Risk assessment profile and strategies for success instrument: determining prelicensure nursing students' risk for academic success.

The ultimate outcomes for succeeding in a collegiate prelicensure nursing program are earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and passing the NCLEX-RN®. The Risk Assessment Profile, Strategies for Success (RAPSS) is a criterion-based instrument that incorporates demographic and academic risk indicators. A convenience sample (N = 255) obtained retrospectively from student files was used to determine whether the RAPSS could be used to predict whether completers of a baccalaureate, prelicensure program will pass or fail the NCLEX-RN. Results indicate that the scale does discriminate between candidates who fail and pass, even with as few as three of the 13 items.