Abstract
Computerized testing for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) became available in April 1994. In an effort to assist students in becoming more comfortable with taking the licensure examination by computer, faculty in the author's school of nursing initiated computer-based testing in selected nursing courses. This article reports the results from 7 years of data on the relation between computer-based testing during a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and subsequent performance on the NCLEX examination. Student cohort pass rates on the NCLEX for the 4 years before the administration of course computer-based testing were compared with those for the 3 years after the course computer-based testing strategy was implemented. The results show no significant differences in NCLEX pass rates between the students who were exposed to computer-based testing in their nursing program and those who were not exposed. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Computerized testing for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) became available in April 1994. 1 Although the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) provided assurances to examinees that minimal computer skills would be necessary to navigate the test, 2 the change in the testing format from a traditional paper-and-pencil examination to a computer-based examination triggered concerns in students and faculty alike.
In an effort to increase comfort and possibly improve NCLEX performance, faculty at the author's school of nursing began administering computer-based testing in selected courses and evaluating student performance on the NCLEX in relation to the new testing format. The following research question was investigated in this study: "Is there a significant difference in NCLEX performance between nursing students who have been exposed to computer-based testing in their nursing program and those who have not been exposed to this testing format?"