad grade. Especially for the first exam. I received an 84 on my first nursing exam, and while I wish I would have gotten an A, I was still happy.

Definitely look into buying the NCLEX questions book for extra practice, it really does help.

Oh, and NEVER change your answer unless you are 100% positive that you put the wrong answer down.

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Get used to more of these grades. Your instructors throw out these trick questions and their concept of the "most correct" answer is not yours. Their rationale is they are preparing you for the NCLEX. Just keep yourself at a B average at least and you will be okay. Hardly anyone gets an A in nursing classes. Even if students ace the other assignments in the class, it's those damn tests that get to them.

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