NCLEX-RN question

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 6, 2015

There are two things that can be indicated by the end of your test at 75 questions:

1. You demonstrated with 95% certainty that you meet minimum competency to practice as an RN.

2. You demonstrated with 95% certainty that, regardless of how many more questions you answered, you cannot meet the minimum competency to practice as an RN.

The PVT is nothing more than a software glitch that has been known to be "incorrect". (Is it possible for a glitch to be correct or incorrect?).

I highly recommend that you head on over to the NCLEX forum (under students in the yellow bar across the top) and reading some of RNsRWe's posts about the PVT.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 6, 2015

hello!
I took my NCLEX-RN yesterday(Friday) in Indiana. I had 75 questions and the computer stopped. There were a few basic questions about certain disorders but the majority were delegation and prioritization. I ended on a prioritization question but am unsure if this means I passed or not. But as I said, all but maybe 3-4 questions in the middle were more involved and not about memorization of diseases.. I tried the PVT trick 27 hours after and am still unable to pay.
let me know if you have any ideas on what this means.

The only piece of information that was actually an indicator of how you did was the fact you stopped at 75 questions. ALL the rest (including question type and PVT info) is irrelevant.

Stopping at 75 questions means that you either did very well, and could demonstrate in the minimum number of questions that you were competent to begin practice as an entry-level RN, or you were demonstrating incompetence such that the computer 'knew' that no matter how many questions it gave you, you could not pass the exam that day.

Given your student history, grades received, how you prepared for this exam and practice exam scores....which do you think is the more likely scenario?

Also given that approximately 90% of first-time testers who are US educated DO pass....it sure looks good :)

Now, about the rest: question format, type, none of that is anything you could possibly guess at regarding passing standard. ALL of those question types come in above-passing standard and below-passing standard levels. There is considerable myth regarding what is "higher level questioning", but in the end, it couldn't be MORE of a waste of time to think about something you can't work with anyway, right? So breathe :)

Regarding the PVT: it's pretty much debunked as having any real validity. AT ONE TIME, yes, it was pretty good for indication, but nowadays....it's junk.

Hang in there, pay the eight bucks for Quick Results if available, and you can always go to your State's BoN website to check for license updates. Some States post even faster than QR are available!

Good luck :)

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 6, 2015

OP: at this point, all you can do is wait for the results. Finishing in 75 questions only means that it took 75 questions to make a decision about your competency. The type of questions you had, what the final question was, etc. are all moot points and mean nothing more than you had those type of questions.

Try to relax and be patient until your official results come in. Easier said than done, I know.

Best of luck.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jun 6, 2015

75 questions is the minimum number of questions that the computer give you. At that point it determines one of three things:

1. With a 95% certainty, you are minimally competent to be a nurse, so it shuts off- PASSED

2. With a 95% certainty, you will not be minimally competent no matter how many questions you get, so it shuts off- FAILED

3. Undetermined, so it continues to give you questions.

There are only two reasons that it shuts off at 75 questions. You either did very well or very poorly. It would be extremely unlikely that a mediocre student in nursing school would pass at 75 questions. So, the question for yourself is: Did you do very well in nursing school (at a school with a high NCLEX pass rate) or did you barely pass nursing school? If you did very well, then you passed.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2015

If you get 75 questions, you either passed by a lot or failed by a lot. If you get 265 questions, you either passed by a little or failed by a little. That's all that it means. Pay the $8 tomorrow.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 6, 2015

There are only two reasons that it shuts off at 75 questions. You either did very well or very poorly. It would be extremely unlikely that a mediocre student in nursing school would pass at 75 questions. So, the question for yourself is: Did you do very well in nursing school (at a school with a high NCLEX pass rate) or did you barely pass nursing school? If you did very well, then you passed.

I think this is probably the most valuable, accurate advice for the "look into your crystal ball and tell me if I passed" question that I've ever read here.

Of course, it really only works for when the test shuts off at 75. But still.