Using Collaborative Testing as Posttest Review

Many nursing courses use objective multiple choice tests to evaluate student learning. This is done to prepare students for the format of the licensure exam for professional nursing; National Council Licensure Exam-RN (NCLEX-RN). Collaborative testing involves assignment of students into small groups to either take a test initially or to retake a test. Collaborative testing has been found to improve critical thinking, increase retention of material and test scores as well as decrease anxiety among college level students. This action research project involved pre-licensure nursing students and utilized collaborative testing as posttest review. Course evaluations regarding posttest review were consistently scored low over the previous years (scale). Collaborative post testing was used as an effort to improve posttest review sessions. Students were involved in the intervention for two consecutive semesters. The course evaluations were positively impacted by the posttest collaborative review. Additional positive themes emerged from the data extracted from a focus group held with students. No significant differences in the first time NCLEX-RN pass rate was noted using collaborative tests. After the presentation, the learner will be able to explain the benefits of collaborative testing and outline how to incorporate collaborative testing into a course