Nursing Students' Access to Test Banks: Are Your Tests Secure?

BACKGROUND: Schools of nursing have moved to multiple choice test questions to help prepare students for licensure and practice. However, students can buy test banks to help them "get through" nursing school. Accurate assessment of nursing students' knowledge and judgment comprises access to test banks.

METHOD: The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain an understanding about nursing faculty's knowledge concerning test bank security issues, to assess whether publishers were aware of this issue, and vendor's reasons for supplying test banks to students.

RESULTS: Overall, the results indicated that the majority of faculty were unaware of student access to test banks, and although most do not use test banks verbatim, general consensus existed that test bank security is a concern.

CONCLUSION: Implications include increasing faculty awareness of test bank access by students, supporting educators to develop their own test bank items, and promoting security of all examinations. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(5):292-294.].