The relationship between reading comprehension skill assessment methods and academic success for first semester students in a selected Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in Texas

摘要

This retrospective descriptive study addressed the relationship between readingcomprehension skills as measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the NurseEntrance Test and indices of academic success (i.e., grade point average of prerequisitescience courses and overall grade point average) prior to admission for students in aBachelor of Science in Nursing program with student success in the first semester ofnursing coursework. Overall, there has been a continual decline in average readingability of college-aged students. Reading is a basic skill for learning and academicsuccess. To successfully complete an academic program of study in preparation tobecome professional nurses, students must be able to read and apply material fromtextbooks and journals. With the well-documented nursing shortage, any attrition from anursing program contributes to the professional dilemma.Correlational and descriptive methods were used to determine the relationshipsamong the variables for 179 students in this selected Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. A comparative approach was used to investigate possible cause andeffect relationships between measures of academic success of students and readingcomprehension abilities. Data were obtained from official academic records and testresults for the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the Nurse Entrance Test. Statisticalprocedures used to understand and interpret the interactions among and between thevariables and included frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, correlationalanalysis, and a regression model.Results of the study, limited to the students in this BSN program, indicated thatreading comprehension, as measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, was better inidentifying student risk for academic failure. There was a positive relationship betweenthe grade point average (GPA) for prerequisite science courses, overall cumulativeGPA, and GPA for the first semester nursing courses. Early determination of readingcomprehension ability provides needed information to direct intervention activities toimprove individual reading comprehension abilities and, thus, promote successfulacademic performance in the first semester of this nursing program and thereafter.