Predictors of student success on the NCLEX-RN® in an associate degree of nursing program

Graduating students who can successfully pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) is a primary objective of nursing programs. As the nursing shortage continues it has become even more critical nursing programs are able to produce competent professional nurses who are able to pass the national licensure examination on the first attempt. Many research studies have attempted to identify academic and nonacademic predictors of NCLEX-RN® performance, as well as examining standardized exit examinations that nursing programs have implemented. The exit examination has been developed to mimic the NCLEX-RN®, and thereby may indicate a student’s preparedness for the NCLEX-RN®. However, no clear, consistent variables were identified in the literature that predicted student success on the national licensure examination. The purpose of this study was to examine which variables are related to student success on the NCLEX-RN® examination. Findings from this study will add to the body of knowledge regarding the extent to which nursing students’ test-taking motivation is related to scores on the exit examination, program GPA, and medical-surgical final grades. The results may provide nurse educators with new information to assess nursing students’ test-taking motivation and probability of passing the NCLEX-RN®. This study utilized a quantitative, descriptive correlation design to examine the relationship between test-taking motivational variables and exit examination scores. In addition, demographic variables, grade point average, and medical-surgical grades were explored. The Expectancy-Value Theory guided this research. The Student Opinion Survey was used to examine test-taking motivation of students after they completed the exit examination. The study did not find a correlation between Importance Scores and the exit examination, cumulative grade point average, or the medical-surgical courses. However, a small correlation was found between Effort Scores and the exit examination, age, and gender. There are two major implications of this study. First, students who did not meet assessment benchmarks or progression requirements may have dropped from the program prior to the administration of the exit examination. Overall, these findings suggest that while effort and GPA may have some positive relationship with assessment outcomes, perceived importance and demographic variables influence student engagement in complex ways. These insights could inform educational practices by suggesting that engagement and performance are nuanced and require a multifaceted approach in higher education policy and support services. Further qualitative studies could deepen understanding of these relationships.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Dayal, Ravinder

Contributors dc:contributor

• Li, Jessica
• Huang, Wenhao David
• Oh, Eunjung Grace
• Lee, Sharon

• Nclex-rn
• Student Success, Ati

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Ravinder Dayal

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127356

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127356