Those who passed NCLEX: what were your practice test scores?

passredskins1 · May 27, 2011

dont pay tooooo much attention to predictor scores...do you understand the content? By your scores...u seem to be doing good....when i took my nclex the second time which i passed :)...with saunders/nclex 4000 practice questions...i was scoring about 65 percent on my assessment...but when i did kaplan qbank questions..my overall score was 52 percent...why the difference? Kaplan questions were more application type ... saunders questions were not application but mostly knowledge based..so sometimes it depends on the reviews you use ...only you can gauge if u are on the right track ..... What i did was most do questions on a computer...get a print out of my results and targeted my weak areas/topics....that helped me pass..instead of just focusing on a number that can be MISLEADING @ times...good luck

caliotter3 · May 27, 2011

Did not take practice tests prior to the big one.

malapata · May 29, 2011

passredskins1, Thanks for your message, I appreciate it!! I hope I pass on the first try. caliotter3, I would never trust myself to take the test without practicing but more power to ya!!!

thanks to you both! :nurse:

Pixiesmom, BSN, RN · May 29, 2011

My practice scores on Kaplan were in the mid to low 60's range. I really paid little attention to the scores. Be sure and go over rationales.

Good luck on your NCLEX!

malapata · May 29, 2011

Thank you, pixiesmom!

Anyone use Lippincott's, Pearson's or ATI? I haven't done any Saunders or Kaplan tests.

JimBobMurse · May 29, 2011

My practice test scores:

ATI Predictor: 89.9% raw score (% of 180 questions answered correctly); ATI calculated that to be a 99% chance of passing NCLEX on the first try.

Hurst Q Review: taken twice, scored 76% both times.

Prentice Hall: 80% (practice NCLEX that comes with their review book).

I scored in the low 70s on all 100-question Davis quizzes I took. They have a vast bank of questions that comes with their review book (both print questions and computerized questions). To me, the Davis questions are ridiculously difficult and- what do you know- so was the NCLEX. Just throwing that out there.

In addition, I scored level 3 on all ATI evaluation tests except OB and Fundamentals. Those were level 2.

I did around 3000 questions to prepare for NCLEX.

Passed first try with 75 questions.

malapata · Jun 10, 2011

I just wanted to share with you that... I PASSED THE NCLEX!!!!! :nurse:

I guess the scores I was getting were good enough :)

mkmohn24 · Jun 10, 2011

Way to go!!!!!!! I'm working on Kaplan and Saunder's questions now, did you find that NCLEX questions were similar to either of those styles? I feel that there is a huge difference in difficulty and format between the two. Congrats again : )

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Jun 10, 2011

I took an NCLEX review course (not Hurst or Kaplan or any of those...it was a program local to Ohio & Erie, PA students) and they suggested being in the 70's. I did A LOT of practice questions and made my own "tests" (just did 75 questions or 265 questions and figured out my score that way) and I ranged 85-90%.

PhDRN · Jun 10, 2011

I passed this week, 35 years out of nursing school and 20 years out of practice. California requires you to take the NCLEX if your license lapsed more than 8 years. Way back when I'd taken a two-day written test to get my original license.

I used ATI testing as my primary source, got 75% on their comprehensive review test just before taking their predictor test. For the predictor I got 65% on the content and the prediction of 91% probablility of passing NCLEX. I passed the NCLEX itself with 75 questions.

My point here is that I think there may be a tendency to overstudy for this exam. There is a very high overall passing rate (something like 85% for new U.S. grads). I didn't think my practice scores were high enough but needed to move on in my life so decided to trust the high probability (statistically) that I would pass and just finally took the test.

You can't possibly know it all (me especially after so much time)--and on the NCLEX itself the computer will find your level of ability where you are only 'right' 50% of the time. That feels very different, very challenging, in the test center compared to practicing at home and getting 65 to 90% right. I had no idea if I'd passed when the computer switched off.

Moral of the story....if I can pass this test 35 years post-nursing school, just about anyone can! The odds (high pass rate) are in your favor!

malapata · Jun 11, 2011

Way to go!!!!!!! I'm working on Kaplan and Saunder's questions now, did you find that NCLEX questions were similar to either of those styles? I feel that there is a huge difference in difficulty and format between the two. Congrats again : )

I only did one set of Kaplan questions which was a 180-question test on a CD that came with a review book I checked out from the library. I also did some Saunders questions but not that many (maybe 100 total). The resources I mainly used were ATI and Lippincott's. I did find the questions on the exam to be similar to all of those resources. When I sat down to do the test, I felt like I was taking a practice test. Do you find a difference in formatting between Kaplan and Saunders? I think it's good to use a number of resources because it exposes you to a variety of formats. That way when you sit down to take the test you won't feel "used to" a certain style of questions and be thrown off by how NCLEX is formatted.

I hope this is helpful!