Can someone explain?

dianalynm · Feb 5, 2017

Hi, I just got my letter that I failed my NCLEX. I left my letter at my mom's house so I can't remember exactly my improvement areas except that I got "below passing" on only one thing...Psychosocial. What does it mean to be "near passing"? I got all 265 questions if that matters. I didn't know what it means for studying. I don't know if I was close to passing overall or not. I really want to pass on the second try so any advice is appreciated. I used mastery app, ordered a study program from the people who make the test and saunders. Thank you.

Sorry to hear that you didn't pass.

Did you complete all 265 under the time limit? If so, what I understand is that you were "near passing" because they base whether you passed on the last question you answer. There may have been multiple scenarios to "near passing" but basically the last question you answered fell below passing level. I don't know if that makes sense, but you may have been going back and forth between passing and non-passing and the last question--whether you got it right or wrong--dipped below passing.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2017

Think of the NCLEX exam as scored as plots on a chart. I'll try to make a visual example:

Passing ______________________________

Near Passing _____________________________

Below Passing _______________X______________

Each line- passing, near passing, below passing- correlates to a degree of difficulty. In order to pass in that area, you must prove that you can answer questions at or above that difficulty level. The Xâ€ is where you fell in a given area. Near Passingâ€ simply means that you were correctly answering questions at a difficulty level that was close to, but still below the required passing level. "Below Passing" means that you were even further below the passing level and need to make greater improvements in those areas in order to pass next time.

DH88 · Feb 5, 2017

Sorry to hear that you didn't pass.
Did you complete all 265 under the time limit? If so, what I understand is that you were "near passing" because they base whether you passed on the last question you answer. There may have been multiple scenarios to "near passing" but basically the last question you answered fell below passing level. I don't know if that makes sense, but you may have been going back and forth between passing and non-passing and the last question--whether you got it right or wrong--dipped below passing.

Thank you for responding. I finished the test with time to spare. It probably took me a little over 5 hours. My classmate also failed at around 130 questions so I couldn't really figure out where I stood. I should probably study hard no matter what but I didn't know how discouraging it is to get "near passing" on most categories. I might have gotten "above passing" on one or two. You were very helpful. Thanks! I'm just so nervous about repeating the same study mistakes.