Changes in students' perceptions of success and failure as they progressed through a diploma hospital nursing program were studied, in a replication of a study by Davidhizar. Weiner's attribution theory was also assessed to determine students views of the following explanations of success: effort, ability, task ease, or luck. Effort was cited as the main reason for success in providing nursing care; within that framework, it was rated the least important explanation for success by students in psychiatric and mental health nursing, and the most important reason for success by students in medical-surgical nursing. Ability was the second most frequently cited explanation for success in nursing care, followed by task ease and luck. While task difficulty was cited as the main reason for lack of success in providing nursing care, it was cited less often as students progressed through nursing school. Low effort was rated as the next most important reason for lack of success, followed by bad luck and low ability. Reasons cited for success/failure in mastering theory were also assessed. In addition to viewing clinical/classroom success as linked to internal reasons such as ability and effort, students also felt that the instructor was important. Appendices provide a long list of student answers (and their frequencies) to open-ended questions concerning their success/failure. (SW)