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The Prevalence of Multiple-Choice Testing in Registered Nurse Licensure-Qualifying Nursing Education Programs in New
Susan Birkhead1, Glenda Kelman, Barbara Zittel
1About the Authors Susan Birkhead, DNS, MPH, RN, CNE, is director, Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing, Troy, New York. Glenda Kelman, PhD, APRN-BC, is chair, Department of Nursing, the Sage Colleges, Troy, New York. Barbara Zittel, PhD, RN, is a nursing consultant and immediate past executive secretary, New York State Board for Nursing. Linnea Jatulis PhD, RN, is professor emerita, the Sage Colleges. For more information, contact Dr. Birkhead at susan.birkhead@sphp.com or sfbirk@gmail.com.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to describe nurse educators' use of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in testing in registered nurse licensure-qualifying nursing education programs in New York State.
Method:
This study was a descriptive correlational analysis of data obtained from surveying 1,559 nurse educators; 297 educators from 61 institutions responded (response rate [RR] = 19 percent), yielding a final cohort of 200.
Results:
MCQs were reported to comprise a mean of 81 percent of questions on a typical test. Baccalaureate program respondents were equally likely to use MCQs as associate degree program respondents (p > .05) but were more likely to report using other methods of assessing student achievement to construct course grades (p < .01). Both groups reported little use of alternate format-type questions.
Conclusion:
Respondent educators reported substantial reliance upon the use of MCQs, corroborating the limited data quantifying the prevalence of use of MCQ tests in licensure-qualifying nursing education programs.
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