Seton Hall NS article re: students failing HESI

[AtomicWoman]

Here's an article about a bunch of Seton Hall Nursing students who didn't meet the new minimum score for what I'm assuming is the HESI Exit exam (the newspaper article doesn't name it directly). Although other NS have much higher passing score requirements, the article still highlights for me that some schools deny graduation to those who don't pass the HESI.

I don't know what bothered me more: the article or the comments below it! The article didn't really give any context about the HESI exam, so even a 75% passing score sounds ridiculously low to the commenters:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/nearly_two_dozen_undergraduate.html

[Sterren, BSN, RN]

I don't think it's particularly fair for people to have to pass the HESI in order to graduate, but I do think it's a growing trend. I think ultimately the schools want to raise their NCLEX pass rates and making a passing score on HESI a condition of graduation is one way of doing that, I guess. I'm not entirely convinced that a passing score guarantees a passing score on the NCLEX (and this coming from someone who passed the HESI!) but I do understand why schools are doing this, even if I disagree.

[birdgardner]

At Seton Hall we take the ATI. I believe if you fail the final ATI then you take the HESI, but honestly, administration tells us very little ahead of time.

Sterren, you are 100% right why SHU won't let students graduate and take the NCLEX until they score high enough on the ATI or HESI.

[AtomicWoman]

I don't think it's particularly fair for people to have to pass the HESI in order to graduate, but I do think it's a growing trend. I think ultimately the schools want to raise their NCLEX pass rates and making a passing score on HESI a condition of graduation is one way of doing that, I guess. I'm not entirely convinced that a passing score guarantees a passing score on the NCLEX (and this coming from someone who passed the HESI!) but I do understand why schools are doing this, even if I disagree.

I understand why they do it, too. But the schools I am familiar with do not do a good job of being upfront about this requirement from the start. Somewhere prominently in their application materials or promotional materials, it should say something like, "In addition to passing all of your courses and clinicals, you will be required to pass a comprehensive exit exam..." Then at least, people could make informed decisions about what school they choose or at least be more mentally prepared to have to deal with the test.

[birdgardner]

The ridiculous thing is that if all schools started requiring you to pass at the 65th or the 74th percentile then most people wouldn't be passing.

[lemonaidangel]

Our school has us all take the HESI three times--once at the beginning, one this summer, and an exit exam next year. But we aren't required to pass it. I think the college just wants to know how much our critical thinking skills have improved throughout the program. I did fairly good on the one we took last fall. So glad we don't have to pass it! That would make it much more stressful!

[Wicked Wahine]

My NS has the requirement that you must pass the exit HESI with 75% or better in order to graduate. Personally, I don't like it. It seems like an artificial way of boosting a school's NCLEX pass rates. I think that this is yet another example of nursing schools not supporting students rather than working on helping them succeed. Instead of not letting students graduate, they should offer tutor sessions or something to the students who get below 75% because really, if they pass the nursing program and aren't able to pass the exit HESI, I think it's more of a reflection of the program rather than the student.