Date of Award

1981

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Abstract

The main purposes of this study were to determine the relationships between cognitive predictors and the success of graduate nurses on the State Board Test Pool Examinations and between cognitive predictors and the success of the nurse after two of years employment. Data were obtained and recorded on appropriate sheets for the first hypothesis and from a mailed questionnaire for the second hypothesis. The population for the first group was the members of five graduating classes of a state university, and data for the second group was from 37.7 percent of the members of one graduating class. Statistical analyses of the data included correlation coefficients, correlations of forecasting efficiency, Multiple R and regression equations. Findings. (1)The majority of the American College Test scores, which represented five of the twelve cognitive predictors, were negligibly related to the State Board scores and indicated even less of a correlation with the Employee Success scores. (2)The National League for Nursing scores, which represented an additional five cognitive predictors, generally proved to have substantial correlations with State Board scores. The relationships between the National League test scores and the Employee Success scores were negligible. (3)The grade-point averages are weak predictors of State Board test scores and generally are one of the last variables to appear in the regression equations. The relationships between grade-point averages and the success of the graduate in employment is extremely low. (4)The National League for Nursing Maternal-Child test explains the great percentage of the variability in the dependent variables. (5)The correlations between the State Board Test Pool Examination scores and the Employee Success score are low. Conclusions. The independent variables identified for this study were inconsistent in reliability as predictors of the actual earned scores of the dependent variables. The American College Tests are written prior to college admission and are understandably weak predictors of scores achieved on tests related to the nursing curriculum. The grade-point averages failure to correlate with the dependent variables might be explained on the basis that the grade-point average is a mixture of basic courses as well as nursing courses. The National League for Nursing test scores as predictors of the dependent variables did prove to be reliable, but the domination of one variable, Maternal-Child Nursing, is an area for further investigation.

Pages

122

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.3582

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