Exploration of selected baccalaureate nursing preadmission, nursing program, nursing program points, and age predictor variables on NCLEX-RN performanc

Passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) is a requirement for a nursing graduate to practice the profession of nursing. This study has two purposes. One purpose was to examine the relationship between selected academic preadmission and nursing program variables and a nonacademic variable that might predict baccalaureate degree nursing graduates' pass/fail performance on the NCLEX-RN. A second purpose was to determine points in the nursing curriculum that would identify students who are at-risk to fail the NCLEX-RN in order to formulate an early and late model.;A longitudinal, correlational research design was used in this study. Data were obtained from the records of 586 baccalaureate graduates who graduated between February 1988 through May 1995 from a midwestern university. Thirty-three academic variables and one nonacademic variable were examined in the statistical analysis. The academic variables were subdivided into preadmission, nursing program, and nursing program points.;Discriminant analysis revealed that the most significant academic variable in predicting NCLEX-RN pass/fail performance was the NLN Diagnostic Readiness Test score. The second most significant academic variable was semester 7 GPA. These two nursing program point variables formulated a late intervention model. The classification method predicted 82.59% of the graduates' NCLEX-RN pass/fail performance correctly. The means of the preadmission, nursing program, and nursing program point variables were found to be significantly higher for the graduates who passed the NCLEX-RN than for the graduates who failed the NCLEX-RN.;The Pearson's r correlation coefficients revealed the most strongly correlated variables in predicting the NLN Diagnostic Readiness Test score were NUR Year 3 GPA and NUR GPA. A stepwise regression for an early to mid-program intervention model indicated that the strongest predictor was NUR Year 3, the end of the junior year, and the second best predictor was SAT Verbal.;The research findings indicated that nursing educators could identify at-risk students for failing the NCLEX-RN at the program's mid-point. Even though the NLN Diagnostic Readiness Test score is a late predictor, it is not too late for educators to develop a remediation intervention program for identified at-risk students to fail the NCLEX-RN.