Open Journal of Nursing, 2017, 7, 1289-1306
http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojn
ISSN Online: 2162-5344
ISSN Print: 2162-5336
DOI: 10.4236/ojn.2017.711093 Nov. 21, 2017 1289 Open Journal of Nursing
Impact of Adaptive Quizzing as a Practice and
Remediation Strategy to Prepare for the
NCLEX-RN
Susan Malkemes
1
, Julia C. Phelan
2
1
Passan School of Nursing, Wilkes University, Wilkes Barre, PA, USA
2
UCLA CRESST, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract
National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN)
outcomes are extremely important to nursing institutions and students for
myriad reasons. For students, the NCLEX-RN represents one of the final mi-
lestones to conquer before entering a nursing career. Nursing programs mon-
itor NCLEX-RN pass rates as an important gauge of program quality and
minimum levels frequently must be met. This study explored the implementa-
tion of an adaptive quizzing and learning system as part of an NCLEX-RN
preparation strategy designed to increase student engagement and subsequent
success on the NCLEX-RN. The adaptive quizzing system was used as part of
an ongoing, proactive strategy to student preparation. This strategy is in con-
trast to the practice of using high-stakes exams scores to try and predict stu-
dent NCLEX-RN outcomes. In the latter case there is mixed evidence on how
scores relate to remediation and moving students toward success based on
evidence of need. The study school required students (N = 54) to take regular,
adaptive practice quizzes throughout their final year in the nursing program.
Students were also given the HESI E
2
in their final semester and all but one
student achieved the target threshold with a range of scores (772 to 1028).
Despite this variability, 90.7% of the students in the study group passed the
NCLEX-RN on their first attempt, with a pass rate of 98% when considering
those who passed on the second attempt. NCLEX-RN pass rates at the study
school increased by 11.55% following the implementation of the system and
in the second year of implementation (the data analyzed for this study) in-
creased an additional 3.95% from the previous year. With many factors to
consider, we cannot say, unequivocally, that using the AQS resulted in an in-
crease in NCLEX-RN pass rates at the study school. Findings from this re-
trospective study do, however, support the use of an adaptive quizzing system
How to cite this paper: Malkemes, S. and
Phelan, J.C. (2017) Impact of Adaptive
Quizzing as a Practice and Remediation
Strategy to Prepare for the NCLEX-RN.
Open Journal of Nursing, 7, 1289-1306.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ojn.2017.711093
Received: May 19, 2017
Accepted: November 17, 2017
Published: November 21, 2017
Copyright © 2017 by authors and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access