PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE ON THE NCLEX-RN USING SEVEN SELECTED VARIABLES.
Contributors: Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities (U.S.)
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 193
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Purpose. The purpose of the study is to identify variables which could be used to predict performance on the National Council of State Boards Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The following variables are used to determine the strongest predictors: ACT, overall grade-point average, nursing grade-point average, Mosby AssessTest (unsecured), age, sex, and previous experience (LPN, EMT, Corpsman). Evidence is sought to support the hypothesis, "Predictors for performance on the NCLEX can be found in the usual student record data", and the subhypothesis of "Cognitive variables are more likely than background variables to be predictive of success on the initial licensing examination".

This study interprets the achievement subsystem of Dorothy E. Johnson's Behavior System Model.

Procedure. The study is an ex post facto survey design, using a population of 261 associate degree nursing students. Underlying null hypotheses were tested at the.05 significance level. Linear regression analysis shows that the AssessTest, the nursing grade-point average, and the overall grade-point average are the strongest predictor variables at p =.001. The three strong predictors combined in a multiple regression equation to give a coefficient of determination of.6928. In the random sample of students, performance on the NCLEX-RN is predicted with 87% accuracy. The background variable of experience is a strong predictor as none of these students failed. Men have a 26% failure rate and women a 9.5% failure rate overall. Results support the hypothesis and do not support the subhypothesis.

Conclusions. This study indicates the AssessTest and the nursing grade-point average are strong cognitive predictors and that experience is the strongest background variable. The "at risk" student should be identified and counseled individually to improve the chance of success. Further study may determine the effect of individualized instruction upon attained NCLEX-RN scores.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: B, page: 0692.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNION FOR EXPERIMENTING COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, 1987.

School code: 0557.