Assessment and grading practices in schools of nursing: national survey findings part I

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.