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!
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
I believe nclex only needs you to get 50% of those appl/analysis questions right and you've passed. So, making 50s on those, would give me good assurance that i will pass nclex even though the overall grade may be like between 60-65%.
Again, it's good for you to finish the Qbank before QT. QT is harder and also gets you more ready for minimum of 75 and max. of 265 questions. Good luck!
Thanks, Hebrews, I really wanted to know that! Seeing a low scoring on the graph in Application was scaring me...I don't want to fail because I have a weak area when overall it seems to be coming out ok.
I was using the other CDs (Lippincott, Saunders) so I could have alot more questions to practice from, more is better. But I think you're right at this point; I JUST last night answered a Lippincott question using Kaplan rationale (because it was a virtually identical question to one I'd recently answered, no kidding) and was now sure of what the answer would be. And got it WRONG. Kaplan was/is using old information to rationalize the question, so I got IT wrong the first time, but have accepted that "that's the way it is", so imagine my surprise to find Lippincott is using CURRENT info on the same topic so that I *should* have answered it as I KNEW it to be and I would have gotten it right (did that make sense to you or did I just confuse the issue further??).
Yeesh.
Anyway, I would like to have the other question banks available, but at this point, I think that *IF* the nclex is on par with kaplan (being out of date in the same areas, lol) then I should stick with kaplan. What a system, huh? I still have enough questions, I think, to get me through next week anyway. I'm going to take Question Trainer 4 today and see how I fare. Then I can go back to Q bank and concentrate on areas I need according to test results.
Thanks so much for your support; I feel that I might just be able to do this after all!! That, and alot of prayers :)
Thanks, Hebrews, I really wanted to know that! Seeing a low scoring on the graph in Application was scaring me...I don't want to fail because I have a weak area when overall it seems to be coming out ok.
I was using the other CDs (Lippincott, Saunders) so I could have alot more questions to practice from, more is better. But I think you're right at this point; I JUST last night answered a Lippincott question using Kaplan rationale (because it was a virtually identical question to one I'd recently answered, no kidding) and was now sure of what the answer would be. And got it WRONG. Kaplan was/is using old information to rationalize the question, so I got IT wrong the first time, but have accepted that "that's the way it is", so imagine my surprise to find Lippincott is using CURRENT info on the same topic so that I *should* have answered it as I KNEW it to be and I would have gotten it right (did that make sense to you or did I just confuse the issue further??).
Yeesh.
Anyway, I would like to have the other question banks available, but at this point, I think that *IF* the nclex is on par with kaplan (being out of date in the same areas, lol) then I should stick with kaplan. What a system, huh? I still have enough questions, I think, to get me through next week anyway. I'm going to take Question Trainer 4 today and see how I fare. Then I can go back to Q bank and concentrate on areas I need according to test results.
Thanks so much for your support; I feel that I might just be able to do this after all!! That, and alot of prayers :)
Hang in there :) Sounds like you're doing great! How did Question Trainer 4 come out? I actually did it yesterday and did worse on this one..with like a 55, but i guess as long as its not any lower than that its ok i guess...I''ll be doing the last ones 6 and 7 this weekend. Taking the test a week from tomorrow!!
Man, I just spent the last 2.5 hours+ taking Question Trainer 4, and I REALLY felt like I had gotten close to 70 (my friend got a 70; wishful thinking??).
Anyway, I got 63% (technically 62.67, but hey, I'll take the rounded up figure). I'm so disappointed! I really, really, thought I did better than that I haven't reviewed it yet, which I normally do immediately after, because my head hurts and I need a break. Just figured I'd post my results here first!
I'm trying to take what Hebrews said to heart and that these numbers are just guidelines.
I understand how you are feeling, but remember that QT questions are harder than Qbank, and actually bet 60 - 65 is really good.. Just keep doing more questions, thats what i am doing also... I had got only 56 % on test4.
I felt the same as you do when I did the question trainers.
They do get harder as you go along.
With the NCLEX, you need to score 50% correct of the section of harder questions.
Take a break (and your Advil). Don't be discouraged. It should help to at least know others were (and are) as frustrated as you feel!
When you've rested and cleared your mind, I think it would be good to analyze the answers of the test you just took so you can learn from it & be more successful in the next one you take.
Just a thought....If you feel too stressed, why don't you postpone the test for a while? You always have that option. Your mental health is important :)
You definitely deserve a break!! Thats how i felt yesterday too taking 150 questions.....I actually thought i would do alittle bit better as well. But after doing so many questions...my mind wasn't really there...so I guess thats why i got the grade that I did. 60-65 is definitely pretty good. so keep at it! You're doing something right!!!! :)
thanks so much to all of you! The support really means alot....the few people I have discussed this with outside of school all say "oh, you're smart, you'll pass" or "you did well in school, you'll pass easy". They have no idea how stressful this is, or how BIZARRE these questions are! Or that I'm self-teaching SO much information that was missed in school.
Anyway, putting off the test for a later date isn't an option...for me, it just means keeping a high level of anxiety for a longer period of time, lol! I need to work toward that date (two weeks from today!) and DO it.
Am also trying to keep in mind that the tests get harder the further into the Question Trainer you go, so keeping the same grade is actually showing an improvement (right?).
And there's no way that Kaplan can say "65 on QTrainers will pass you, but 63 will not". No way.
Have been reviewing my mistakes on Test 4, and many of them were ones where I had it narrowed down to the correct answer and the one I chose, so I'll keep plugging at reading and re-reading the question and answers to find clues to the correct answer. I swear, it's like a puzzle!
Good news is, on questions with drugs I didn't know, I got most of them RIGHT by eliminating based on what I DID know about the answer choices. Sometimes, you can choose the right med without knowing why :)
Gone2, it really DOES help knowing that there are others who "get this" about the test prep. And I swear, once I DO pass this thing, I'll be back here regularly to help out everyone after me to get through it!!!
I haven't reviewed it yet, which I normally do immediately after, because my head hurts and I need a break. Just figured I'd post my results here first!
Hebrews 13:5
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I believe nclex only needs you to get 50% of those appl/analysis questions right and you've passed. So, making 50s on those, would give me good assurance that i will pass nclex even though the overall grade may be like between 60-65%.
Again, it's good for you to finish the Qbank before QT. QT is harder and also gets you more ready for minimum of 75 and max. of 265 questions. Good luck!