NLN Retools Assessment and Evaluation Operations

New Test Products and Expanded Online Capability Now Available

Opening of Carbondale, IL Branch Office Offers Live Customer Service and Improved Technical Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2007

New York, NY.... The National League for Nursing has announced the opening of a branch office in Carbondale, Illinois, which is now equipped to handle all of the functions of an expanded assessment and evaluation unit.

With several new test products available, the NLN staff in Carbondale is prepared to provide schools of nursing with free and comprehensive customer service that includes live technical support for online tests, online registration for the pre-admission exam, fee collection, test site seating and scoring. With this innovative system in place, the NLN automatically closes registration once a test site is full and remits to the schools a portion of the test fees it collects through online registration.

In addition, an expanded team of software engineers, test development consultants and sales/marketing professionals is working to better meet the needs of schools and faculty to attract more qualified students to the nursing field. Among the improvements instituted:

• All NLN tests available in both hard copy and online
• All test content updated and current, based on latest changes in curriculum and in accordance with psychometric standards
• New masters level tests introduced in pharmacology and pathophysiology, with more masters level tests in different specialties currently under development
• New practice assessment tests, developed in partnership with Pearson Prentice Hall Health, the leading publisher of nursing textbooks, facilitate study and preparation for specialized achievement tests and national licensure examinations (the NCLEX-RN^® and the NCLEX-PN^® administered by National Council of State Boards of Nursing)

NLN CEO Ruth Corcoran observed, "The consolidation of our A&E business operations in Carbondale will advance the NLNs efforts to serve schools of nursing with top-flight products and services that, it is hoped, will help alleviate the nursing shortage that has plagued the profession. By creating the most sophisticated tools on the market today to effectively predict students success, the NLN is making a vital contribution to the future of nursing."

The NLN is noted for its valid and reliable norm-reference tests. Using the NLNs tests allows nurse educators to make valid inferences about each students ability throughout her or his academic career. NLN tests are trusted assessment and evaluation tools from pre-admission to graduation. All NLN tests are developed by seeking direction from nurse educators and being responsive to their needs. These precepts form the basis of the philosophy of the NLNs Assessment and Evaluation (A&E) division and its testing products.

A & E staff consists of nurse educators, psychometricians, software engineers, editors, customer service representatives, and sales managers, and extensive support staff. In-house experts appreciate the broad aspects of psychometrics and the problems of measurement for the nursing profession — practitioners and students, standards, educational programs, and consumers.

More information about the NLNs tests can be found at www.nln.org/testproducts.

To become involved in the test development process and contribute to the quality and content of NLN tests, apply to become an NLN test development consultant, item writer, test reviewer, or field site supervisor. Visit www.nln.org/getinvolved/index.

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact NLN chief communications officer, Karen R. Klestzick, at 212-812-0376, kklestzick@nln.org.