Impact of HESI Specialty Exams: The Ninth HESI Exit Exam Validity Study

Using an ex post facto, nonexperimental design, this, the ninth validity study of Elsevier's HESI Exit Exam (E2), reexamined the predictive accuracy of the E2. The value of administering HESI Specialty Exams within the nursing curriculum in terms of E2 scores was also investigated. The sample was composed of nursing students (N = 3,790) from 63 randomly selected schools—26 baccalaureate, 31 associate degree, and 6 diploma programs—throughout the United States who took the E2 between September 2008 and August 2009. As in the previous 8 studies, the E2 was found to be highly accurate (96.61%) in predicting success on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Findings also indicated that students who took one or more HESI Specialty Exams during their nursing curriculum had a significantly higher mean E2 score (P ≤ .0001) than students who did not take HESI Specialty Exams during their nursing curriculum. Of the 8 HESI Specialty Exams investigated, scores on the Critical Care, Pediatrics, and Medical–Surgical specialty exams were most predictive of NCLEX-RN success. Schools of nursing that used HESI Specialty Exams as course final exams had a significantly higher mean E2 score (P < .01) than schools that used the exams for remediation and practice.