The NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) is the licensure exam for nursing graduates. Graduates must pass this exam to become practicing nurses (RN and LPN).
In April 2023, NCSBN (the creators of NCLEX) made big changes to the exam.
They changed the minimum/maximum number of potential questions on the exam and changed the type of questions graduates can anticipate getting on the exam.
NCLEX is a variable-length format exam. NCSBN utilizes a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) format. The exact number you receive depends on how quickly the system can determine your competency. The test will continue until it is confident you either meet or do not meet the passing standard, or until the maximum number of questions is reached.
Here’s a detailed breakdown:
NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN Question Range
- NCLEX-RN (Registered Nurse):
- Minimum Questions: 85
- Maximum Questions: 150
- NCLEX-PN (Practical Nurse):
- Minimum Questions: 85
- Maximum Questions: 150
- There are 15 pretest questions (you won’t know which questions these are, they look just like a normal question) included that do not count towards your scoring but are used to collect data for future exams
Exam Format
- The exam uses Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), which adapts the difficulty of questions based on your previous answers.
- The CAT is going to always choose the next questions based on its assessment of your ability (based on how you did on previous questions). It will give you a question that it believes you have a 50% chance of answering correctly.
- You can anticipate have three clinical judgment case studies on your exam (remember, the studies have multiple questions within)
- Repeating the exam? You won’t see the same questions, the questions you’ve previously answered are removed from the pool the CAT chooses from from your exam.
- Want to complete a tutorial from the creators of NCLEX to see what to expect? Visit candidate tutorial.
Time Limits
- Maximum Time: 5 hours for both NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN, including all breaks.
- This time frame includes two optional breaks: one after two hours of testing and another after three and a half hours of testing.
Types of Questions
- Multiple-choice
- Fill-in-the-blank
- Multiple response (select all that apply)
- Ordered response
- Hot spot questions (identifying an area on an image)
Test Completion
- The test will end when:
- The computer determines with 95% confidence that your ability is clearly above or below the passing standard.
- The maximum number of questions (150) has been answered. The computer when then decide the final ability estimate (were you above or below the passing standard?)
- The maximum time (5 hours) is reached. If you have completed more than the minimum number of questions (85), the computer will decide the final ability estimate (were you above or below the passing standard?). If you have not completed at least the minimum number of questions, you will fail.
Conclusion
The NCLEX is designed to ensure that candidates meet the necessary competency level to practice nursing safely and effectively. The number of questions you face will depend on how you perform during the test, with a minimum of 85 and a maximum of 150 questions for both the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN.
