The research purpose was to investigate the differences between learning preferences (i.e., Active-Reflective, Sensing-Intuitive, Visual-Verbal, and Sequential-Global) determined by the Index of Learning Style and gender (i.e., Male and Female) in regards to standardized achievement multiple-choice test performance determined by the Illinois Nurse Aide Competency Examination (INACE), i.e., overall INACE performance and INACE performance based on six duty areas (i.e., communicating information, performing basic nursing skills, performing personal care, performing basic restorative skills, providing mental health-services, and providing for resident's rights) of nurse aide students. The study explored the relationship between variables using a non-experimental, comparative and descriptive approach. The nurse aide students who completed the Illinois approved Basic Nurse Aide Training (BNAT) and 21-mandated skills assessment and were ready to take the Illinois Nurse Aide Competency Examination (INACE) in the month of October 2018 and December 2018 at various community colleges across the state of Illinois were the participants of the study. A sample of 800 nurse aide students were selected through stratified (north, central, and south) random sampling out of which N = 472 participated in the study representing the actual sample. All the research questions and hypotheses compared differences between-groups of learning preferences and gender in regard to the mean of overall INACE performance and means of INACE performance based on six duty areas using difference inferential statistics (one-way Analysis of Variance -- ANOVA, one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance -- MANOVA, and one-way Multivariate Analysis of Covariance -- MANCOVA). The results showed statistical significance difference between Sensing (SEN) -- Intuitive (INT) and Sequential (SEQ) -- Global (GLO) learning preferences in regard to the mean of overall INACE performance of nurse aide students. The nurse aide students with Intuitive (INT) and Global (GLO) had numerically highest mean than nurse aide students with Sensing (SEN) and Sequential (SEQ) learning preferences with respect to the INACE performance. Additionally, there was statistical significance between Sensing (SEN) -- Intuitive (INT), Visual (VIS) -- Verbal (VRB), and Sequential (SEQ) -- Global (GLO) learning preferences in regard to the means of INACE performance based on six duty areas of nurse aide students. However, further analyses confirmed that nurse aide students with Intuitive (INT) and Global (GLO) learning preference had numerically highest mean than nurse aide students with Sensing (SEN) and Sequential (SEQ) only in regard to duty area 1 -- communicating information and duty area 4 -- performing basic restorative skills, out of the six duty areas. And, the nurse aide students with Verbal (VRB) learning preference had numerically highest mean than nurse aide students with Visual (VIS) learning preference only in regard to duty area 1 -- communicating information, out of the six duty areas. Moreover, there was no statistical significance between gender and mean of INACE performance of nurse aide students. Furthermore, there was statistical significance between Visual (VIS) -- Verbal (VRB) and Sequential (SEQ) -- Global (GLO) learning preferences in regard to INACE performance based on six duty areas while controlling the overall INACE performance. Further analyses revealed that nurse aide students with Verbal (VRB) and Global (GLO) learning preferences had numerically largest mean than students with Visual (VIS) and Sequential (SEQ) learning preferences only in regard to the mean of INACE performance based on duty area 1 -- communicating information, out of the six duty areas while controlling the overall INACE performance. The findings of the study confirmed differences in the attributes of nurse aide students i.e., learning preferences. These differences with respect to information processing, formation of ideas, and judgments; learning environment; learning tools; learning situation; and exam taking skills will help to design better instruction for the Illinois approved Basic Nurse Aide Training (BNAT) program, create a teacher-student balance of learning, develop an examination that can cater to the identified differences, etc. This will in turn help in producing qualified nurse aide workforce in the future, increase retention and enrollment, and well-organized training and assessment program. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]