Nursing Grading Scale

This is how the grading scale was in my program as well. It made it harder, but still doable.

That one is slightly easier than the program I was on. And yes, it's as hard as it seems but you can do it if you really want to.

It was the same 25 yrs ago. What I remember vividly is that besides the hard cut off at B- 10% of the test answers were in the ***** category making it a pretty small window to pass. But most of us did.

we had to maintain C+, if you failed two classes you were out of the program.

Mine is somewhat similar, the ranges for each letter grade are higher in nursing than the rest of the college. For example, in other college courses a 90% or above is an A-, but in nursing courses it is 92% for an A-. We do have C and D letter grades for exams but you can't pass the course unless you have a 78% average or above. And if you earn less than that on any one exam you have required remediation. It is tough but I think there are good reasons for it.

It's typical. It's also why my GPA fell in nursing school.

This is actually easier than the other programs I'm familiar with. A "C" is 80-84 for us, and we need a C in all courses to continue on. So far in my cohort of 35 students, 13 have failed a semester.

At my college, an 83 was a big, fat F. Only 84 or above was a passing grade in any class you took for nursing. 94 or above was A; 90-93 was a B; 84-89 was a C. There was no such thing as a D.

So I went to my nursing program orientation yesterday. Clinicals will start in January and I'm excited but some of the guidelines and restrictions seem a bit outrageous. The fee's are ********. But the grading scale seems so odd to me. We were informed that we are unable to receive anything less than a 78% as a final grade for any of the Nursing Courses. Anything less than a 78% is considered an F and you'd have to retake the course (which is only allowed once) Whats your experience been like with this scale? Is it more difficult or is it not as hard as it seems?

[TABLE=width: 600]

[TR]

[TD]93-100[/TD]

[TD]A[/TD]

[TD]4.0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]85-92[/TD]

[TD]B[/TD]

[TD]3.0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]78-84[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]2.0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]77-below[/TD]

[TD]F[/TD]

[TD]0.0[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

My scale is similar. However, I don't think the scale is that big of a deal, in and of itself. I've bounced around to many schools due to relocating a lot. Outside of the (hard/natural) science and sometimes math departments, this is the normal scale for any other class at the campuses I attended. The actual difference is not being able to move forward due not reaching a grade of 'average'. Or only having 1 repeat attempt to get back on track. While I can empathize with the individual about being dismissed from a program by 0.01 point, I don't think it is unreasonable for a program to except that, at minimum, a nursing student has showcased average competence in the program before giving the green light to the state BON for an ATT for the NCLEX.

Honestly, this isn't something I would hyperfocus on. In my program, the grading scale is only one piece of the puzzle on continuing in the program. They also judge our professionalism, clinical progression, and attendence. These things weed more people out than the grading scale in my program.

Well, now looking it from this perspective, the scale does make sense.

Thanks

Basically, it's this: If you got a 70, you aren't learning enough of the material. Even a 78 means 22% of the time you're just wrong.

This is bad for patients. You may not even pass the NCLEX with that level of mastery.