Identifying Predictors of National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) Success in an Associate Degree Nursing Program
Jean M. Truman

Abstract
The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to compare graduates (N=188) of a specific rural associate degree nursing program who were successful on the initial attempt at National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) to graduates who were not, using admission and program criteria. Admission variables included age at admission to the nursing program, gender, ethnicity, parental education, high school rank, pre-admission GPA, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, ACT® composite scores, and pre-admission science GPA. The program variables were the number of “C” grades in nursing courses and nursing course GPA. Students who passed the NCLEX-RN possessed statistically higher pre-admission GPAs (p=.011), nursing course GPAs (p=.000), and SAT verbal scores (p=.009), and had significantly fewer Cs in nursing courses (p=.000) than those who failed. Logistic regression model revealed that SAT verbal and nursing GPA significantly predicted NCLEX-RN success.

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