Evaluation of the Entrance Examination for a Baccalaureate Nursing Program: Relationship between Entrance Examination Variables and the Students' Records in the Nursing Program Courses.

<p>The relationships between entrance examination variables and the students'records in the nursing program courses were examined. The entrance examination variables were scores obtained by subjects on their entrance examination, which included English, Mathematics, and Science (selection of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics). The variables of the records in the nursing program were the test scores in the essential courses taken by all subjects. The data for 743 students (641 students admitted on the basis of entrance examination scores between 1986 and 1992 and 102 students with recomendation entrance between 1990 and 1992) were analyzed.There was a moderate correlation between entrance examination scores in English and records in English in the nursing program and between entrance examination scores in Science and records in Natural Science subjects in the nursing program by Pearson product moment correlations. There were a weak or no correlations between entrance examination scores in English, Mathematics, and Science and records in other subjects in the nursing program. Multiple regression analysis using the records in every subject in the nursing program as a standard variable and entrance examination scores in English, Mathematics, and Science as an explanatory variable showed that entrance examination scores weakly influenced the records of every subject in the nursing program, that entrance examination scores in Mathematics had hardly any influence on the records in the nursing program. The average record of each subject in the nursing program of students with recomendation entrance was higher than that of students admitted on the basis of entrance examination scores. The average scores of each subject in the nursing program of students who had graduated from a senior high school and prepared for entrance examination was lower than those of students who have just graduated from a senior high school. These findings indicate that entrance examinations are required to improve in accordance with the goals in a baccalaureate nursing program.</p>