Question re: testing policies

Altra, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2005

----- Anyone? -----:behindpc:

Thanks in advance.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jun 26, 2005

There is currently a thread in the general student nursing section re: whether or not students are permitted to review tests after grading. A variety of answers have been posted, but at least one poster indicated that for at least some nursing classes the exams were actually destroyed immediately after grading, eliminating the possibility of test reviews.
I'm a recent grad, and never experienced this at my school. Every test was reviewed in class, including the item analysis ... often at great length.
I realize that there are reasons for different approaches, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a rationale for a more extreme policy such as destroying all exams and not conducting any sort of test review, even on an individual student basis if requested. Justified or not, it adds to the culture of secrecy that seems to pervade some schools. Cheating incidents seem to crop up at nearly all schools every now & then, but at my school we operated for the most part on the honor system. If an individual can't be trusted not to cheat on an exam, can he/she be trusted to perform as required when caring for patients? IMHO, the trust placed in students encompasses both areas.
I have an interest in possibly teaching later in my career -- just curious to get some feedback from experienced educators on this topic. Thanks. :)

Hi and welcome to the Forum! :balloons: I can't answer for other educators, but at our school of nursing, we have test reviews. The students can have their test and bubble sheet, plus test analysis form to analyze. We welcome questions and answers (as long as these are orderly), as this is an excellent means for the students to learn. But, no, I have never in my entire career heard of any school of nursing destroying the student exams before the students have a chance to review them. This does not make sense and would also create enormous problems, should a student appeal a grade. :stone

purplemania, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2005

My personal opinion is that the test should be reviewed in class, after the grades are recorded, but the student does not need to have their test in hand to review. A local nursing school quit reviewing tests because people wanted to argue. Usually it was the same people, all groping for an extra 2 points because their grades were borderline. Another problem was that student A would memorize one test answer in the review, student B another, etc. then all get together to rebuild the test and sell the answers to the next class. I have even seen people peel off labels from water bottles, put answers on the back of the label and reapply the label. Anything but study.

Altra, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2005

Thank you all for your responses. :)

Roland · Jul 19, 2005

Have you considered that one reason that students may wish to disagree with a test answer is because they have a valid point. Personally, I think that if you are going to hold students to a very high standard (78% at my school for passing) then you must also hold yourself to that same standard. That means having test questions that are accurate, well written, and perhaps most importantly extensively peer reviewed . For example, I missed a question in one of my nursing classes which clearly had two correct answers (both of which I could reference in the text), and neither was objectively superior. Essentially, the question asked which was an inappropriate way to interview a client for a health history. One answer was "to sit three feet from the subject" and the other was "to stare intently at the client". The text clearly indicated that anything inside of four feet was considered personal space and too close for the interview. However, the text also cautioned against "stairing down" the client.

By the way one of the best way to prevent students from circulating old test questions is to write new ones for each class. Most good text books come with test banks that have ample questions to facilitate this approach. Another good thing about the text book questions is that they generally have been peer reviewed. Why reinvent the wheel. Select a good text and use their package (this also helps to ensure that material tested correlates most closely with reading assignments).

My personal opinion is that the test should be reviewed in class, after the grades are recorded, but the student does not need to have their test in hand to review. A local nursing school quit reviewing tests because people wanted to argue. Usually it was the same people, all groping for an extra 2 points because their grades were borderline. Another problem was that student A would memorize one test answer in the review, student B another, etc. then all get together to rebuild the test and sell the answers to the next class. I have even seen people peel off labels from water bottles, put answers on the back of the label and reapply the label. Anything but study.