Lower % of passing students on newer NCLEX?

[greenterra]

I was just at a student meeting at my college, and the subject of passing the NCLEX came up. The Chairwoman of the nursing school said that data is showing that the national failure rate on the NCLEX students took this year is the highest ever, and that until the "NCLEX template" (format of the test? Questions on it?) changes again in a couple of years, the failure rate would be higher than the average.

I'm not sure if I misunderstood her. This was in the context of high failure rates in our state, KY, because of a BON change requiring students to obtain 120 hours with a preceptor, after graduating, before being allowed to take the NCLEX. She said that studies consistently showed that the longer one delays taking the NCLEX after graduating, the poorer one does; the 120 hour requirement delays graduates by several weeks. So, in KY, our failure rates have increased this year, and students in border cities are taking the NCLEX in neighboring states (where the 120 hour requirement doesn't apply).

Is it true that the NCLEX is currently harder than it was a couple of years ago, and that it will remain that way until 2009? I graduate next year, so I'm very curious!

Thanks!

[greenterra]

Never mind, the data showing the historical NCLEX passing rates is here: https://www.ncsbn.org/1237.htm and it looks like the passing rate is about the same, 89-90% for BSN and diploma RN programs WHERE THE STUDENT TAKES THE TEST SOON AFTER GRADUATING (compare the 3rd quarter to the second quarter numbers).

The information about the increase of the passing standard is here: https://www.ncsbn.org/1090.htm.

We have a problem in KY because the 120 hour preceptor requirement forces a delay of 4 to 6 weeks after graduation before you can take the test.

[suzanne4, RN]

Average pass rate has been 85% for those taking it the first time if they trained in the US, and about 45% if they trained out of the US the first time.

Rate goes down with each testing.

Whether or not someone delays an exam to get their preceptorship completed in a few weeks time, should not be influencing a score on that exam. The exam is interested in what you are going to do when you start your job, not what you already covered when you were in school.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Average pass rate has been 85% for those taking it the first time if they trained in the US, and about 45% if they trained out of the US the first time.

Rate goes down with each testing.

Whether or not someone delays an exam to get their preceptorship completed in a few weeks time, should not be influencing a score on that exam. The exam is interested in what you are going to do when you start your job, not what you already covered when you were in school.

I don't have the citation handy, but there is some data that suggests that people who delay taking the test for a few months tend not to do as well. However, that could be due to a wide variety of factors. For example, they delay might not cause the poor performance ... the graduates could be delaying because they sense that they are not ready and will fail. So, while there is some suggestive data, I don't think it is a topic that has been sufficiently explored to draw many conclusions.

[greenterra]

Thanks, Suzane4 and IIG . Yes, I hope that the evidence for the cause of poorer NCLEX performance after a delay is not simply because one is losing the information one has crammed.

However, the concern being brought up in KY is that the pass rate has dropped substantially this year for all students. The professors seemed to think there is merit in the argument that this is because of the enforced several week delay between graduation (and therefore, test preparation) and taking the exam.

Is there any evidence suggesting that NCLEX scores actually do improve, or at least stay the same, for practicing nurses? The data is very preliminary in KY since the BON just implemented this requirement in 2007-- do other states require delays, and do they affect pass rates?

I certainly hope not, since the NCLEX's primary goal is to ensure safe practice (isn't it?), but if nurses' NCLEX scores don't improve from actually working, then does it really measure safe practice? If it does, are nurses really practicing safely? Or is some other factor at work here?

[llg, PhD, RN]

I work in a children's hospital -- and we urge our new grads to take boards before they start work. We feel that those who start work before taking the test are so focused on learning the specific job orientation material, that they can not stay focused on the broader material that is emphasized by the NCLEX. In other words, it's hard for them to stay focused on the general nursing principles when they are focusing so much on learning the specific peds stuff and hospital procedures -- and there is not much peds on the NCLEX.

So, I think there may well be a relationship between a delay in taking the test and the drop in performance -- but it will probably take a few years of research before that can be demonstrated in a scientific way.

Around here, schools incorporate a capstone experience into the last semester of study so that the students get the benefit of that type of education, but do not have their graduation or NCLEX delayed.