2008 Woodie Awards
Test Scores Slipping For Nursing
As Numbers Have Fallen, Program Works To Adapt
Lindsay Larsen
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
In an age where standardized tests have become the common yardstick for measuring academic success, categorizing an entire degree program as a success or a failure can rest on as little as one exam. One such program at UConn is the Nursing School, which has seen comparatively lower scores in the past several years. However, even as the program struggles to raise its scores, it remains above the failure rate while building an entirely new master's program.
The nursing program at UConn requires students to take the National Council Licensure Exam. The exam is a multiple choice text for aspiring registered nurses which tests current medical knowledge, nursing competencies and determines eligibility to earn a registered nurse licence, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. A recently published opinion piece published in the Hartford Courant stated that the nursing program was put on probation for its test scores in 2004, but the nursing program refutes this statement.
"The baccalaureate program has never been placed on probation," said Elizabeth Polifroni, associate dean of the School of Nursing, in an e-mail. She said the facts in the piece were "inaccurate."
The standardized testing scores went down when the School of Nursing started a master's entry into nursing a few years ago but the school was never on probation, said Anne Bavier, the Dean of the School of Nursing. The scores fell below the state minimum, but since it was a new program, the nursing program was not placed on probation. Instead, the State Board of Examiners for Nursing "kept an eye on the program, which was a reasonable thing to do," Bavier said.
Each state sets its own standards for passing the National Council Licensure Exam and Connecticut's passing mark is 80 percent. The scores are calculated by looking at how many students passed on the first try, said Bavier. However, each state takes the same exam every year.
The test is developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
The nursing program at UConn requires students to take the National Council Licensure Exam. The exam is a multiple choice text for aspiring registered nurses which tests current medical knowledge, nursing competencies and determines eligibility to earn a registered nurse licence, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. A recently published opinion piece published in the Hartford Courant stated that the nursing program was put on probation for its test scores in 2004, but the nursing program refutes this statement.
"The baccalaureate program has never been placed on probation," said Elizabeth Polifroni, associate dean of the School of Nursing, in an e-mail. She said the facts in the piece were "inaccurate."
The standardized testing scores went down when the School of Nursing started a master's entry into nursing a few years ago but the school was never on probation, said Anne Bavier, the Dean of the School of Nursing. The scores fell below the state minimum, but since it was a new program, the nursing program was not placed on probation. Instead, the State Board of Examiners for Nursing "kept an eye on the program, which was a reasonable thing to do," Bavier said.
Each state sets its own standards for passing the National Council Licensure Exam and Connecticut's passing mark is 80 percent. The scores are calculated by looking at how many students passed on the first try, said Bavier. However, each state takes the same exam every year.
The test is developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Berna
posted 3/31/08 @ 12:11 PM EST
Not all test results rely on what is taught in the classroom.
Hands on experience plays a great part in the overall knowledge, applying what is learned in the classroom plus experience gained in a clinical setting such as a hospital. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 3/31/08 @ 12:49 PM EST
The faculty in the school of nursing are also pretty lousy, obviously with some exceptions, they are lazy and do not publish much. A lousy faculty yields lousy students. (Continued…)
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