NCLEX passing

Kimanne · Jan 30, 2015

Just took the nclex today!! Only had 75 questions! I probably did really bad. I know for sure i got the last question right and i heard if you got the last question right then you passed but anyways, i refuse to do the pvt cause im the scared but if i did fail or pass I'll let you all know what my CPR says!

ebrooks1013 · Jan 31, 2015

You don't know if you passed or failed. I felt like I was having a panic attack when I took mine and I knew there was no way I passed but I did. Just wait the two days if you don't want to do the pvt or at least 24 hours

starly22 · Jan 31, 2015

based on previous test takers, you really have to know it all. prio, ecg, etc

rnnight2015 · Jan 31, 2015

I'm sure you passed!!! We got this!!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jan 31, 2015

Just took the nclex today!! Only had 75 questions! I probably did really bad. I know for sure i got the last question right and i heard if you got the last question right then you passed but anyways, i refuse to do the pvt cause im the scared but if i did fail or pass I'll let you all know what my CPR says!

I'm going to start in the middle of your post, only because it's such a common misconception it bears comment: you had only the minimum number of questions; whether you got the last question right or wrong is irrelevant. It shut off at that point, having determined that no more questions were necessary to determine your competency. If you have proven to a 95% certainty that you are competent for an entry-level nurse, you will pass. If not....not. You were either far enough above the passing standard for the test to stop on 'pass', or you were so far below it there was no possibility of passing, regardless of number of questions. It's not a 'last question breaks a tie' kind of thing.

Think of it this way: the vast majority of first-time test takers (approximately 91% the last time I checked) DO pass the NCLEX. That's some major odds in your favor!

Now consider this: given the kind of student you were, how you did in your school program, how you prepared for the NCLEX, is it MORE likely that you bombed this things SO badly that the computer "gave up" on you at the bare minimum number of questions.....OR.....is it MORE likely that you did well enough to prove yourself in those same 75 questions?

No one here can know the answer for sure, but....odds are STILL in your favor. Hang in there! :)

npham82, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2015

I wonder if it's a confusion of terms that has led the discussion this way? Kaplan is talking about getting a SCORE of 60% or higher in each section of its own tests. I used Kaplan as a review myself, and I remember this advice, but it was NOT saying (at least it was not saying then, and I doubt it's changed) that a test-taker had to get 60% or greater in each section of the ACTUAL NCLEX. Remember, NCLEX has no percentage grading system, it's a different scoring entirely.
I think, based on what you're saying here, that this is the problem: Kaplan is telling people they need a 60% minimum on THEIR OWN test/quizzes in order to best indicate readiness to take the NCLEX...but people are hearing it as "This is how the NCLEX scoring is done". Does this sound about right?

That's what I actually meant but I didn't think I had to state it. Kaplan talks about their own practice exams and practice sections. I also stated that "Kaplan and ATI both try to promote people to get 60% or higher." I didn't actually state they Kaplan and ATI make people or force people to get 60% or higher but they do promote it to help increase student's notice in each "KAPLAN and ATI section"

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jan 31, 2015

That's what I actually meant but I didn't think I had to state it. Kaplan talks about their own practice exams and practice sections. I also stated that "Kaplan and ATI both try to promote people to get 60% or higher." I didn't actually state they Kaplan and ATI make people or force people to get 60% or higher but they do promote it to help increase student's notice in each "KAPLAN and ATI section"

Well, ok.....I was just taking a guess that this is what was causing the confusion, and from what you wrote I thought that was a possibility....if something's not stated, sometimes it's hard to read what someone meant (but didn't write) :) Whatever the reasons are, as long as people eventually do know what is needed for the exam, that's all that matters.

This exam causes so much stress, anxiety, etc it's hard to NOT get some of the info wrong along the way, especially with so many sources offering contradictory advice! Guess that's why several of us do our best to help...sometimes we figure out what someone needs to get them through, sometimes not :)