A study of admission criteria and attrition in selected schools of practical nursing in Virginia

The purpose of this study was to examine admission criteria and procedures in secondary and adult practical nursing programs in Virginia and to determine the extent of relationship between these criteria and attrition in practical nursing.

The population from which the sample for this study was obtained consisted of eight practical nursing programs in Virginia, four secondary programs located in Vocational-Technical Centers and four adult programs. Secondary students were admitted in August and September, 1971 and 1972. Adult students were admitted in March and September, 1973 and 1974. Seventy-five of the 140 secondary students withdrew from the program prior to graduation. Of the 280 adult students admitted, 63 withdrew prior to graduation.

The following research questions were used to test the relationship between attrition and admission/selection criteria:

1. Is there a significant difference in the attrition rate between secondary and adult practical nursing programs which use the subscores of the General Aptitude Test Battery as a pre-admission test?
2. Is there a significant relationship between the number of pre-admission tests used and attrition in practical nursing programs?
3. Is there a significant relationship between reason for attrition (failure, all other reasons) and the use of specific practical nursing aptitude tests (used, did not use)?
4. Do the proportions of the various reasons for attrition differ between adult and secondary practical nursing programs?
5. Is the proportion of drops different for counselor selected than for committee selected practical nursing students?

The chi-square and the t-test were used to test the research questions. All questions were tested at the .05 level. On the basis of these analyses the following conclusions were drawn:

1. There is a significant difference in the attrition rate between secondary and adult practical nursing programs which use the subscores of the General Aptitude Test Battery as a pre-admission test.
2. In adult practical nursing programs, there is no significant difference between attrition and the manner in which GATB scores are reported.
3. In programs using "G" scores of GATB as admission criteria, there is a significant difference between the "G" scores of those students who withdraw from the program and those who graduate.
4. There is a significant relationship between the number of pre-admission tests used and attrition in practical nursing programs.
5. The relationship between attrition for academic reasons and the use of specific practical nursing aptitude pre-admission test is not significant.
6. There is a significant relationship between type of program (secondary or adult) and reasons for attrition.
7. The relationship between method of student selection (counselor versus committee) and attrition is not significant.

The findings of this research indicate that the admissions criteria and selection procedures currently being utilized are not sufficient to reduce attrition in practical nursing programs. Further research should be conducted on the relationships between reasons for attrition and admission criteria.