The relationship between computer testing during a nursing program and NCLEX performance

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.