Nursing School Requiring a 85% test average?

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My NS is requiring that a "B" or 85% test average is needed to pass fundamentals and 15% of the grade is passing the end of semester Kaplan assement proctor exam.

I am really nervous to take this class because the grading scale is so high and I'm not sure how I will survive it. Can anyone please share on their experiences of taking a nursing class that requires high testing averages and how did you survive it? Was fundamentals a rigorous/hard course for you and are there any tips you can give me?

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85 is a really high bar to set.. Sounds like a weed out class to me.

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85 is a really high bar to set.. Sounds like a weed out class to me.

I spoke to a previous nursing student who attended this school on Facebook and she said the same thing that this is a weed out class and they don't reccommed working while taking it.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

In my graduate NP program we are required to achieve that 85% average for the duration of the program.

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In my graduate NP program we are required to achieve that 85% average for the duration of the program.

That is good to know that I'm not the only one!

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Specializes in Emergency.

My program requires an 80% test average for all semesters, and an 80% final overall grade too. Various tests like Kaplan or HESI are a chunk of the test average. Our first semester Kaplan was 15%, and second semester Kaplan was 10%. Second semester also used the HESI mid-curricular as our final and that counted as 1/7 of out test average and 15% of our class grade.

Standardized testing is a part of nursing, period. All the schools use it in their programs to get you ready to pass the NCLEX. They study who passes/fails, and why, and what they did/lacked in school. They use this information to build their programs to get the highest pass rates.

Kaplan has practice tests with rationales and videos and connected study points. ***Use it***

Each of the tests has a slightly different focus or way they want you to answer, so be sure to study using their material.

People that studied the specific material did well (and those that didn't, didn't) in my program, seriously. I found it an easy boost to my grades, with a few hours of study/review each week (don't wait until the week of the test!) I was able to get in the 90's (and I learned some stuff too).

Nursing school is putting one foot in front of the other, jumping the next hurdle and moving on :-)

You got this!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

The percentage required to pass is not the key issue. How difficult the test questions are -- that's the real issue. If the test questions are easy, the 85% is no big deal. If test questions are really difficult, then even a 60% might be hard to achieve.

Talk to someone who is familiar with this particular class. How many students actually fail it? Are the exams difficult or easy? etc. Base your opinion and plans on that type of information -- not on what score is required to pass. By itself, that doesn't tell you anything.

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Specializes in ICU.

Sounds just like my class. We had to have 85 to pass the class as well, and we also had to take a Kaplan exam as our final. No one got an A on the Kaplan thing, but we all managed to pass the class.

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hi im going tru the same thing now and my grades are really good the only thing freaking me out is the kaplan can you send me the link of the website you used to study for the kaplan . it will help me big deal

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Anything below 80% in my Nursing school program was an F. I have never heard of 85, but it doesn't seem horrible to me. I had a 97% average though, and I dedicated several hours a day to study.

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My NS is requiring that a "B" or 85% test average is needed to pass fundamentals and 15% of the grade is passing the end of semester Kaplan assement proctor exam.

I am really nervous to take this class because the grading scale is so high and I'm not sure how I will survive it. Can anyone please share on their experiences of taking a nursing class that requires high testing averages and how did you survive it? Was fundamentals a rigorous/hard course for you and are there any tips you can give me?

85% is quite high plus how do they define passing the Kaplan exam? The percentage of the Kaplan grade is also too large imho.

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Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.

The program I graduated from required an 85% average. An ADN program. An we had to get a 100% on all our math tests. Some programs are like that.

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