The Relationship Between the Health Science Reasoning Test and Successful Completion of an Associate Degree Nursing Program: A Retrospective Predictive Study

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively identify whether the addition of an entrance exam such as the Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT) to the current admission criteria of an associate degree nursing (ADN) education program would aid in selecting students with the highest chance of successfully completing the program and entering the workforce. A nonexperimental, retrospective, quantitative, predictive correlational study design was used. A retrospective convenience sample of 320 first-year nursing students in an ADN education program was obtained. The G* power analysis showed a minimum sample size of 107 students was needed. Statistical analysis involved a multiple regression, independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and a Chi-Square test for association. The results of the ANOVA demonstrated that the ranking points and Grade Point Average (GPA) statistically predicted the overall HSRT scores (p = .003). The independent t-test results showed a statistically significant difference in the mean HSRT overall score between completion/noncompletion of the ADN program (p =