Decision-Tree Analysis for Predicting First-Time Pass/Fail Rates for the NCLEX-RN® in Associate Degree Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence shows the use of decision-tree algorithms in identifying predictors and analyzing their associations with pass rates for the NCLEX-RN(®) in associate degree nursing students. This longitudinal and retrospective cohort study investigated whether a decision-tree algorithm could be used to develop an accurate prediction model for the students' passing or failing the NCLEX-RN.

METHOD: This study used archived data from 453 associate degree nursing students in a selected program. The chi-squared automatic interaction detection analysis of the decision trees module was used to examine the effect of the collected predictors on passing/failing the NCLEX-RN.

RESULTS: The actual percentage scores of Assessment Technologies Institute®'s RN Comprehensive Predictor(®) accurately identified students at risk of failing. The classification model correctly classified 92.7% of the students for passing.

CONCLUSION: This study applied the decision-tree model to analyze a sequence database for developing a prediction model for early remediation in preparation for the NCLEXRN. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(8):454-457.].