Does Faculty Experience Count? A Quantitative Analysis of Evidence-Based Testing Practices in Baccalaureate Nursing Education

AIM: This study explored evidence-based testing practices of nurse faculty teaching in baccalaureate programs. BACKGROUND: Faculty-developed examinations are important for determining progression in nursing programs. Little is known about faculty who implement such practices most often. METHOD: A causal comparative study with a convenience sample of 177 was used to answer the research question. Participants were grouped according to level of teaching experience based on Benner's novice to expert theory. Individual/group means were calculated for the best practices in test development survey; one-way analysis of variance was used to identify significant differences between groups. RESULTS: Expert faculty had higher overall mean scores than the other four groups, with significantly higher scores than both the advanced beginner (p = .007) and proficient (p = .020) groups. CONCLUSION: Faculty with more experience seem to implement evidence-based testing practices most often. This information can be used to guide faculty development and peer-mentoring initiatives within nursing programs.