Impacts of peer tutoring on academic performance of first-year baccalaureate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

Background: Peer tutoring has multiple benefits for students and the nursing program. However, little is known about the impacts of a peer tutoring on students' academic success. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impacts of a peer tutoring program on the course failure rates and exam scores among first-year baccalaureate nursing students. Design: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at a public university in the USA. A formal peer tutoring program was offered to the Class of 2020 over their first three semesters (n = 317), and the Class of 2018 without peer tutoring served as a historical comparison group (n = 285). The peer tutoring program provided free, oneon-one assistance to any students who needed additional academic support. Results: The overall course failure rate was 3.47% for the class with peer tutoring compared to 7.02% without peer tutoring (chi(2) = 3.87; p = 0.049). For the class with peer tutoring, about one half attended the sessions. The attendees had lower first exam scores compared to the non-attendees, but the final exam scores of attendees improved by 4 points out of 100 possible (p < 0.001). For the non-attendees, the exam scores did not change significantly. Students who attended two or more sessions per semester improved their scores by about 5 points. There was a positive association between the improvements in exam scores and the frequency of tutoring sessions attended per semester (p = 0.002). Conclusions: It appears that the peer tutoring was effective in reducing course failure rates as well as improving exam scores among first-year baccalaureate-nursing students. Peer tutoring may be a useful and cost-effective strategy to help at-risk nursing students as they adjust to the challenges of academic demands in nursing programs.

Automated summary

This study shows that peer tutoring can effectively reduce course failure rates and improve exam scores among first-year baccalaureate nursing students. Students who participated in peer tutoring demonstrated better final exam scores, with those attending two or more sessions per semester showing an increase of about 5 points. The frequency of tutoring sessions attended per semester was positively associated with improvements in exam scores.