Academic and nursing aptitude and the NCLEX-RN in baccalaureate programs /by Mary Ann McCarthy.

Predicting NCLEX-RN success has a positive impact on all stakeholders of nursing education. The focus of this study is on the ability to predict NCLEX-RN pass rates based on prenursing academic aptitude variables and the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) nursing aptitude program. The prenursing variables consisted of the prenursing GPA, a prerequisite communication course, and the ATI Test of Essential Academic Success (TEAS) composite subscores of TEAS Reading, TEAS Math, TEAS Science, and TEAS English. The ATI assessment included Nursing Fundamentals, Medical/Surgical, Pediatrics, Psychology, and Maternal/Child. This study included 794 participants from four baccalaureate nursing programs in the California State University system. Results of canonical correlation, multiple linear regression, and logistic regression revealed a significant correlation between prenursing, ATI scores, and NCLEX-RN first-try pass rates. Prediction of NCLEX-RN success rate using standardized testing data is supported, with the strongest predictors being the ATI Medical/Surgical and ATI Psychology tests