| Washington, DC — A new partnership between the National League for Nursing and Questionmark, the NLN’s Assessment Services provider, has enabled nursing students at all levels of higher education to continue their educational testing uninterrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid the challenges of social distancing, hand-washing, mask-wearing and other measures to slow the transmission of the virus, nursing education programs have successfully utilized the League’s and Questionmark’s suite of online test prep, assessment tools and exams, thus avoiding the risks of in-person evaluation and administration.
The result is that nursing school candidates and nurses enrolled in specialized advanced degree programs have been able to move their education and skills forward without waiting for the public health emergency to end.
Through the Questionmark assessment platform, the League conducts more than 100,000 assessments annually for such tests as the NCLEX Readiness exams, aiding colleges and universities in determining the academic readiness of applicants for admission. The League also offers the Nursing Acceleration Challenge Exam (NACE) for nurses.
The demand for Registered Nurses (RNs) and related health care workers, like medics, nurses certified in emergency medicine, respiratory therapists, and nurse practitioners, has increased with the pandemic. Prospective candidates, however, have found their access to preparatory courses of study and training programs limited, with exam centers shut. The new National League for Nursing and Questionmark online assessment has made possible secure, valid and reliable data for programs to evaluate the strength of any given candidate’s application; pinpoint potential areas for remediation; and effectively track students’ progress once admitted.
NLN Chair Dr. Patricia S. Yoder-Wise, RN, EdD, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAONL, FAAN, Professor and Dean Emerita at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and president of The Wise Group said, “It is important that nursing education be fully equipped to continue uninterrupted so that our hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, schools and other health care services may be appropriately staffed, not only amidst today’s historic pandemic but also in the coming months and years, as demand for qualified health care professionals grows unabated. The innovations in online delivery of testing services that Questionmark brings to the National League for Nursing’s premier testing and evaluation content are invaluable, and we are pleased to partner with them in responding to the current crisis.”
NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN said, “Many of the online features developed to meet this moment and now available through the National League for Nursing’s testing portal, powered by Questionmark, will remain relevant. Questionmark's virtual exam proctoring, e-commerce site for nursing programs to easily purchase test content, efficiency in assessment delivery, and superior technical support for test-takers and providers alike means that test-takers can feel confident of a fair evaluation of their knowledge and skills, while schools of nursing can be assured that assessment and test results are safe from any irregularities.”
Lars Pedersen, CEO of Questionmark, said, “The events of the last year created huge challenges for test publishers. The National League for Nursing has proven it is possible to keep assessment going and preserve important revenue streams for our respective business models and our clients. Our one-stop-shop assessment platform combines proctoring, e-commerce and content authorship. Fortunately, it has been easy to adapt test content quickly and create a secure online exam environment, benefitting both test-takers and program providers.”
For complete information about NLN Assessment Services, visit NLN.org/testing-services.
For more information about Questionmark, visit www.questionmark.com/test-publishers-and-certification.
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