ATI TEAS V Cut Score for the California Community College Nursing Programs

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Abstract

When institutions choose to implement an admission test cut score, responsible use requires periodic evaluation of its impact. Institutional data from admitted students can be used to evaluate both an existing cut score and potential alternatives. This article details the process a large system of community colleges undertook to evaluate its existing admissions test cut score and illustrates possible methods of choosing, calculating, and comparing key metrics for cut score options.

Introduction

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), through the California Community Colleges Nursing Advisory Committee (3CNAC), requested that Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) LLC complete a study that evaluated the 62% composite cut score of the ATI Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS V) examination that was being used as a requirement for admissions in the California Community Colleges' (CCC) nursing programs. The TEAS V provides a composite score and subscores for reading, mathematics, science, and English and language usage; it is the composite score, made up of all the subscores, that the CCC nursing programs compare to the 62% cut score.

The CCCCO and ATI have a lengthy relationship of shared commitment to excellence in nursing programs. There was no exchange of compensation for this analysis. The goal of the study was operationalized as the following set of research questions:

  • 1)

    How does the TEAS composite score perform as a predictor of program outcome?

  • 2)

    What is the relationship between initial TEAS result (above/below 62% cut score) and program outcome?

  • 3)

    How does the current 62% cut score compare with nearby potential alternative cut scores both above and below the current cut, particularly on questions of classification accuracy and ethnic diversity of the probable admitted class?

Numerous nursing programs within the CCC system have chosen a single cut score for use with the TEAS V. The schools are required to report annually on a number of outcomes related to their program entrance testing and, as a result, have a large, multi-year dataset available for their use in evaluating the relationship between TEAS V scores and program outcomes. The group has used a composite score of 62% correct as a requirement for admission into their programs. A key responsibility of institutions implementing an admission test cut score is to periodically evaluate the impact of that cut score. Institutional data can be used to evaluate both an existing cut score and alternatives, and choosing, calculating, and comparing key metrics for cut score options allows an evidence-based choice of cut score that improves graduation and attrition rates without creating a disproportional impact to student populations. The CCC system partnered with ATI to evaluate its system-wide cut score; the metrics and method used provide a template for other schools to use when evaluating their own cut score.

The CCC system is the largest system of higher education in the United States with 113 campuses across the state that serve in excess of 2.1 million students, translating into 25% of all community college students in the United States. Forty-eight percent of the University of California-awarded bachelor degrees in key areas of mathematics, engineering, science, and technology are awarded to CCC transfer students with 51% of California State University and 29% of University of California graduates having started at a CCC campus. In addition, the CCC is the largest workforce training institution in California and the nation, providing associate degrees and workforce-related certificates in excess of 175 fields, which translates into workforce and educational opportunities for more than 100,000 individuals annually. In this regard, the CCC system provides training opportunities to 80% of important workforce classifications such as firefighters, law enforcement personnel, and emergency medical technicians while also educating approximately 70% of California's nurses. Importantly, the CCC system's student population reflects diverse ethnic backgrounds (2012–2013: Hispanic 38.9%, White 31%, Asian 10.8%, African American 7.3%, Unknown 4.4%, Multi-Ethnicity 3.5%, Filipino 3.1%, Native American 0.5%, Pacific Islander 0.5%), with 53.6% of its students being female (CCCCO, 2015). There are 76 registered nursing programs in the California Community College system, providing education to 13,026 full-time equivalent nursing students (CCCCO, 2014).

Section snippets

Literature Review

A review of the literature reflects sparse research addressing the goals of this study when applied to United States, community college, associate degree in nursing programs. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and EBSCO databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles that the authors deemed to be relevant to the study. The search terms used included TEAS predictor of nursing program outcomes, nursing program attrition, community college nursing program standardized

Methods

As the sponsoring agency, the CCCCO requested that ATI complete the analyses with a goal of evaluating the 62.0% composite cut score that was being used as a requirement for admissions. This goal was operationalized as the following set of research questions:

  • 1)

    How does the TEAS composite score perform as a predictor of program outcome?

  • 2)

    What is the relationship between the initial TEAS result (above/below 62% cut score) and program outcome?

  • 3)

    How does the current 62% cut score compare with nearby

Results

In order to answer the first research question, the mean TEAS composite scores for the three initially identified outcome groups were calculated and compared. Table 2 provides the means for students who graduated on time with no drops, those who dropped and returned to the program, finishing either on time or late, as well as those who graduated late without dropping at any time (student success candidates), and those who dropped from the program without graduating.

Inspection of the three group

Discussion

Based on the results of these analyses, the CCC nursing programs chose to retain the 62% cut score. The primary considerations in this decision were information found in Table 5, Table 6. Specifically, the comparisons of percentage false positive and overall misclassification percentage in Table 5, taken with the shift toward a more homogenous student population with higher cut scores in Table 6, suggested that a decision to raise the cut score would be inconsistent with the system's goals and

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of Brenda Fong and the CCCCO and the ATI Applied Research Team, sponsored by ATI, for their thoughtful review of this article.

References (15)

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Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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