Resource Center

Standard setting is a process used by testing professionals to determine the passing score on a test. It is an important step in establishing the validity and legal defensibility of an exam program. The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN exams are re-evaluated for their respective passing standards triennially. In this session, NCSBN staff discusses the steps involved in setting NCLEX passing standards.

The current NCLEX examinations score items using one of three scoring rules: 0/1 scoring rule, +/- scoring rule or the rationale scoring rule. This session explores each of these three scoring rules by using examples that cover all eligible item types on the NCLEX exam. Additionally, the session covers general information about using the partial credit model to convert the item scores onto the NCLEX scale.

This session will focus on recent research projects related to the development of the NCLEX exam

Newly licensed nurses require skills such as clinical judgment to make consistent and effective clinical decisions that support client safety. This session presents exemplary approaches to clinical judgment, highlighting the use of simulation in failure-to-rescue situations, as well as the application of a clinical judgment model in an emergency department nurse residency program.

In addition to developing the NCLEX, NCSBN provides daily operational, security and customer service support, dedicated by the Consolidated Services and Customer Experience departments, for NCLEX candidates, educators, and nursing regulatory bodies (NRBs). During this session, we explore the NCLEX registration process, online resources and exam security measures, highlighting what candidates can expect before, during and after the NCLEX. The session concludes with a summary of the NCLEX testing accommodation process, including the roles of candidates, NCSBN, Pearson VUE and NRBs.

NCSBN has been conducting research to determine whether clinical judgment and decision making in nursing practice can be reliably assessed through the use of innovative item types. This session gives an update on the NCLEX Examinations.

NCSBN ensures fairness for different groups taking the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN exams. Candidates with comparable nursing knowledge should perform similarly on exam items, regardless of their gender, ethnicity or other factors irrelevant to nursing practice. This session describes how sensitivity and differential item functioning panel reviews contribute to the fairness and legal defensibility of an exam.

In 2024, NCSBN conducted the PN and RN Practice Analyses to inform the development of the 2026 NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN Test Plans. The periodic performance of practice analysis (i.e., job analysis) studies assists NCSBN in evaluating the validity of the NCLEX test plan that guides content distribution of the licensure examinations. This session discusses the results of the 2024 Practice Analyses and pending updates to the NCLEX test plans that will be effective April 2026.

The NCLEX is a valid and reliable standardized exam that measures the minimal competency required to practice safe, entry-level nursing. To achieve this, the exam is developed using a multilayered process that includes an evidence-based content outline, item development using nursing content expert volunteers, several reviews and industry-standard exam principles. This session describes the methods used to achieve the quality exam development and maintenance the nursing profession has come to rely on and trust.