75 or 265. what about questions in between?

TexasPediRN · Jan 21, 2006

The number of questions you get does not determine whether or not you pass.

75 questions can mean you passed, or you failed. The same goes for 265 and every number inbetween.

The computer will keep giving you questions until it has determined by 95% or better that you have passed, or failed.

If it is not sure, it will keep giving you questions. It will give you questions up to 265 until it determines your pass/fail by 95%.

Almost every student seems to think 75 is the magic passing number, and 265 is a failing number. Its just not true!!! It seems that this is what we, as students, were always told, be it by other students or even teachers.

(I thought this too, until I realized how the NCLEX works. )

I know its a life changing test, but please remember, the number of questions does not mean ANYTHING. If you havent taken the NCLEX already, then please remember this. If you have, realize that its ok, and it doesnt matter the number you got.

I wish you luck either way :)

-Meghan :nurse:

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2006

A candidate can pass or fail with 75 questions, 265 questions, or any and every number in between. When the computer adaptive testing is able to make a pass/fail determination with 95 percent accuracy, the test will end and the computer will shut off.

JentheRN05, RN · Jan 21, 2006

The number you end with doesn't matter, I passed with 83 questions, which means I must have missed one of the ones going up the ladder, so they had to reassess by building up a few more questions. So no matter what anyone tells you the number of questions means NOTHING

RN-TO-BE · Jan 21, 2006

I passed with 120 questions. Good luck on your exam!!

nursemomruns · Jan 26, 2006

hi. i notice that many people say that they passed the NCLEX with 75 or that they had all 265 and passed. i am curious as to what other scores people passed with. is there hope for people who get 190-230 questions? just wonderin'.

Yes. You can pass the NCLEX RN with any number of questions between 75 and 265. The average number of questions usually hovers around 120. There are more people that get BETWEEN 75 and 265 than get 75 or 265.

nursemomruns · Jan 26, 2006

The number of questions you get does not determine whether or not you pass.
75 questions can mean you passed, or you failed. The same goes for 265 and every number inbetween.
The computer will keep giving you questions until it has determined by 95% or better that you have passed, or failed.
If it is not sure, it will keep giving you questions. It will give you questions up to 265 until it determines your pass/fail by 95%.
Almost every student seems to think 75 is the magic passing number, and 265 is a failing number. Its just not true!!! It seems that this is what we, as students, were always told, be it by other students or even teachers.
(I thought this too, until I realized how the NCLEX works. )
I know its a life changing test, but please remember, the number of questions does not mean ANYTHING. If you havent taken the NCLEX already, then please remember this. If you have, realize that its ok, and it doesnt matter the number you got.
I wish you luck either way :)
-Meghan

You are absolutely correct Meghan. When I speak at various forums, it is always amazing to me how ill-informed some nursing schools can be!

TexasPediRN · Jan 27, 2006

You are absolutely correct Meghan. When I speak at various forums, it is always amazing to me how ill-informed some nursing schools can be!

I swear, it goes around nursing school like a bad rumor!!

Everybody says: 75 you passed, 265 you failed! If only they knew how wrong they were!

Students seem to think that the NCLEX is black and white (and I mean no harm by this-its what we are taught), when in reality, the NCLEX can present itself in a variety of ways and is quite..colorful :)

SarasotaRN2b · Jan 27, 2006

I don't understand what you mean by "95%" can you explain?

Kris

TexasPediRN · Jan 27, 2006

I don't understand what you mean by "95%" can you explain?
Kris

Kris-

The NCLEX is an adaptive test, and if you get a question right, your next question will be slightly harder, and if you get a question wrong, your next question is slightly easier.

You will keep getting questions until the computer determines, with a 95% accuracy, that you have either passed or failed. Its almost like saying it tests you until its 95% sure that you are going to pass the test. On the other hand, it also tests you until its 95% sure you arent going to pass.

Once it determines, with a 95% accuracy that you have passed (or failed), the computer will shut off. This is why the number of questions you get does not matter, since the computer can never be sure that every person has passed (with 95% accuracy) with 75 questions, it keeps going until it is sure each person will pass the test(with that 95% accuracy).

Does this make sense?

Try going to this link and reading a little bit more about the NCLEX.

http://www.allnursingschools.com/faqs/nclex.php

-Meghan :nurse:

nursemomruns · Jan 27, 2006

Kris-
The NCLEX is an adaptive test, and if you get a question right, your next question will be slightly harder, and if you get a question wrong, your next question is slightly easier.
You will keep getting questions until the computer determines, with a 95% accuracy, that you have either passed or failed. Its almost like saying it tests you until its 95% sure that you are going to pass the test. On the other hand, it also tests you until its 95% sure you arent going to pass.
Once it determines, with a 95% accuracy that you have passed (or failed), the computer will shut off. This is why the number of questions you get does not matter, since the computer can never be sure that every person has passed (with 95% accuracy) with 75 questions, it keeps going until it is sure each person will pass the test(with that 95% accuracy).
Does this make sense?
Try going to this link and reading a little bit more about the NCLEX.
http://www.allnursingschools.com/faqs/nclex.php
-Meghan

Meghan is right again, but let me see if this helps anyone. The test is given to determine if a candidate is competent to safely enter nursing practice. Once you have answered the minimum number of questions, the computer performs a statistical calculation that is basically predicting if, given the questions you have answered, you are competent to practice nursing at an entry level. It does this with 95% confidence. This means that 95 times out of 100, the prediction is correct. And yes, it also means that 5 times out of 100 it is wrong. However, before anyone gets upset, that is a pretty standard error rate. If after the minimum number of questions the prediction can't be made with 95% accuracy, then you get another question, and the calculation is repeated and so on. 75 questions (for the RN exam) is the minimum number of questions that are needed for the calculation to be performed AND hit all areas of the test plan. 265 questions is the cut off, because after that number of questions, the computer can determine that no matter how many more questions you answer, the outcome at that point won't differ. This is a very simplified explanation, but is the basic gist.

TexasPediRN · Jan 28, 2006

Meghan is right again, but let me see if this helps anyone. The test is given to determine if a candidate is competent to safely enter nursing practice. Once you have answered the minimum number of questions, the computer performs a statistical calculation that is basically predicting if, given the questions you have answered, you are competent to practice nursing at an entry level. It does this with 95% confidence. This means that 95 times out of 100, the prediction is correct. And yes, it also means that 5 times out of 100 it is wrong. However, before anyone gets upset, that is a pretty standard error rate. If after the minimum number of questions the prediction can't be made with 95% accuracy, then you get another question, and the calculation is repeated and so on. 75 questions (for the RN exam) is the minimum number of questions that are needed for the calculation to be performed AND hit all areas of the test plan. 265 questions is the cut off, because after that number of questions, the computer can determine that no matter how many more questions you answer, the outcome at that point won't differ. This is a very simplified explanation, but is the basic gist.

Well said :)