I'll start off by saying I'm not a nurse. I've never taken nursing courses or anything. My wife, however, just completed her RN schooling, took the NCLEX and passed. (We found out about 30 minutes ago) =)
Like so many aspiring nurses, during the last 24 hours following her NCLEX test, she's been a nervous wreck. Being a programmer, I set out to find out what I could about how the test works. I did a few hours of research and presented her with my findings, and she seemed to draw comfort from it. It occurred to me that there are probably many who would like to hear what I have to say. I don't think I have anything to say here that has not already been said, but perhaps my programmer's viewpoint might lend a little more weight to what is said.
My findings are based mostly on technical information posted by the national nursing board authorities, and a little from comments gathered from various forums, including this one. Without further delay, here's what I've found.
The test, as many of you know, uses an adaptive testing technique. The computer asks easier questions when you get answers wrong, and more difficult questions when you get answers correct. In most cases, the computer can figure out with 95% certainty your level of competancy within 60 questions. Since there are 15 "throw-out" questions, this is why most people's tests end at 75 questions. If the computer cannot be at least 95% certain of your level of competancy, it will continue to ask questions. This doesn't mean you are running close to the borderline. It just means that the computer cannot determine your level with at least 95% accuracy. (You could be fluctuating wildly at levels far above the standard. Since the computer doesn't know exactly what your level is, it will continue testing.) If you answer all questions, the 95% accuracy requirement is waived, and the computer reports your level of proficiency as it stands. If you run out of time, but have answered at least 75 questions, the 95% accuracy requirement is also waived.
To find your level of competancy, the computer will keep asking you more(or less) difficult questions until you are getting about 50% of the questions wrong. Let me state this again. THE COMPUTER'S JOB IS TO FIND OUT AT WHAT LEVEL YOU START GETTING QUESTIONS WRONG. This means you WILL start getting questions wrong. You WILL start getting questions about things you do not know. That's what the computer does. That's ALL it DOES. Once it determines within 95% accuracy that your level of competancy is NOT going to change, the test ends. This could happen at 75, or 265 questions, or anywhere in between.
Here are a few conclusions you can come to from this:
The number of questions you received means absolutely nothing. If you get 75, it just means the computer was able to determine your level of proficiency within 95% accuracy within 60 questions(plus 15 throw-aways). If you got more than 75, it still means nothing. It just means the computer could NOT determine your level of proficiency within 95% accuracy, so it kept testing. If you're trying to read anything in to the number of questions you have, stop now. It's useless.
The fact that you felt like you were getting all your questions wrong means NOTHING. This is not a conventional test where getting questions wrong means you failed. The only thing that matters is the difficulty of the questions when you started getting them 50% wrong. If that level is above or equal to the standard established by the nursing authority, you pass. If it is below, you fail.
The only way to determine what level you were at is to know what difficulty level the nursing authority rated the questions you were given. You yourself will NOT be able to do this, because to you, ALL the questions were hard because the computer had found the level that they were HARD for you. The only hope anybody here has of knowing this is to compare notes about the questions. Should you all choose to do this(and many of you have), please keep in mind that you all agreed NOT to share specific questions and/or answers. Please uphold your agreement. Should you choose to compare notes on a vague level, you might all find that certain types of questions are harder or easier. With this in mind, from reading this forum I am starting to believe that math questions are easier, and SATA questions are more difficult. People who passed seem to get questions about infection control, some management, and very specific questions about diseases and meds. This is all just conjecture on my part, however, and I could be very wrong.
The fact that you got your last question right or wrong has no bearing on your result. An incorrect answer could be the one that causes the computer to know with 95% accuracy that your level of competancy is above the level required to pass.
I think I'll stop there for now. Feel free to comment or correct me. I hope this is helpfull to some. Good luck to all of you on your tests. Most people pass first try, but if you do not pass, take heart. Everybody passes eventually, and this test is no indication of your worth as a Nurse. It just measures your relative competancy to a standard. With a little more study, you'll make it. Again, good luck!
