94 or higher is an A?

[Oceanblu]

I find this really annoying that the school I want to go to has considered a 94 or higher to be an A. And after talking to some of the Alumni I have found out that this program is really strict and you need an 82% to pass a class (they base their classes on a pass/fail). This is so crazy and no wonder they have such a low passing rate.

Not only that but this program have had this grading scale since 2008 and I can't believe they haven't thought to change it yet to increase their passing rate?? Does anybody else have to do deal with this in their nursing program?

[mercurysmom]

My ADN program (1990) had a 75% passing benchmark for classwork and unit tests, but final exams had to be 80% or above, and pharm exams each semester had to be 100% within 3 attempts. The rationale was that we needed to prove understanding of at least 80% of the class material since it was cumulative.

My town's public school system no longer uses letter grades. Report cards list the actual number grades earned in each class in grades 5-12. I can track my kids' progress from home via the school website. I wish I could say that the grade transparency has helped prevent grade inflation, but it hasn't. When the benchmarks are set per "common core" and students are spooned information needed to pass high-stakes tests rather than develop strong foundations in core subjects, unit test grades become a kind of "gastric emptying study for spoon-fed concepts," and the semester grade is simply an academic brown book. How else can one explain why a student can pass high school calculus with an A, yet require remedial college math?

[frenchtoastwaffles, BSN, RN]

Our passing is 74%, must pass math exam with 90+ and we get three tries, skills check/return demo we get two tries, and a 96 and up is an A. I passed last semester with a 95.8

[IDCwife]

My program has this grading scale~

A 96-100

A- 94-95

B+ 91-93

B 89-90

B- 86-88

C+ 83-85

C 80-82

F

Ouch.

[Shan801]

At my school only 95 or above is an A. I got a 94.6 in Pharmacology II this semester and was jumping up and down when I found out my teacher rounded up!

[Ellie.D]

90 is an A- in my program.

80 is B-

80 is required for passing.

The sheer volume and pace make these grades tough to obtain. Even if you have always been an A student in the past.

[kalycat, BSN, RN]

My grading scale was also 96 or above was an A. You needed an 85 to stay in the program; if you did not achieve an 80% average on exams, your other work in the class would not be counted in to your grade and you would have to repeat the class. You were allowed one repeat. Your papers and such were not allowed to pull you through.

We started with 40 in the cohort and graduated 22. We had 100% NCLEX pass rate the first time around. It was a private (non-profit) 4 year University that allows Freshmen to declare nursing as a major if accepted, but the nursing program doesn't start until the final two years of school. We still had a significant weed out percentage, and that's ok.

We also had the highest number of clinical hours in our state - 4 or 500 above the minimum required by the BON, which definitely helped our transition to practice, I feel.

[Jimmyhartman3]

In my class 40 years ago 100 students started and 30 graduated. But 100 % passed the boards. If anything it sounds like your program has a very high pass rate.

[Mhays]

I know that it is hard to make the grade point average in nursing school. I had to have a certain grade point average when I was in nursing school. My nursing program was strict about grade point averages and grades for every class as well. Here are a few tips to consider. I would talk to your counselor or person that help you in nursing school and voice your opinions and your concerns. I would also consider writing a letter to your nursing director or email them and voice your concerns about grades as well. Then, get with other nursing students and tell them about your concerns. I would also ask them to see if they suggest anything about the grades. I know that it is a challenge, but you can do it. I wish you the best. Marcella 5/20/16