The Promise and Peril of High-Stakes Tests in Nursing Education

Regulators, educators, and the public view first-time NCLEX-RN® pass rates as an indication of prelicensure program quality. However, some nursing education programs have implemented progression policies that prevent students at risk for failure from taking the NCLEX-RN, thus undermining the intended value of the NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate as an indicator of educational program quality. While artificially driving up licensure pass rates may protect a program from regulatory or accreditation actions, progression policies based on high-stakes testing do not improve educational program quality and divert attention from other issues that could be affecting NCLEX-RN pass rates.