| Nursing school graduates must successfully complete the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) to enter the nursing profession. Courses taken in high school, post-secondary school, and nursing school provide the foundation for successful completion of the nursing program as indicated by a passing score on the NCLEX-RN. A review of the literature revealed a wide variety of variables that have been studied as possible predictors of performance on the NCLEX-RN. For example, the most frequently cited indicators included high school grade-point average, high school rank, American College Test scores, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and pre-nursing grade-point average. Studies of these predictors revealed inconclusive results.; This retrospective study investigated admission variables (ACT scores, SAT scores, and cognate GPA) as predictors of performance--pass/fail--on the post-1988 NCLEX-RN. Data were obtained from the academic records of 194 graduates of a southeast Texas community college who received associate nursing degrees and completed the NCLEX-RN in 1992, 1993, and 1994. It was the intent of the researcher to use a biserial correlational analysis to explore possible relationships between variables. However, when the data were obtained from the sample of 194 ADN students, it was discovered that only ten students had failed the post-1988 NCLEX-RN. In addition, the ten unsuccessful students were dispersed among the three different admission methods. Because of the low number of students who failed the licensure examination, it was deemed inappropriate to use biserial correlational procedures. Since inferential statistics could not be applied, the hypotheses could not be tested, conclusions could not be drawn, and no generalizations could be made about the sample population. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the data.; An analysis of the data revealed that 95 percent of the 194 graduates of the ADN program passed the post-1988 NCLEX-RN. Nursing students who passed the NCLEX-RN were older, on the average, than those who failed. In addition, the mean ACT composite scores, SAT composite scores, and cognate GPA were all higher for those students who passed the post-1988 NCLEX-RN. |
