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CASE STUDYBaker University School of NursingWith the arrival of a new dean who had used ExamSoft at aprevious school and knew how valuable it could be, BakerKey FindingsUniversity School of Nursing adopted ExamSoft. The schoolhad high licensure exam pass rates so some questioned– why change? Sure enough, shortly after adoptingBaker University turned toExamSoft, faculty discovered numerous opportunities toExamSoft for help improvingimprove the quality of exams and instruction. They alsotheir exam quality andrealized tremendous improvements in exam security. Ininstruction, security, andthe year following implementation, the school’s nursinglicensure exam pass rates.licensure exam pass rates increased and have consistentlyremained well above state and national averages since.ExamSoft helped the UniversityExamSoft was adopted to help:immediately with improved testimprove examquality & instructionquality, licensure prepardness,Now, Baker students’ NCLEXscores are stronger, their testingexperiences richer, and they’regraduating thoroughly equippedfor careers in nursing andpatient care.OVERVIEWand security.improve examsecurityincrease licensureexam pass ratesBaker University (BU) is private liberal arts collegein Kansas. The university is home to four colleges –Nursing, Arts & Science, Education, and Professional& Graduate Studies. The Baker University School ofNursing is located at Stormont Vail Health, a 586-bedacute care hospital in Topeka, Kansas. Stormont Vail is
a Magnet hospital, recognized by the American Nursing Credentialing Center for having thehighest standard of care for patients. The 20-person faculty of BU nursing school has been usingDECISION TO ADOPTExamSoft since 2015.While many schools pursue new technology solutions to solve a problem, Baker University’s ExamSoftimplementation was driven by a desire to strengthen what was already a sound testing program. Somefaculty members had reservations. Why make a change when outcomes are good? Afterall, Baker students’National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) pass rates had, for several years, been higher than the Kansasand national averages. Nevertheless, looking to the horizon, the Baker University School of Nursing wentlive in the fall of 2015.The faculty’s concerns were quickly assuaged when they began to realize the myriad ways in which thetechnology was helping them create better, higher-quality tests that would have a positive impact onNCLEX pass rates. Specifically, faculty appreciate: A high degree of exam security. Robust test banks. The ability to efficiently assemble and review exams. The ability to categorize questions against a number of parameters including the NCLEX test blueprint. Close statistical scrutiny of all exams and test items for the purpose of quality improvement.What werethe drivingfactors behindHigh level ofRobustEfficient examexam securitytext bankscreation and reviewAbility to categorizeNCLEX testStatistical analysis toquestionsblueprintimprove qualitythe ExamSoftadoption?It didn’t take long to realize that the extra effort entailed in onboarding ExamSoft and learning toeffectively use it was well worth the payout. Time invested on the front end, to learn new technology,paid dividends—many times over—on the back end in terms of efficiency (assembling and grading),security, and valuable data.
POST IMPLEMENTATION: QUICK WINSTest qualityWhen faculty began writing assessments in ExamSoftthey were able to move from simply writing an examto categorizing and creating learning outcome focused“Through ExamSofttest blueprints across the curriculum. Through thewe realized wetest construction process, faculty identified the needneeded to increasefor more application and analysis questions to bettermeet the test goals and course outcomes for higher-application andlevel students. The Baker curriculum is a leveled oneanalysis levelrequiring a higher percentage of analysis questions atquestions. Withouteach subsequent level. ExamSoft provided the ability totrack progress and performance.ExamSoft, I’m notsure we would haveWith the right mix of questions in place, the Bakerteam shifted focus to the performance of the overallexam as well as the quality of each item—looking atrealized such specificthe discrimination index, question difficulty, pointshortcomings ofbiserial, and item response patterns as well as otherexams.”student performance data. The ability to assess theitem performance was helpful for faculty in evaluatingstudents performance and provided focused remediationwhen closing the learning loop in test review.Licensure preparednessA high priority for Baker, as in most nursing“As a faculty, we sit downafter every exam and tear theprograms, was to insure that students were wellprepared to take the NCLEX. While the curriculumexposes graduates to a wide variety of conceptsquestions apart, diving deepand equips them to understand the subjectsinto the data to strengthencovered by the exam, using ExamSoft preparedour questions and ensuringalignment with the NCLEX exam.”them for the NCLEX testing environment. To thatend, Baker faculty opted to administer all majorunit and final exams using ExamSoft with settingsthat recreate the computer-based licensing examexperience.
Some other settings or features Baker uses to set students up for success include: Not allowing backward navigation, which wasn’t initially well received by students, but ultimately,students conceded that it makes the testing experience more like the NCLEX and is good practice. Limited use of the highlighting feaure. It’s allowed for the first two semesters, but it is removed in thesenior year to better align with NCLEX. Exam questions using alternative formats such as Hot Spots and integrating exhibits (attachments) tohelp prepare student for this type of questioning.Several students realized, over time, that their peers who graduated from programs that used paper-basedtests were really challenged in adapting to the computerized format during the licensure exam. Particularlychallenging and anxiety producing was the different question formats and the inability to backward navigate.Exam SecurityIn our increasingly digital world, there are more andmore subtle ways to cheat on tests. Unfortunately, Bakerwas not immune to this age-old problem. ExamSoft’sability to provide a secure environment, by randomizingquestion order and answer options per question foreach student and locking students’ computers downso that they couldn’t screen shot, browse the internet,copy/ paste, or access any other applications duringtesting, made it very attractive to the faculty. An“Utilizing ExamSofthelps us to beproactive when itcomes to questionand exam security.unintended benefit of turning off backward navigationBoth the securewas that students had a harder time recalling andexam environmentrelaying the questions and answers to other studentswho’d yet to take the exam. The ability to track studentactivity with the download and upload snapshot, as wellas invidual responses, were also useful inputs to helpgauge exam security effectiveness if and who might besharing test questions.Hurdles to OvercomeBeing in a hospital environment, there were a host ofnetwork privacy mandates in place to protect patientdata, per federal privacy mandates. Adding anotherand snapshotsallow us to monitorexam activity andstay on top ofpotential issuesrelated to cheating.”
layer of security complexity was FERPA, the federal law that protects student records. Within the Schoolof Nursing there were no computer labs of adequate size to accommodate the testing required. For thisreason using individual student laptops was the only option for testing.“ExamSoft provided phenomenal tech support. They reallyhelped us overcome some early hurdles. They were thereevery step of the way.”This created a small hurdle in terms of making sure all students had appropriate devices (PCs orMacBooks) with up-to-date software. There were stumbling blocks with anti-virus software which needsto be turned off while using ExamSoft; not all students knew how to do that. But these minor challengesRESULTSwere quickly resolved with the help of ExamSoft support and test administration ran smoothly.While Baker University School of Nursing had strongNCLEX pass rates before deploying ExamSoft, one goalwas to create a stable pattern of high performance. Sinceimplementation in 2015, the average pass rate has been96% and it continues to improve. For four straight semesters96%after implementing ExamSoft, 100 percent of studentspassed the exam. Baker University’s School of Nursing isproud to have high NCLEX passrates that are above both thestate and national averages.Administrators regularly search for quizlets, questions, orother information leaked via the dark web. Before ExamSoft,questions and exams could be found. Now, with thesecurity measures in place from ExamSoft and not beingable to navigate backwards, there are no “cheat sheets” orunauthorized exam content to be found on the web.Since implementationin 2015, the averagepass rate has been96% and it continuesto improve.
During a university-wide accreditation visit four years afterTips and TricksExamSoft implementation, accreditors were impressed by howquickly the nursing faculty could access high-quality testingdata, not only around student outcomes but also with regard totesting rigor. The faculty are optimistic and looking forward tothe next nursing accreditation visit, knowing how easy it will beto pull and analyze data, demonstrating strong results. Data thatCreate, publish, and review testingpolicies for students and facultybefore going live.once took days to pull is easily accessible through ExamSoft.Lastly, one unintended or unexpected benefit has been a higherdegree of accountability from students. Using ExamSoft requiresstudents to be responsible for their devices and what they puton them so they can be ready to test. Upgrades have to bemade in a timely manner. Baker requires students to downloadthe test before coming to the test-taking session, or theyautomatically receive a 3-5 percent reduction in score.Among the faculty, standardizefonts, available tools (calculator,highlighting, backward navigation, etc.)and the overall exam experienceso that the process is familiar tostudents from course to course andto relevant licensing exams.Testing responsibility is placed squarely on the students. AsBaker sees it, being a nurse means always being prepared tocare for your patient. That responsibility begins in their programwith students taking the initiative to understand and comply withthe device requirements and be prepared to not only take anexam but have the correct supplies (computer/powercord) totake it.While grades are immediatelyavailable, consider delayed postingof grades after an exam and take theopportunity to evaluate the examstatistically before finalizing examWhile Baker was already turning out well-prepared students,with the adoption of ExamSoft, the students’ scores arestronger, their testing experiences richer, and they’re graduatingthoroughly equipped for careers in nursing and patient care.ExamSoft is the digital assessment platform that helps institutions achievehigher levels of course, program, and student success. With an intuitivetesting application, ExamSoft makes it simple to create, administer, andgrade exams, and generate detailed performance reports from theresults — all to provide educators with a complete and accurate viewof student learning.scores. Creating a format for plannedtest reviews are key to providingstudent feedback and closingthe educational loop.EXAMSOFT.COMUS & Canada: 866-429-8889, ext. 2International: 1 954-429-8889, ext. 2
Baker University (BU) is private liberal arts college in Kansas. The university is home to four colleges - Nursing, Arts & Science, Education, and Professional & Graduate Studies. The Baker University School of Nursing is located at Stormont Vail Health, a 586-bed acute care hospital in Topeka, Kansas. Stormont Vail is OVERVIEW improve exam
