Published
It is true...they changed their passing standard.
Our instructors in nursing school said it was done to greater represent the knowledge base needed by nurses in our changing medical world. Patients are living longer and presenting with a greater number/intensity of disease processes.
Edited to add..
When it "got harder to pass" depends on your frame of reference. The standard changed while I was in nursing school (2007-2008)...so, for me, I had a harder passing standard than the year before me. You can see the revision updates on the NCSBN website: www.ncsbn.org They change the standard every so often...it's not just a rumor.
I just took the NCLEX this month, and I haven't heard anything about it getting harder. Towards the end of school there were so many rumors flying around about the NCLEX, but the fact is you can't believe anything you hear.
The NCLEX is a national exam, meaning it's the same in every state. No state has a higher passing score than any other. The questions come from the same testing bank. There is no difference.
To pass the NCLEX, you have to pass more questions than you fail. It gets complicated because not every question is equal in score. Some questions are harder than others.
The minimum number of questions you will have is 75. If you attain the desired passing score by 75 questions, the test will stop. 15 of those questions are also "pilot questions", which may or may not make it into the test bank, and do not count for or against your score.
The maximum number of questions you could have is 265. If your score is not quite passing by 75 questions, the computer will continue the test until an obviously passing or failing score is obtained. If you stop at 265, your score is somewhere around the pass/fail point, which you won't know until it has been scored.
Also, just because your test stops at 75 doesn't mean you passed. It would be possible to have a low enough score to fail at that point.
That being said, the new "alternate type" questions have been added within the past several years... those that require you to put a list of tasks in order, select a point on a diagram, select all that apply, etc... any decent NCLEX study guide will explain it in the beginning.
Good luck on your boards, and remember not to let useless rumors make you feel better or worse about the test. Study hard, make sure you cover ALL the areas covered by the NCLEX, and you will do well.
:redbeatheIs it true that the passing rate now for nclex is 95%?
There is no such thing as that and never has been. That is not how this exam is done since it is a CAT exam.
The exam is actually national as well, and numbers like this do not apply to any state. There is no difference in passing requirements for a specific state, they all use the same exam and system.
I believe people are confused. It's not the passing rate that is 95% it is that the computer can accurately predict you passing or failing with 95% accuracy is what it states in the bulletin. Hope this helps
Then that is what they should state.
This is what it says in the bulletin
This process continues until it is clear (with 95% certainty)
that the candidate's ability is above or below the passing
standard. Be aware that both passers and failers tend to
answer approximately 50% of the items correctly. This is
because the computer presents all candidates with items that
are matched to their ability.
spalata
38 Posts
Hi all,
I heard that nclex has changed their passing level to (of course) higher one....so I'm wondering if that is true and what does it mean?
Thx