How to find out nclex pass rates

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Specializes in home health, developmental disabilities.

Ok so I know that you can go to your states website to find out pass rates of all programs.

however, how do I know how many students took it? Like if a program started with 30 students but 10 flunked out or had to withdraw , and the remaining 20 all passed the nclex with 100% pass rates. Now the school brags about their pass rate but what if hey were trying to weed out students that weren't cut out to pass the nclex? This stuff worries me. I want to pick a school with a good pass rate but also one that many students stayed in the program til the nclex

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For my state I found all that info on Board of Nursing website. It has every school and program with passing rates as well as how many people took the test each quarter. However, you don't know how many people originally starter the program and how many were dropped along the way.

This is a cropped file from BON website from my state.

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Specializes in NICU.

Even if you had the numbers, what good would it do? You would have no idea why they didn't finish the program. They could have gotten sick, changed majors, flunked out, moved. There is no way of knowing if the student was "weeded" out by the evil nursing school or was a bad student that would rather party than to study for a test.

"This stuff worries me. I want to pick a school with a good pass rate but also one that many students stayed in the program til the nclex"

So you want a school that graduates everyone and everyone passes NCLEX? That would be the dream of every school, but not realistic. No matter what school you choose, it is going to be difficult. Schools create their program to prepare the students for NCLEX and their role as future nurses. They ARE trying to "weed" out the students that don't have what it takes to be nurses. Would you want someone caring for your loved one that didn't study and didn't put an effort into clinicals?

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Finding out pass rates is relatively easy. Programs are going to keep retention levels proprietary. They do keep track of student's stats so they know if their entry criteria is too lax or too strict. They do expect some level of academic washout and washout for other reasons as well. You can still get a good idea of a program's retention level by comparing the number of students granted entry and how graduated and took the NCLEX in any given year.

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I would call your board of nursing. Ask if they keep that data or if they have it available for you.

I think knowing the retention rate is important because you can see patterns developing. In a five year period, one school could have a 90-95% pass rate, yet have only 10-15% of the number of students they started with make it through the program. That would set off my alarm and make me question why they are losing so many students. For one year it is understandable but for multiple years? Shady.

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Specializes in home health, developmental disabilities.
I would call your board of nursing. Ask if they keep that data or if they have it available for you.

I think knowing the retention rate is important because you can see patterns developing. In a five year period, one school could have a 90-95% pass rate, yet have only 10-15% of the number of students they started with make it through the program. That would set off my alarm and make me question why they are losing so many students. For one year it is understandable but for multiple years? Shady.

This is is exactly what I mean. I will have to do a little more research. Thanks to all who replied.

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