Hesi Exit Test

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Specializes in Home Health Case Mgr.

Hello fellow educators....I am dealing with a dilema which I have no control over as I am a staff member, not administration, but it is just eating away at my concious. My community college uses the HESI exit exam for the ADN and LVN programs. Regardless of how good your GPA is, clinical performance and so on....along April or so, you have to pass a "exit exam" with a score of 850 or better in order to "Walk with your diploma". If you fail to pass the test you are allowed to take it again. If you fail again, you are out. Don't pass go, don't collect you monopoly money!!!! The problem I have with it, and I am not alone in this, IS>>> a couple of students each year per program, fails the HESI, despite being quality nursing students and according to the census of most instructors would pass the NCLEX with no problems. Other schools in our area use the HESi,but as a tool to help the students focus on their areas of weakness. I feel we should not leave it up to a third party vendor to make or break these kids, who have put their lives on hold, pawned everything they own, just to be one of us.

Am I normal to feel this way? I have discussed it with other staff and told it is the policy of the college network, DON'T go there...etc.

Your viewpoints would be appreciated. I just want my students to all have a shot at NCLEX after proving themselves to me, not a private vendor.

ERDude

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I also have a problem with outside testmakers dictating curriculum. Personally, I just can't see why the exit test is required for graduation in your school or other schools. I wonder what the motivation is here. Are the board scores really low; or are the companies REALLY pushing their products? Is there academic justification for adding another level of testing?

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Specializes in Inpatient Rehabiliation.

Our Nursing program also uses HESI tests both 4th quarter in and an exit exam 7th quarter. We only get 2 tries to pass and if we don't we dont move forward. I think most of the other students in my group aren't fond of this set up. I understand that it is a good tool to prepare us for future testing and all, but it does seem pretty extreme that we all must pass it to graduate. The nursing students in the BSN program at a local state university only take it once and if they don't pass it isnt a barrier to their graduation. But, in our community college ADN program , it is a requirement for graduation.

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I have recently done a research study for my MSN degree about the HESI and other exits tests that are out there. Some schools are using the results to determine remediation programs or changes needed in cirriculum. Others do make the students pass to graduate. One program director I talked with has several students who graduated a year or so ago who still haave not been able to take the NCLEX abecause of it. I know programs want there pass rates to be high but I think holding this over a student is wrong. Use the results for remediation but let the students graduate.

The HESI has a 97.8% accuracy rate of who will succeed on the NCLEX and who will fail. They have individually studied 4 years of the HESI Exit test to prove this. Of course they will give the school all sorts of summaries to help them. I think they are trying to make money. I feel that the student should receive remediation all along and not wait until the end of the program.

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Our community college has the same policy for the last semester of our 2 year associates degree RN program. No matter how well you've done throughout the past 2 years, if you don't acheive an 850 on the HESI, you're not graduating. We were required to take the HESI exam after the PN program but it was only used as a prediction of how we would do on boards. But this year it's 850 or keep trying. It doesn't even really seem legal to me. I did very well on the PN HESI but it worries me that my future could be impacted by one test when I have so far succeeded in everything else throughout the last 2 years.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
Our community college has the same policy for the last semester of our 2 year associates degree RN program. No matter how well you've done throughout the past 2 years, if you don't acheive an 850 on the HESI, you're not graduating. We were required to take the HESI exam after the PN program but it was only used as a prediction of how we would do on boards. But this year it's 850 or keep trying. It doesn't even really seem legal to me. I did very well on the PN HESI but it worries me that my future could be impacted by one test when I have so far succeeded in everything else throughout the last 2 years.

I share your fear. I take this thing Tues. :o

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Specializes in ICU;CCU;Telemetry;L&D;Hospice;ER/Trauma;.

I wonder what the stats are comparing those who take the HESI vs. no HESI at say, other schools, and passing the NCLEX?

It sounds to me like the vendor for HESI wants to toot it's own horn a little, because the whole thing is money driven...(they make money by making this mandatory...etc)

I am not sure where you would challenge this practice, since the administration powers-that-be have been sucked into believing that this is the Nirvana of all testing!!

Most of us here have probably NOT taken the HESI exam before taking the NCLEX.....

WE ARE HERE AREN"T WE???

And...if you think about it....probably most of those nursing administrators and school officials that sat for the NCLEX didn't take the HESI exam EITHER...somehow THEY managed to get from point A to point B without being baptized in the HESI pool of knowledge!!

I feel your concern here....it's too bad....

At a time when we are short of nursing instructors, short of nursing school entrance positions, and short of nursing personnel in general, you would THINK that schools would do all they could to help someone succeed...not put every obstacle in front of them to trip them up....

crni

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

the hesi exit is so unfair. i did not need the hesi to graduate w/ my RN but had to take it just because it was something we had to . i actually got a 678 on my hesi ( itook it quickly to get out of there it was boring). and i took boards and passed w/ 75 questions . i feel so bad for those kids who put their all into school for years and at the end not graduating.. all that hard work a waste. i would be bitter. then you end up w/ all these student loans you can't pay and a crushed dream.

i wish schools would stop that hesi exit test.

thank you for listening to me vent

bethany RN

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The exit exam practice is being increasingly questioned in nursing education. What happens is students who may actually pass the NCLEX are never given the chance to take it because of a HESI (or another exit exam) score.

HESI is good at predicting NCLEX success because it sets the pass score so high. HESI is NOT good at predicting NCLEX failure. A majority of the students who do not attain an 850 who are allowed to take NCLEX actually PASS.

This is documented in the August 2006 issue of Nurse Educator

Schools have this crazy policy because they want to have a good pass rate. So if the students have even a small chance of failing the school prevents them from taking the test and protects their pass rate.

It is not fair to the students to let them spend their time, money, and hard work for two to four years and then deny them the opportunity to fulfill their dream of being a nurse. It is the school's responsibility to prepare the students throughout their nursing program to succeed on the NCLEX.

Several states are looking into this practice. New York State has already banned it.

There is a lot of money to be made by the testing companies (more than 247,000 took NCLEX RN and PN in 2006). Profit seems to be fueling this practice.

Perhaps the students who were denied graduation should get together and seek legal advice, or at least register a complaint with your state board of nursing or NLNAC.

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I do not like the HESI exams other than to be used at the end of a semester course for remediation. I questioned their statistics because the majority of the students failed their HESI exams (course and exit), yet they all passed the NCLEX-RN. I sent my questions via e-mail to HESI, and it was deleted without being read. I am curious about the Masters' level research findings conducted by a fellow educator? I am also interested in knowing what NCLEX-RN review sessions and study/review books are being used out there? So far, my favorite online review is hurstreview.com. I love the Saunders Review Book and Silvestri's Strategies for Success--so did my students!

Thank you,

Barb

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I do not like the HESI exams other than to be used at the end of a semester course for remediation. I questioned their statistics because the majority of the students failed their HESI exams (course and exit), yet they all passed the NCLEX-RN. I sent my questions via e-mail to HESI, and it was deleted without being read. I am curious about the Masters' level research findings conducted by a fellow educator? I am also interested in knowing what NCLEX-RN review sessions and study/review books are being used out there? So far, my favorite online review is hurstreview.com. I love the Saunders Review Book and Silvestri's Strategies for Success--so did my students!

Thank you,

Barb

We use the ATI to prepare students. It is very expense and Im not sure it really does then any favors. Mary E

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HELP! I am graduating and we have to take the Exit HESI to get our diplomas. I have already taken it 3 times...815, 756, 816 are my scores...I have used Saunders, Springhouse, Kaplan, and the HESI book to study. I have done over 5,000 questions since September, I don't know why I can't pass this thing. Anyone have any advice? Thanks! Next retake is in 9 days!

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