Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
Fostering Student Success: Turning Off Practice Assessment Rationales to Improve Proctored Assessment Scores
Elizabeth A Palmer1, Joyce A Shanty, Amy Labant
1About the Authors The authors are faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Nursing and Allied Health Professions, Indiana, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth A. Palmer, PhD, RN, CNE, is a professor. Joyce A Shanty, PhD, RN, is an associate professor and allied health coordinator. Amy Labant, PhD, RNC, is an assistant professor. Beverly Rossiter, MN, MSN, CPNP, is an assistant professor. For more information, contact Dr. Palmer at lpalmer@iup.edu.
Abstract:
Preparing students with opportunities to practice critical thinking skills is essential to success on the National Council Licensure Examination. This pilot study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of turning off practice assessment answers and rationales on a standardized examination. A retrospective study compared students' scores when rationales were turned on and turned off. Eighty-one percent of the students were able to achieve the benchmark when the answers and rationales were turned off as compared to 71 percent when turned on. Faculty can utilize these findings to inform remediation strategies.
Related Concept Videos
Reliability and Validity
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Hindsight Biases
Surveys
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

