Strategies and Techniques
Jan Anderson
Additional Assessment Tools Used By The
Licensed Vocational Nursing Program
Jacque Huth & Jan Anderson
1. Purpose:
It is imperative that the students enrolled in the Vocational Nursing Program
be accurately assessed early in the program to allow faculty to assist,
support and refer students that need extra help as soon as possible.
2. Materials:
For the last 18 years, the LVN program has developed a detailed and comprehensive
testing and support program that includes: math, spelling and writing screening,
developed by the LVN faculty; the use of standardized tests, for example
the GALT and Raven; and LVN developed tests that determine how well a student
is able to follow both written and oral instructions. A Summary Form is
used to help students identify strengths and problem areas, to make referrals
and as a plan for improvement.
3. Procedure:
Within the first few weeks of school the assessments are begun both in and
out of class. The focus of the testing varies with each tool. A summary
of the results with recommendations are developed and written. These are
reviewed with each student individually. All the LVN faculty receive a condensed
version of each student's summary and plan to reinforce the plan developed
for each student. The summary is reviewed each semester with that student
and anytime a student is having difficulty in the program.
4. Examples:
I have included the Summary of Assessment Results, Ways That Students with
Learning Disabilities Can Help Themselves, and Suggestions for Students
to Enhance Auditory Memory. These have all been developed by Jacque Huth
who has generously shared her expertise.
5. Resources, Tips and References:
This type of testing, individual counseling and follow-up is costly in terms
of time and effort for the faculty. It also requires that a student be committed
to taking advantage of the referrals, changing as needed and working on
weaknesses, which can be difficult. In addition, even with extensive testing
and referrals, the paper and pencil assessments provide only an indication
of a student's abilities. Additional factors that affect a student's progress
and ability that are not tested with these tools can have a tremendous effect
on students, for example, mental illness, a poor home life and substance
abuse. It is also difficult when all testing done indicates that a student
will probably not be able to complete the program. The faculty of the LVN
program know that when a student fails, they have done what they could to
help that student with all the means available and they also know that they
have assisted many students who would not have been successful without it.
Jacque Huth is an excellent resource and example of a faculty member who
has been doing assessment and support for many years on campus.
The GALT and Raven are also available as standardized tests.