nursingtestpro

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.