Predicting Early Academic Success: HESI Admissions Assessment Exam

Student retention is a major challenge for undergraduate nursing programs, with the highest attrition occurring in the first year of the nursing curriculum. Admission criteria have been studied extensively but usually as related to end-of-program outcomes such as National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses success. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between HESI Admission Assessment (A2) scores and academic performance in the 2 first-semester nursing courses of an associate degree program, Nursing-1 and Nursing-2. Findings indicated that the composite A2 scores were strongly correlated with both Nursing-1 and Nursing-2 final course grades. Of the scores on the 4 component A2 exams completed by the sample students (basic math skills, reading comprehension, vocabulary/general knowledge, and grammar), vocabulary/general knowledge scores had the strongest relationship to final course grades in both nursing courses. The authors concluded that A2 scores facilitated evidence-based admission decisions.