Evaluation Of A Secure Laptop-Based Testing Program In An Undergraduate Nursing Program Students' Perspective

Keywords

Computerized testing; Nursing education; Nursing testing; Program evaluation; Secure testing

Abstract

Recently, the many robust learning management systems, and the availability of affordable laptops, havemade secure laptop-based testing a reality on many campuses. The undergraduate nursing program at the authors' university began to implement a secure laptop-based testing program in 2009, which allowed students to use their newly purchased laptops to take quizzes and tests securely in classrooms. After nearly 5 years' secure laptop-based testing program implementation, a formative evaluation, using a mixed method that has both descriptive and correlational data elements, was conducted to seek constructive feedback from students to improve the program. Evaluation data show that, overall, students (n = 166) believed the secure laptop-based testing program helps them get hands-on experience of taking examinations on the computer and gets them prepared for their computerized NCLEX-RN. Students, however, had a lot of concerns about laptop glitches and campus wireless network glitches they experienced during testing. At the same time, NCLEX-RN first-time passing rate data were analyzed using the ÷2 test, and revealed no significant association between the two testing methods (paper-and-pencil testing and the secure laptop-based testing) and students' first-time NCLEX-RN passing rate. Based on the odds ratio, however, the odds of students passing NCLEX-RN the first time was 1.37 times higher if they were taught with the secure laptop-based testing method than if taught with the traditional paper-and-pencil testingmethod in nursing school. It was recommended to the institution that better quality of laptops needs to be provided to future students, measures needed to be taken to further stabilize the campus wireless Internet network, and there was a need to reevaluate the Laptop Initiative Program.

Publication Date

1-28-2016

Publication Title

CIN - Computers Informatics Nursing

Volume

34

Issue

1

Number of Pages

26-36

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000184

Socpus ID

84957850471 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84957850471

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