Why do people fail the NCLEX?

[Yayamaya]

I was wondering if anyone can comment on what they feel some of the main reasons are that students do not pass the NCLEX, (lack of,not understanding the questions, etc.)

[allabtu]

I'm a student that has failed 3x's I have done all of these and still received a failing grade. Although some material I achieved better on the nclex pn but still failed miserably. Is there recommended classes that can help figure out where I'm going wrong?

[MrsCuoco]

My program does what's called "NCLEX immersion", meaning we are exposed to NCLEX style questions all year long, not just in our exams but during every phase of learning in each unit. We are required to take NCLEX readiness practice tests for points toward each class and reach a score of 93% on each practice test before we are allowed to take the proctored readiness tests which have a benchmark you need to hit in order to earn class credit...you don't hit the benchmark, you have to take the practice tests again, 3 days apart, then take the proctored one again. Those proctored tests are indicators of how we will do on the NCLEX, and all but a couple of people in my class have been reaching and exceeding by FAR the benchmarks. OUr school has had a 100% NCLEX pass rate for the last 5 years.

I feel pretty good about that, but at the same time, it's kind of a lot of pressure! No one wants to be the one to mess up the pass rate!

[AgentBeast, BSN, RN]

People fail the NCLEX by not meeting or exceeding the passing standard as determined by the NCSBN. Any answer other than that is pure speculation.

[NYCRN16]

I think the biggest two reasons why people fail is: 1) Test anxiety 2) Improper preparation for the test.

You can be an A student but if you don't prepare properly there is no way you are going to pass. What I mean by that is, 95% of your studying has to be answering NCLEX questions and the other 5% is studying old notes or textbooks ONLY on the topics that you are not doing well on. Throughout nursing school we studied our notes and all of that in order to do well on the tests but that method is a bad way to study for NCLEX, there is just too much material and every teacher's questioning style will vary, so you have to study the questions that are NCLEX style. A HUGE part of studying is also learning the strategy of the test such as figuring out what they are actually asking. All questions will have a distractor answer and people that don't know how to interpret the question will choose this answer every time. You have to learn what the question is actually asking, then eliminate wrong choices. Next, take the two that seem correct and see if there is anything there that doesn't make sense, or if one choice would be a priority over the other.

[Nurse Neddie]

People fail the NCLEX by not meeting or exceeding the passing standard as determined by the NCSBN. Any answer other than that is pure speculation.

Thanks because I was really irritated with some of these responses!!!!!!!!!! Lack of study.... I guess ....

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

In my 8+ years of teaching, I can count on one hand the number of students who failed that I was actually surprised about. The ones that I was surprised about waited to long to take the test. The others were students who had to repeat a course during their time in school, and/or barely passed most of their classes, and/or had a language barrier.

Not all nursing programs are created equal. It's very east to blame the school, professors, program, etc. some schools have awful passing rates, but their pass rate can't stay awful for long (the state will come in and intervene, either put them on probation, then eventually close the program if they don't rectify the situation. Even if the school you are in has a 65% pass rate (just using a random number), that means 65% of the group are deemed (minimally) competent. How are they managing to pass? They are doing something right. A graduate cannot rely solely on the school (being in class and passing with a minimum grade) to ensure success on NLCEX,

If you look in the pre-nursing threads, you see students asking if C's will get them into a program. It will, depending on the location, applicant pool that semester and other factors. I'm not saying C students cannot be successful. What I'm saying is, statistically they are less likely to get through. I taught a number of students who beat the odds, but they had to work their butts off. I also know many students who we took a chance on, and did not succeed. There is also the student who passed by one or two points each semester, graduated, and failed NCLEX.

Not all schools over-prepare their students. Not all schools have the same requirements to prepare for NCLEX. Both schools I have taught at have exit exams, to determine the likelihood of each student passing. Many students do not take it seriously, stating they are not ready to take NCLEX, because they haven't studied yet. I see it as an eye-opener for those who receive the 'not likely to pass' grade. The reality is, these grades correlate with the students grades throughout the program. The A or B student doesn't get the 'not likely to pass' grade.

My current school has a mandatory review class, done by an outside company. It is based on what the overall weaknesses of the group are. The overwhelming majority of students take another review (usually Kaplan).

The bottom line is, students who did fairly well throughout their time usually pass.

[skittlebear]

The main reason is not studying well.Lack of critical thinking,and lack of practice also affects a candidate to fail

Great reply. I would also like to add that some have severe test anxiety. Nervousness can definitely get in the way of thinking clearly enough to give the correct answer.

[nikatkessa]

Geesh, that's rough.