NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses)
The NCLEX-RN is a standardized, computer-adaptive examination required for all graduates of registered nursing programs who wish to obtain a license to practice as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
| Component | Detail |
| Purpose | To determine if a nursing graduate possesses the minimum knowledge and skills necessary for safe and effective practice at the entry-level. It serves as the final gateway to professional licensure. |
| Administered By | The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). |
| Format | Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT): The computer algorithm adjusts the difficulty of subsequent questions based on the candidate’s answer to the previous question. This makes the exam highly individualized and efficient at determining competency. |
| Question Count | Varies per candidate, typically ranging from a minimum of 85 to a maximum of 150 questions (including 15 unscored experimental items). The exam ends when a clear decision on competency is reached. |
| Scoring | Pass/Fail. It is not scored by a percentage. The computer determines a “Pass” if it is 95% confident that the candidate’s ability is above the passing standard (set at 0.00 logits). |
| Content Framework | Organized around the “Meeting Client Needs” framework, covering four major categories and eight subcategories, including: Safe and Effective Care Environment (Management of Care, Safety and Infection Control), Health Promotion and Maintenance, Psychosocial Integrity, and Physiological Integrity (Basic Care and Comfort, Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies, Reduction of Risk Potential, Physiological Adaptation). |
| Question Types | Primarily multiple-choice, but also includes Alternate Item Formats such as: Select All That Apply (SATA), Hot Spots, Ordered Response/Prioritization, Fill-in-the-Blank (for dosage calculation), and the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) case study items, which assess clinical judgment. |
