Analyzing traditional and accelerated nursing student exam answer changing behaviors: A retrospective study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Exam answer changing is a common student behavior.
• Understanding factors influencing this behavior is crucial for effective pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate answer changing patterns in baccalaureate nursing students.
• To analyze the impact of program pace, academic standing, and curriculum stage on answer changing behavior.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective quantitative analysis of 774 standardized nursing exams.
• Data collected from a private, liberal arts university in the midwestern United States.
• Comparison of answer changing behavior between traditional and accelerated programs across different curriculum stages.

Main Results:

• Approximately 50% of answer changes positively impacted student grades.
• Answer changing frequency declined as students progressed through the program.
• Higher-achieving students tended to change fewer answers.
• Program pace and grade point average did not significantly influence answer changing.

Conclusions:

• Discouraging exam answer changing is not generally recommended.
• Enhancing student preparation and test-taking strategies may improve academic outcomes, particularly in earlier program stages.