Can script concordance testing be used in nursing education to accurately assess clinical reasoning skills?

The Script Concordance Test (SCT) has been used successfully in medical schools to assess clinical reasoning in medical students, but it has not been widely used in nursing education. The purpose of this study was to provide additional evidence of the validity and reliability of the SCT in evaluating clinical reasoning in nursing students by replicating a previous study. The test was administered to 48 first-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students. A scoring grid was developed using the aggregate scores method based on the modal responses of 13 panel members. The reliability of the scores was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and the scores of the students and the panel were compared using a t test. The difference between the panel's and the students' scores was statistically significant, and the reliability of the scores is high. The SCT provides a reliable, standardized, and easy-to-administer method of evaluating clinical reasoning in nursing students. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.