NCLEX-RN® Examination

The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN exam) has one purpose: To determine if it’s safe for a test taker to begin practice as an entry-level nurse. It is significantly different from any test in nursing school. While nursing school exams are knowledge-based, the NCLEX-RN tests application and analysis using the nursing knowledge learned in school. Test takers are evaluated on how well they can use critical thinking skills to make nursing judgments.

Brief history of the NCLEX-RN: From 1870 through 1944, each state wrote its own rules, regulations and licensure examinations for aspiring nurses.  Because this made it difficult for nurses to move from state to state, in 1944, the National League for Nursing created the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE), which by 1952, all states had adopted – though they each mandated different passing scores.  In 1978, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) assumed responsibility for the exam.  In 1982, the NCSBN reduced the number of questions from 720 to 480.  In 1983, it was reduced further to 370.  Today, each test taker answers a minimum of 75 questions to a maximum of 265 questions. Regardless of how many questions a test taker answers, each will be given 15 experimental questions.  In April 2010, the NCSBN raised the passing standard by increasing the number of questions that NCLEX-RN® test takers must answer correctly.  While this will make the test somewhat harder to pass statistically, the questions themselves will not become any more difficult.  The NCBSN votes on a proposed raising of the bar every three years and in the past 15 years has voted to raise the passing standard four times.

Test Facts:

  • Year created: 1944
  • Test’s administrator: National Council of State Boards of Nursing
  • Number of test takers in 2010 (projected): 140,000
  • Length of test: Maximum of six hours to complete, though most test takers finish in less time.
  • Test format: computer-adaptive test (CAT)
  • Sections on test: There are four major categories: Physiological Integrity; Health Promotion and Maintenance; Safe, Effective Care Environment; and Psychosocial Integrity
  • Score range: Pass/Fail – there is no numerical score
  • Cost of test: $200
  • How often the test it administered: Throughout the year
  • Interesting fact about the test: The exam has no “Except” or “All of the Above” questions.

*NCLEX-RN® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.