ABSTRACT
To better understand how nurse educators evaluate and grade students' clinical practice, the Evaluation of Learning Advisory Council of the National League for Nursing conducted a survey of faculty (N = 1,573) in all types of prelicensure RN programs. This article describes the findings of that survey in relation to clinical evaluation and grading clinical practice. Nearly all faculty used a clinical evaluation tool to rate students' performance in the clinical setting (n = 1,534, 98 percent); most programs had the same basic tool in all courses, but modified to reflect the unique aspects of each course (n = 1,095, 70 percent). Faculty (n = 1,116, 83 percent) reported using pass/fail for grading in clinical courses rather than a letter or numerical grade.
Subject(s)
Clinical Competence/standards , Education, Nursing, Associate , Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate , Education, Nursing, Diploma Programs , Education, Nursing, Graduate , Educational Measurement/methods , Attitude of Health Personnel , Education, Nursing, Associate/organization & administration , Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/organization & administration , Education, Nursing, Diploma Programs/organization & administration , Education, Nursing, Graduate/organization & administration , Educational Measurement/statistics & numerical data , Faculty, Nursing/organization & administration , Humans , Nursing Education Research , Nursing Records , Patient Simulation , Peer Review, Health Care , Preceptorship , Schools, Nursing/organization & administration , Self-Assessment , Surveys and Questionnaires , United States , WritingABSTRACT
In fall 2007, the Evaluation of Learning Advisory Council of the National League for Nursing conducted a survey on the assessment and evaluation strategies and grading practices used by nurse faculty in prelicensure RN programs. This article describes how faculty evaluate student learning in the cognitive and affective domains and factors that influence their decisions about assessment and grading. A 29-item web-based survey was completed by 1,573 nurse faculty from all types of prelicensure programs. In decisions about assessment methods and grading in courses, the school's NCLEX-RN pass rate was the most important consideration. Papers, group/collaborative projects, case study analyses, care plans, teacher-made tests, standardized tests, and students' self-assessment were used most frequently (> 50 percent) for evaluating learning in the cognitive domain. The main strategy used to assess students' values was observation as students interacted with patients and families (n = 1,051, 67 percent) and others (students, faculty, and clinical team members) (n = 845, 54 percent) in the health care setting.
