The NLN's fair testing imperative and implications for faculty development

• Published in: Nursing education perspectives 2013-03, Vol.34 (2), p.72-72
• Main Author: Halstead, Judith A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Education, Nursing - standards; Educational Measurement - methods; Faculty Development; Faculty, Nursing - standards; Humans; Licensure, Nursing - standards; Nursing; Nursing education; Outcomes of Education; Standardized tests
• ISSN: 1536-5026; 1943-4685
• DOI: 10.5480/1536-5026-34.2.72

In approximately 20 percent of all nursing programs, students are required to achieve a minimum score on standardized tests to graduate from the program and take the licensure examination, regardless of how well they mastered their required nursing courses. In part, they state: * Faculty are ethically obligated to ensure that tests and decisions based on tests are valid, evidence-based, consistent, and fair to all test takers regardless of the learner's personal characteristics. * Faculty have the responsibility to assess students' abilities to practice nursing while recognizing that strategies used to assess learning are limited and imperfect. * Multiple approaches for assessing student knowledge and clinical abilities are particularly critical when high-stakes decisions, such as student progression or graduation, are based on the assessment. * Tests and other evaluative measures are to be used to evaluate student achievement, as well as support student learning, improve teaching, and guide program improvements. * Faculty must have access to comprehensive testing, administration, and evaluation information before they administer or write policies regarding the use of standardized tests.