The Impact of Pharmacy Students’ Remediation Status on NAPLEX First-Time Pass Rates

Abstract

To determine whether there is a difference in pass rates on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) between students who did and did not require remediation for deficient course grades. Student-specific data were collected regarding course grade deficiencies and completion of a comprehensive examination or course for remediation. Student-specific first-time NAPLEX performance data for the graduating classes of 2008, 2009, and 2011were provided by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). A significant difference was found in first-time NAPLEX mean pass rates between students who did not need to undergo remediation versus those who did ( 97% vs 70%). Students requiring remediation for deficient course grades had a lower pass rate on the NAPLEX compared with those who did not require remediation. The difference can be attributed to several factors and therefore further study is needed.