Who's at fault here?

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So about a quarter of the graduating class at my school didn't reach the 925 benchmark for the Exit Hesi...TWICE. Who's to blame? The school for not adequately preparing people? Hesi for not providing a good test? Or us, because it is possible that we are dummies? I mean obviously the students should have met benchmark and studied and blah blah blah but I know that I am not alone as being one of the people that studied 4-5+ hours a day on straight HESI and doing good remediation, but it still wasn't enough.

Specializes in Oncology, OCN.
All these people saying "If it's the schools fault how did the other 75% pass?" need a brush-up on evidence based statements and practices. Just because 75% of the class passed that does not necessarily mean that it is not the program. Perhaps the 75% who did pass were harder working, more naturally talented at critical thinking, lucky, or any combination of these things. The number "75%" doesn't suggest anything. It's a number without any background information. Sheesh.

That's not how it works, that's not how any of this works!

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Specializes in ICU.
That's not how it works, that's not how any of this works!

That is one of the best commercials ever!!!

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No, there's certainly enough information here to reach a reasonable conclusion.

The information provided tells us that 75% of the students passed a nationally recognized, standardized exam. What the 25% did or didn't do that resulted in them failing the exam isn't a reflection on the school, as all the students took the same courses from the same staff at the same time in the same school. If the bottom 25% of the class didn't work as hard as the top 75% it obviously isn't the school's fault OR the test's fault. It would be the students' fault, for failing to study hard enough to pass. You could argue that it isn't the students' fault if they don't have the cognitive ability to pass but you still couldn't argue it was the school's fault or the test's fault.

In some schools those bottom 25% might have found themselves dropped from the program before ever reaching that point. You could, then, say it's the school's fault for letting them dream on that they could pass this test when they didn't appear to be able to, earlier in the program. But that's about the best you could do for the argument that it's somehow the school's fault. Then, too, we'd have students complaining how the school didn't give them enough of a chance to succeed, how they were kicked out too early, before proving they could do better. Or not.

There's all the information needed for this scenario.

But there is no evidence that the 25% didn't work as hard. Numbers don't mean anything on their own. There are always several ways of explaining data. You don't just get to assume that the data is a certain way because it is convenient. This is basic experimental design.

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That's not how it works, that's not how any of this works!

Numbers themselves do not provide explanations of relationships between variables. For example, if 75% of people got sick after buying grapes at a certain store, that does not necessarily mean that the store is at fault. A customer could have contaminated the grapes. The supplier could have contaminated the grapes. It could be pure luck. Customers could also frequent a nearby restaurant and that restaurant could have gotten the customers sick. Numbers alone don't tell you anything. Modifying variables and documenting the results does.

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

Agreed with numbers not Meaning everything. Thankfully my school did not use the HESI as a requirement for matriculation. I failed it 3 out of 4 times (we took it once every semester). The fourth time I think I got like an 895. Most schools seem to set the passing standard above 900 or 950. The first 3 semesters i received below 800. I also did really well each semester and passed NCLEX the first time in 75 questions.

Basically, no, the number of people who pass HESI isn't always the whole story and assuming those who don't pass it didn't work as hard or were in the bottom of the class is not true. I was far from the bottom and definitely worked hard and earned my grades in an exceptionally difficult program.

As for OP, failing HESI is neither the school or tests fault. It is a standard test. Your capability is the problem. HESI is different then other tests. Heck, I didn't find that it was in any way like NCLEX and it didn't prepare me. Some people just aren't good at HESI tests and some just don't know content or critical thinking. Which one you are, only you know. But blaming the school or the test will get you nowhere.

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your all dumb, go back to grade school.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Gosh wish we HAD HESI's when I was in school. We were expected to study/review on our own and pass. And 100% of us did. Face the music; you have work to do.

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In some schools those bottom 25% might have found themselves dropped from the program before ever reaching that point. You could, then, say it's the school's fault for letting them dream on that they could pass this test when they didn't appear to be able to, earlier in the program. But that's about the best you could do for the argument that it's somehow the school's fault. Then, too, we'd have students complaining how the school didn't give them enough of a chance to succeed, how they were kicked out too early, before proving they could do better. Or not.

There's all the information needed for this scenario.

This is how my nursing school operates. Stellar HESI exit scores, 98-100% pass rate for NCLEX. But not even close to everyone who started ended up graduating on time or at all. People are weeded out (or fail a class and then make self-improvements and continue on in nursing school, doing very well) early on so that they don't put in all of the time and effort simply to find that they won't pass NCLEX.

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your all dumb, go back to grade school.

First of all: *you're. (You've also got a nasty comma splice in your sentence structure.)

If you're going to insult someone's intelligence, at least do so with proper spelling and grammar.

Second, this doesn't mean OP is dumb. I understand OP being frustrated after having completed so much schooling only to find that he/she isn't prepared. I have no idea if it's the OP's fault or the school's fault. You don't either.

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Specializes in Hospice.
your all dumb, go back to grade school.

Poor grammar, rude, and you're a Nurse Practitioner??

Says a lot for the quality of NPs lately.

ETA: Just read through your other posts. Praying you are far, far away from where I am.

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Poor grammar, rude, and you're a Nurse Practitioner??

Says a lot for the quality of NPs lately.

ETA: Just read through your other posts. Praying you are far, far away from where I am.

I think I've seen a lot of suspicious titles around here lately. NPs who can't spell--hmmm.

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

All are to blame. :nono:

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