Nurse Entrance Test (NET) is a standardized test conducted by Educational Resources Inc. (ERI) for admission into the nursing programs. NET test scores are considered one of the criteria by many nursing schools and colleges for granting admissions.
Eligibility-
This test is taken by individuals who are willing to pursue higher education and make a career in the nursing field. NET is useful for getting admission into the undergraduate courses of nursing.
Test Overview-
NET is designed to examine knowledge and skills gained by a candidate in his/her high school studies, personality, and attitude towards handling real life situations. It assesses one’s readiness for pursuing a nursing course. It consists of seven or eight test sections depending upon the institution administering this test. These test sections are-
Essential mathematics skills: – The content of this section is derived from algebra, geometry, number systems and general mathematics. There are 60 questions that are to be solved in one hour time.
Science reading comprehension: – This section tests reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. It consists of passages similar to text in course books of nursing programs followed by related questions. There are a total of 33 MCQs in this section and time allotted is 30 minutes.
Written Expression: – The questions in this section are based on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure and language usage. The score of this section may not be considered by many nursing schools while evaluating composite score.
Test taking skills: – This section examines ability to take standardized tests as that are taken while pursuing a nursing course.
Social interaction profile: – This section examines behavior of an examinee in social environment and how he/she responds among people.
Stress Levels: – This section is intended to examine ability of maintaining patience under stressed situations. In a nursing job, there are many circumstances when individuals have to face work load and tensions.
Reading rate: – This section tests ability to read faster. Most nursing colleges expect a reading speed of 250 words per minute to as high as 300 words per minute.
Learning style: – This section evaluates that how an examinee learn things and which teaching method suits him/her best.
Test Format-
NET is a computer based test. All test sections consist of multiple choice type questions.
Marking Scheme-
Out of the eight sections, only essential mathematical skills, science reading comprehension and written expression are scored. The other sections are for personality test and are not scored. Most nursing schools and colleges may consider only scores of essential mathematics and reading comprehension or may take into account scores of all the three scored sections.
Schedule-
NET is conducted at most of the nursing schools. The registrations can be done through internet or direct walk-in. Some of the nursing schools do not consider NET scores earned by testing at other nursing schools. Therefore,candidates must check the requirements and guidelines of their desired nursing schools before taking this test.
Exam fees-
NET exam fee varies in different nursing schools. It is a matter of the college administration.