If your test stopped at 75 Please Read

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

The NCLEX test is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). Unlike nursing school tests in which you are expected to answer every question correctly, CAT tests try to get you to answer questions wrong to determine your level of knowledge and competency. It is possible to answer half the questions wrong and still pass at 75 questions. Question 1 is a passing level question. It will give you tougher or easier questions depending on if you answered the previous question right/wrong. It is looking for a narrow band of "level of difficulty" above the passing level, what NCLEX calls a "saw tooth pattern". After question 75, it determines 1 of 3 things:

1) With 95% Level of Confidence you are minimally competent to be a nurse PASS

2) With 95% Level of Confidence you will not be minimally competent regardless of the number of questions. FAIL

3) Can not determine your level of competence and continues to give you questions.

If the test stops at 75 questions there are only two possibilities: You did very well and passed or you did very poorly and not worthy of more questions and you failed. To determine if you passed or failed answer the following questions:

1) Did I do very well in Nursing School?

2) Did I go to a school with a high NCLEX pass rate (above 85%)?

3) Did I study extensively for the test?

4) Did I go into the test on pain killers or drunk?

5) Was my anxiety level so high that I didn't know my own name?

6) Did I have a traumatic event immediately prior to the test?

If you answered "yes" to the first 3 questions and "no" to the last 3 questions, then there is a 99.9% probability (my opinion, not an actual stat) that you passed otherwise it would have given you more questions.

[thesimplenurse]

Love this! Thanks for the summary.

[ttrevino42]

Thanks for the info - you said exactly what I figured was the case! I took NCLEX yesterday and answered 3 yes/3 no at 75 questions. I feel good that it means I passed. I put it in God's hands before I went it, so another BIG reason I think I'll do ok.

[Suivezmoi89, BSN]

I got 75 and had to read this three times to make myself feel better in the 48 hrs I had to wait to find out I passed. Thanks í ½í¸Š