Grades from school to school....

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

I don't know if other see it or not but I find it interesting that sometimes people post here that they got 100 or their average is a 98...in nursing courses.

I find it interesting because nobody in my program comes close to that. I know we don't have a group of idiots.

It made me think and wonder how this happens. I honestly think it's a difference of difficulty and/or test creation. Now here's the problem...if an employer wants to see your grades and you went to a school where nobody ever saw grades like that and your competition was somebody who got 100...they probably don't have the ability to take into account that it's possible the person with the lower grade got a higher education, a more challenging education and that the grades can't be compared from one school to the next.

Just something I find interesting because it really becomes an uneven playing field in the end.

Specializes in ICU.

I am sure grading standards very from school to school. In the long run, what matters is that you pass the NCLEX. I have never heard of employers asking to see grades from school, but that is just me.

Specializes in Peds HH, LTC.

I don't believe employers can ask for specific grade info, for the very same reasons in your post. I remember my DON of nursing school also telling us that was the reason that NCLEX was changed from specific grades to just "pass/fail". To make it fair for everybody.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele.

I think it doesn't matter when it comes to employers, but it does matter when you are trying to transfer to another college. For someone with an associates degree trying to get an bachelors, for instance.

It will make a difference if your minimum passing grade at your CC was 78%or 74%. And of course if you could get an A with 90% or 92%.

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
I think it doesn't matter when it comes to employers, but it does matter when you are trying to transfer to another college. For someone with an associates degree trying to get an bachelors, for instance.

It will make a difference if your minimum passing grade at your CC was 78%or 74%. And of course if you could get an A with 90% or 92%.

I think that's more of what I was thinking of...put it out there wrong. That and scholarships. A good portion of the people in my class have an average below 85. Our tests are hard. In fact the last test a few people (ones with the better grades) commented that it seemed like they were trying to fail us. The test was insane. I was telling my mom (a nurse, NP and CNM...so she's been through it and then some) about some of these tests and she's a little shocked even.

Now we don't loose a lot of people. So that's a good thing. Grades are not impressive and I know it's not that we are idiots. We have some very bright people in the class.

I was telling my mom that sometimes I hear grades from other schools and I feel like telling them to come to mine because I feel like there's no way they would get that same grade. My school doesn't have high grades...but a pretty darn good NCLEX pass rate...and I heard that for a hospital based program it's popular. I know at an open house that I helped with we had people from other states looking to come in. The grades are just rough.

My professor sent us an e-mail when she posted the grades for our last pharm test: "Great job! Class average was a 79!" 75 is passing at my school. I got 100 on the same exam, and no it wasn't easy. I just studied my rear end off and I think I understand how to answer NCLEX-style questions so far - at least the way this particular instructor phrases them. I walked out and there were 9 questions out of 60 where I had it down to 2 choices, but apparently I chose right.

I don't know if other see it or not but I find it interesting that sometimes people post here that they got 100 or their average is a 98...in nursing courses.

I find it interesting because nobody in my program comes close to that. I know we don't have a group of idiots.

It made me think and wonder how this happens. I honestly think it's a difference of difficulty and/or test creation. Now here's the problem...if an employer wants to see your grades and you went to a school where nobody ever saw grades like that and your competition was somebody who got 100...they probably don't have the ability to take into account that it's possible the person with the lower grade got a higher education, a more challenging education and that the grades can't be compared from one school to the next.

Just something I find interesting because it really becomes an uneven playing field in the end.

If it makes you feel any better, no employer is going to ask to see what your grades were. Irrelevant. What IS relevant is the fact that you graduated and passed the licensing exam. Perhaps, just perhaps, if you're applying for a GN position and the employer is weighing several applications from different schools (also all for GNs) then perhaps she'd look at the likelihood of each candidate's success on the NCLEX (if she was familiar with the different schools, which they usually are if you're going to apply to facilities near where you schooled). And that is because School A is known to be a miserable tough program but turns out a high passing average for NCLEX, and School B is known for more Phi Beta Kappas but lower returns on that licensing exam.

I say this because I went to one of those miserable tough schools where Cs were considered good, Bs REALLY good, and if you got an A: you were the bomb that day. Or week. Or month, lol. And then there were those who failed academically from my school who went to School B in the region, and not only passed but GOT those A's. Did they become geniuses? Did they thrive in a "better" educational environment? Hogwash: the assignments and testing was easier, plain and simple. I met up with people who had this experience, failed my classes and got A's at the other school. The other school's first-time pass rate on NCLEX, however, showed the difference in our educations.

I also happen to know that graduates from that "other" school are usually asked alot of role-playing and "what would you do" scenario questions at interviews. NONE of my classmates were. Told me something there, too.

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I don't think what you're seeing here are averages....you're seeing the exception rather than rule. At my school, a test "average" for our class might be 82.5, but there's this same one or two who score well in to the high 90's and there was at least one that got 100 on a test this semester.

I personally, tend to score right at or just above the average. I have a few friends who consistently score below average and have had a test or two that was below.

I never felt like what I was reading on these boards were classrooms of students getting 90's and 100. I would be a little surprised to find that there were schools generating classes full of these scores AND still had high NCLEX-pass rates!!

I went to my PRN day at school. The instructor told us that in the last second semester nursing class- there were no A's. None- nada- she said she just tells students to concentrate on passing- oh and an A is 93 or above. To pass you need a 75%. She told us if we were used to getting A"s in other classes- don't expect it here. Which is me- I have gotten A's in all my sciences with just a few hours studying the day of the test- apparently that is not going to happen in my nursing school.

I got a 94-96 average in both Nursing I(fundamentals) and Nursing II(Med-Surg I) 92-100 is an A at my school, ALL of our exams have NCLEX type questions on them from the start, We have great lecture teachers but they tell us from the beginning just because they don't go over something in lecture does not mean we are not responsible for knowing it and it may be on tests so we have to read and research on top of lecture.

I know that with how hard i work i could do this good at ANY school !!!

And I'm sure most other people could no matter what school they went to

I had a teacher flat out tell me that the tests are not designed for anyone to get an they expect "B" or lower. I thought WHAT?!!!! Now I have gotten my share of "A"s in this program but they have been difficult and one bad week can ruin it ( I went from a possible A this term down to a B because of 1 test when I was sick). I know for a fact that the college across the river has a much easier A&P program than we do and people try to go over there to get an easier A to be more competitive. It isn't really fair, but then ther rest of us could have done the same thing, but chose to go to the program closest even though it is ridiculously hard. The trade off is that I was REALLY prepared for NS and some of the others were not quite there.

Specializes in Policy, Emergency OR, Peds OR, CVOR.
I don't know if other see it or not but I find it interesting that sometimes people post here that they got 100 or their average is a 98...in nursing courses.

I find it interesting because nobody in my program comes close to that. I know we don't have a group of idiots.

It made me think and wonder how this happens. I honestly think it's a difference of difficulty and/or test creation. Now here's the problem...if an employer wants to see your grades and you went to a school where nobody ever saw grades like that and your competition was somebody who got 100...they probably don't have the ability to take into account that it's possible the person with the lower grade got a higher education, a more challenging education and that the grades can't be compared from one school to the next.

Just something I find interesting because it really becomes an uneven playing field in the end.

Are you in my program?!!! :trout: I read the posts on here where the people casually mention that they have/had a 4.0 in nursing school and it crawls all over me, too.

From day one, we were the "experimental" group. Our program gained a new director (yay us:uhoh3: :uhoh3: ) and she decided to rework the entire program to improve the NCLEX pass rate. Not one person in my Fundy class made an A. NOT ONE. My classmate (a jeopardy contestant) and I both made 90, highest in the class of 60. Close but no cigar, Bob. The very next Fundy semester (we have Fall and Spring admissions $$$$) had a few new things instituted such as group testing and extra credit. Quite a few pulled an A. Good for them.

During our Med/Surg semester they came up with the brilliant idea to have Mental Health concurrent. (yay again) We had 2 full time clinical days and 3 days with 4 lectures/labs. We often had exams in both classes on the same day.

{Near the end of the semester, one of our old Fundy instructors gave a Med/Surg lecture and told us that the administrators were aware that the workload we had was too much and that they were going to make adjustments in the program. Too little, too late for us of course.}

Most of us did really well in Mental Health, thanks to being tested on the material we were taught. We did like that instructor, and she taught the material scenario based.

Most of us did not so well in Med/Surg. Not only did we have to suffer through one instructors drug induced tirades, (she did eventually get busted stealing Morphine from our patients and getting high during clinical and was thrown out) but our other instructor was a real piece of work that hated every minute of every lecture except CV. And she expected us to know her speciality (CV) at the level she did.:nono: Her tests were so brutal that most of us were nearing the point of mental breakdown by the end. It was very hard not to just give up. She often got her lecture and test materials FROM A BOOK WE WEREN'T USING. I read every word of every chapter of my Med/Surg book and celebrated every B that I got. There were many things on the test that were neither covered in the book nor the lectures. She is received a bevy of fantastic evaluations from the students from this semester.... :lol2: Some of our evals were more than 5 pages, typed.

To all of you that think that you would do just as well in every other program out there, uh no. You have to understand that you cannot say that without actually spending a semester in our very tired, bloodshot, caffiene driven shoes. It seems to me that you are saying that we just aren't studying hard enough and we would do better if we worked harder. Forgive me if that offends me a little.:angryfire

I am by no means a slack student. I have been full time every semester since Summer 2005 with a GPA of 4.0 excluding nursing classes (about to be dented slightly by a B in Micro--note do not take the Micro 4-week intensive session during the same period of time that all the kids have graduations/end-of-year parties/award ceremonies-- stupid--stupid--stupid:eek: ). My NUR class GPA is 3.78. On the ATI tests I made a 90 in Fundy, 88 in Med/Surg, and 93 in Mental Health WITHOUT STUDYING FOR THEM AT ALL. I will graduate May 13, 2008 with an ADN and an Assoc in General education. I do very well on the NCLEX practice tests and have every confidence that I will pass. I have completed all but 2 of the pre-reqs for my BSN and will enter directly into the RN-BSN program.

Many students in our program are focused on getting their C and being done with it. My GPA is very important to me because I plan on entering a very competitive Master's program. I burns me up to no end that my sciences will be very competitive, and my GRE will be very high, but my GPA in the NUR courses will not be as high as these students at other schools that may not have made it through my program.

I know that I will be successful and I will achieve my goal, but I was a little shocked by the tone insinuating that some of us (in the schools that think that giving out an A would ruin their rep) are somehow inferior to the students in schools that are getting tested on what they are being taught. It is a very serious goal for me and I am not playing around in school.

I'm sorry that this has grown to this length but I am a little frustrated about the understanding that all schools/educations are created equal.

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