For those who did Kaplan pre-tests...

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I know I'm supposed to be getting 65 or better on the Question Trainer tests to be considered "ready to test" by Kaplan. However, it does seem that many people are getting low 60s and still passing NCLEX anyway. My grades on Tests 1, 2, and 3 are 64%, 65.33%, and 63% respectively. I know they get harder the higher in the series you go.

What I'm wondering is, when I look at the breakdown on the graphs, I see that my area of weakness is definitely Safe and Effective Mgmt of Care; I also see that on Bloom's Taxonomy I have 60s to high 70s on Knowledge, Analysis and Comprehension BUT only 50 on Application.

So here's the thing: on the actual NCLEX, does the "overall" impression you give for competency pass you, or is my weak area of Application going to kill me? Do I have to be in the 60+ range for absolutely everything, or is there some room for averaging out??

Please help. I'm starting to lose it after thousands of practice questions and while I *AM* improving, I only have two weeks left to get this right!

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Specializes in CCU, DOU.

Keep going over the Kaplan questions and read the rationale for each answer. They tell you why something is wrong or why some other answer is a better choice. That is a very important distinction.

The goal of the NCLEX is to determine if you will make informed decisions in any particular situation. That is based on your nursing thought processes.

While I do not think that Kaplan necessarily is an exact replica of the NCLEX, I did find that if you really drill yourself over and over, taking and retaking their preview tests until you score in the 90's, it is a great preparatrion for the NCLEX. That is what I did until I got to the point where I felt I could not possibly study any longer. I took the CA NCLEX June 21, 2006. It turned off at 100 questions and I found out today that I passed.

I took the nursing boards 32 years ago but my license lapsed after being inactive more than 8 years, so I retook it and things have certainly changed since testing back then!

I had not worked in over 20 years. That is why I am saying it is so important to grasp the concept behind the Kaplan questions more so than stressing over each and every picky little medical fact.

I think it is all in knowing how to answer the questions... how to complete the thought process behind the rationale.

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Good question, even i would like to know about that since my analysis - application is not very good.

I feel you are doing very well if you are getting 63-65 etc.. kaplan says if you get 65 + you are ready to go take nclex right? by the time you get to QT 7 you will really get better with and feel more confident with application questions since QT 6-7 concentrates only on analysis/application.

Did you do Qbank before QT?

I too would appreciate if someone can give info on how everythign avg out in nclex. Thanx

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gone2, thanks for your insights. I can't imagine having to take the NCLEX after having been out of nursing for so long! From where I'm standing, my license (once I get one) will lapse only when I'm dead ;)

I do understand what you're saying, and I AM doing that kind of preparation. I have re-tested myself on Q-bank questions I've gotten wrong in the past so I can be sure I learned enough to get them right next time. I haven't re-taken all the practice tests, as I am still taking them the first time, but I'm improving. 90's?? I see those kinds of grades only on questions I have already attempted and am doing again! Meantime, I'm in 60's for new questions.

I plan to have all the original questions and tests completed within the next 1.5 weeks, then retest as time allows.

But mostly I still need an answer to my original question!

Anyone know that?

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Specializes in CCU, DOU.

Well, for me, my initial attempt at the Kaplan tests scored me in the 60's in most tests. I had 100% in knowledge and comprehension but fell down in the application of it.

That is why I analyzed why they answered the way they did and even though I may not have agreed with their answers, I trained my mind to answer the way they were training us to think.

That is why I suggest re doing the tests over and over until your mind reacts the way they want it to.

Also, note that in the front of the Kaplan book, it shows a chart of how to approach answering each type of question to rule out certain types of answers and if you can remember that, use it as a guideline for how to approach your train of thought.

I let my license lapse since I had become disabled due to back surgeries and never thought I could return to critical care nursing. But now I realize there is so much more you can do with nursing than when I left it. That is what happened there.

I hope my suggestions help.

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gone2, I know you're right! I do remind myself as I'm answering questions "ok, is this assessment or implementation, what is the least restrictive, which one is passing the buck.....". Like that.

I'm so impressed that you could pick up where you left off so quickly. Some people must be more "born" to nursing naturally; alas, I guess I'm not:uhoh3: .

Still, I plug away :) I think I have the same idea as you regarding going over previously asked questions; I re-took ones I got wrong so that I'd make sure to get them right. I still have a few hundred Qbank questions left and I'm sure to be able to use some of them over again because I got them wrong!

Thanks again, as always.

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Specializes in CCU, DOU.

Believe me, this was not an easy undertaking! I felt like I was going to lose my mind! I just kept going over and over it analyzing, as you seem to be doing. You are doing fine!

Figuring out the method, is of key importance. Ask yourself, "Why is that question right... or MORE right?" That is what I kept going over.

It is a definite training course. You have to have the basics, which nursing school gave you... then you have to know how to take the test!

Look at the root parts of words and endings. That will help a lot. Like if you know a certain ending refers to an antibiotic (acillin...penacillin) or "itis" is inflammation... those types of things help too.

I wish you lots of luck! But most of all, peace, when you take the NCLEX!

Just remember when you take the test to really read the question carefully so you realize what it is actually asking you.

Most of the time certain answers are ruled out immediately. Then you just ponder what is left, and make an informed choice.

Just do your best and try not to stress out... stress is self defeating!

:)

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Stress is my life :)

Unfortunately, I just found out a classmate did not pass, but she was not a better student than I so I'm not freaking out. Her not passing does not affect my ability to pass at all! Positive thinking, and knowing I can do it. HOOrah :)

I am using different question banks (saunders and lippincott's in addition to kaplan) and find that the right answers and rationales aren't the same between them--how frustrating! I answered a lippincott's question with the same reasoning I did a virtually identical kaplan question, only to find that the lippincott's had a different 'correct' answer. And it used the rationale *I* had used when I got the kaplan question 'wrong' :(

Sticking with kaplan for awhile!

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Specializes in CCU, DOU.

I know what you are saying and I think you are right in deciding to stick with one approach. Otherwise you will certainly make yourself nuts!

I suggest that you just take the practice test, then review it right away so you can go over what you missed to make sure you reiterate in your mind why the correct answer was correct. When you review the answers, they systematically point out why one answer is wrong, or why one is "more right" than another. I kept going over those points. I think you will benefit more from doing it this way instead of waiting to take all the tests before reviewing. Do you know what I am saying? If you do not review, you are not retraining yourself before going onto the next test. This is what worked for me... obviously everyone is different and has to find what works for them.

I kept a note pad of missed points so I could look it up and read briefly about whatever the topic was. Also, I kept a medical and drug dictionary close by. It's important to draw a similarity to conditions and symptoms instead of just memorizing points. You want to understand it.

Just remember the most important thing is how to take the test. You need a basic knowledge but you need to figure out what they want from you. It is a training process. If you do it over and over calmly, it will train your mind!

It almost gets to the point where you can tell where they are headed by the way they word a question.

Did you look at the Kaplan decision tree in the index section in the front of the book? That may help guide you.

I think it is good to do your studying or test taking in small portions not to overtax your mind. You don't want to get exhausted! Make sure to take breaks.

Ok..... now just take it easy and try not to let stress, stress you out!

Well, you can try! :)

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My habit lately has been to take a Test, then go over it completely, then do random questions from the QBank (or focus on a specific area of weakness), then break. I have to get the laundry done and the kids fed at some point, too! :) Then, after a whole bunch of "loose" questions, I'll take another Test. I didn't take them all in a row, but I don't have lots of time to study in between, so I'm spacing them out several days apart (the Question Trainer tests, that is). I have 14 days left and five Question Trainer tests left, so I'm interspersing them with the Q Bank questions. My QTrainer grades haven't been stellar (see above!) but I think it's in a reasonable range. And I definitely have improved in the area of weakness I've been working on most lately...improved alot, actually.

I know I have a weak area in a specific specialty, so I'm going to try to focus in there. Mostly I've honed in on the Big Areas (like Health Promotion and Maintenance) and haven't spent as much time on individual areas of study. That's next! :)

I think I'm on the right track anyway, at least from what you're saying.

I do have to share a pet peeve: Kaplan has these questions where you're supposed to put a dot on the are you'd assess (pulse, or palpating fundus, whatever). And 2/3 times I HAVE the dot IN the green "ok" area, and it still gets marked wrong!! Annoying. I "dotted" a hair beneath the umbilicus on where to palpate a 20 week fundus, and it got marked wrong: the green "ok" oval was AROUND my dot, and it was marked wrong. I sure hope the NCLEX doesn't do that!

Also, one more thing: I noticed actual factual errors in the Kaplan book (it used informtion about breastfeeding that was literally 9 years out of date, no longer valid). It stated that info as current fact, and it's long been established to NOT be correct. Would that mean that the NCLEX, too, is behind the times in that regard? For some reason, breastfeeding info seems to be the one area of medicine that if it's outdated and incorrect, it still gets passed on as fact :(

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Specializes in CCU, DOU.

That is exactly what I meant when I said I may not have agreed with their answers..... I know the information to be different in my own experience or with newer information than they presented. I totally agree with you!

If you go to pearson view.com, they have a section there which shows you exactly how the NCLEX test questions may be presented. They walk you through the actual review you will have before you start your exam. This may help you feel more acclimated as to how the questions will be.

After taking the NCLEX, I felt that Kaplan questions were not presented in the same manner that the NCLEX was. However, if you go over the questions and concentrate on analyzing why they answer the way they do, it does train your mind. It is almost like brainwashing you to think a certain way. That is the important point to take out of it. I am not familiar with the Q bank you refer to so I cannot comment on that. I only did Kaplan and did not have the course, I just studied the book and did the tests on CD... (my daughter had taken the course live 3 years ago so I had her materials.)

That is the frustrating part about those practice tests... they are so detailed. In actuality, at least in the NCLEX I had, they threw a curve in the way the questions were presented. It was more concept and critical thinking. You take the facts you know and put them together to problem solve a situation. I know I kept re reading the questions to be sure what aspect they were looking for, be it psychosocial or otherwise.

That is why I think it is more important to analyze the critiques they give in the analysis of the answers so your mind starts to comprehend how to think the way they are training you to think. (More so than stressing over each and every fact.) I hope that makes sense.

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gone2, thanks for your insights. I can't imagine having to take the NCLEX after having been out of nursing for so long! From where I'm standing, my license (once I get one) will lapse only when I'm dead ;)

I do understand what you're saying, and I AM doing that kind of preparation. I have re-tested myself on Q-bank questions I've gotten wrong in the past so I can be sure I learned enough to get them right next time. I haven't re-taken all the practice tests, as I am still taking them the first time, but I'm improving. 90's?? I see those kinds of grades only on questions I have already attempted and am doing again! Meantime, I'm in 60's for new questions.

I plan to have all the original questions and tests completed within the next 1.5 weeks, then retest as time allows.

But mostly I still need an answer to my original question!

Anyone know that?

I believe you are on the right track. We were actually told in class that 60-65 on question trainer is good but we should try and improve to 65%. I'm telling you that your grades are good. i've seen people who actually made 54-60 and still passed with 75 questions. Just keep at it. I was also having 50-60s on my application/analysis section. One thing you should know is that Nclex only need you to score at least a 50% on those type of questions and you've passed. So, making 50s on those is a very good assurance. i'll also add that you get focused, that is, quit jumping from one review book to another especially when your exam is getting this close. It may actually get you more confused and anxious because they are all organized in different ways even though the goal is one.Just stick to one at this time until you take the test. I don't know if i had the time to take those questions twice. I reviewed the rationales only once and it was missed/correct ones. i get bored trying to redo a question again. It's not about redoing it and scoring 90 and feeling better but all about doing it once, reviewing and understanding the rationales of ALL questions so that you see how you have improved in the next tests. I can tell those questions really takes a lot of time to finish and review. Anyhow, I wish you the best! Goodluck!:balloons:

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