Here's a Not-So-Quick List (but a pretty thorough one!) of miscellaneous questions that get posted FREQUENTLY:
✔️ If you needed to answer only the minimum number of questions (75 for RN, 85 for PN) you either did very well and could demonstrate in a minimum amount of questioning that you were competent to begin nursing practice....OR.....you did very poorly and the computer knew that no matter how many questions it threw your way, there was no possibility of you passing that day.
✔️ Other than the above, ANY NUMBER of questions between 76 and 265 can be given without ANY INDICATION of whether you passed or failed. Please don't ask everyone "I got 104 questions, do you think I passed?" We don't know. We can't know. Gotta wait.
✔️ Having many SATA questions, having few SATA questions, means nothing. SATA is not indicative of "higher level questions", this is a myth. SATA questions may be above the passing standard, or below it. And it's danged near impossible to know which it is, since one person's "hard" question might be someone else's "easy" question. If you get SATA questions.....you get SATA questions. Same as if you got drag/drop, etc. Don't read anything more into it.
✔️ Now for the biggie......ready?......"DOES THE PVT WORK?!?!" Yes....and no. It "works" as well as it has ever "worked"; people repeatedly saying "it worked for me" or "it didn't work for me" just means they either did it correctly.....or they didn't.
So how does it work? Well, for starters, the NCLEX is scored two times within a 24 hour period. Anyone trying the PVT PRIOR TO 24 HOURS after their exam ONLY knows what their first score was. That's it. Nothing else. They know that it's *LIKELY* they have guessed correctly....but those who say "it didn't work for me, it was wrong, it said I passed/failed and I failed/passed" didn't heed the info in this post .
If your first scoring (done immediately upon completion) is a PASS, and you try the trick after that first scoring, you think 'yay, I PASSED!' And with any luck you did. But not until the SECOND scoring is done will that be known. For those who try the trick right after they leave the testing site and see their card was charged (failed), they then think 'OH NO! I failed!' but that might be just as wrong. Because if the second score is a PASS, that is the one that sticks.....AND they'll be out $$ for a new test registration they don't need. AND it's non-refundable, forget about getting it back.
MOST people will fall into the group of people whose second scores match their first: pass or fail the first scoring is also pass or fail the second. They didn't find out early if they passed or failed, they just didn't realize they only had HALF the picture....and probably will never know, unless they learn how this thing works.
So, everyone.....will trying the PVT let you know if you passed or failed? YES.....if you do it only as described. Don't do it before 24 hours' time, period. Why make yourself nuts?
✔️ "My registration is "on hold", what does that mean?!" It means that a hold was placed on your exam results; holds last typically from 24-72 hours. During this time, you CANNOT GET ANYWHERE WITH PVT. IT WON'T WORK until the hold is lifted.
So why is there a hold? Maybe you finished 'too fast'. Maybe your palm scan didn't take on the first pass through.....maybe a fingerprint scan missed. Maybe there was a computer glitch at your testing facility; a power loss that puts everyone on backup power is a safe bet for a hold. Sometimes there is a cheating concern, or someone in your testing center had an issue along those lines. There are LOTS of reasons, some of which you might not even be aware of, and are wondering "why" you have a hold.
But here's the thing: Doesn't matter why. It just is. And having a hold placed doesn't make you any less likely to pass than if there WASN'T a hold placed. Go with it.
Quick Results are OFFICIAL 'pass' or 'fail' results, released by Pearson Vue for a fee of $8. These results are for the test ONLY, and don't indicate when or if a license will be issued in your name: that's up to the State BoN you applied to.
WHEN will your State BoN post your license info? Varies tremendously by State. Some do it within a day or two, others a week, others a few weeks or longer. If you are sure there is nothing in your background that precludes you from being issued a license, DON'T sit there freaking out that you don't see your name on the BoN's website! Waste of good celebrating time, honestly.
Some States don't participate in Quick Results. For you, "Results Not Available" will ALWAYS show up as a pop up when you try to find out (AFTER 48 HOURS, please!) what your QR's are. Sorry!
Time for a wrap up! ?
- Don't read more into the type of questions, number of questions than you know at face value.
- Don't think a hold indicates a pass or fail....it indicates only a hold.
- Don't do the PVT before 24 hours and think you know something. You don't.
And above all, try to remember that while everyone HATES this test, it IS only a test....one of SO MANY you took since you started school! It isn't designed to test proficiency, just minimum competency.....so BREATHE!! You got through school, you got through test prep....you GOT this!!
JustBeachyNurse, LPN
13,957 Posts
To whom are you referring?