2-Stage Collaborative Testing Results in Improved Academic Performance and Student Satisfaction in a PreLicensure Nursing Course.

Background The results remain mixed regarding improved student academic performance and satisfaction when 2-stage collaborative testing (CT) is used in nursing education. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate student academic performance and perceived satisfaction after a CT experience and to compare academic performance between a CT and non-CT cohort. Methods A quantitative design was used to evaluate the effect of CT on academic performance by comparing examination scores and item difficulty values (IDVs) within a CT cohort (n = 111) and between the CT cohort and non-CT retrospective cohort (n = 105). A faculty-created survey was used to measure student-perceived satisfaction in the CT cohort. Results Student examination scores increased after the CT experience on a duplicate unit examination. The IDVs on 8 content-specific duplicate final examination items 1 month after the CT experience were significantly increased. There were no significant differences in the IDVs on the 8 content-specific items between a CT and non-CT retrospective cohort. Conclusions Collaborative testing is an active learning modality that can be used in nursing programs to aid students in their learning of specific nursing concepts.