It is probably fair to say that all students who are enrolled in a nursing program expect to obtain a nursing license after graduation. You might say that it’s too early in your education to be thinking about something that is not going to happen for many months. But now is the time to begin preparing for the exam. If you wait until the end of your nursing program, it will be too late. The more you know now about the exam and the procedures for taking it, the better you can prepare yourself every day for what is possibly the most significant text you will ever take. Going to your state board of nursing Web site or opening your mailbox and getting the letter that says that you passed the licensing examination will be a moment in your life that you will never forget.
The licensing examination for practical and vocational nurses is called the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical/Vocational Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Before April 1994, the NCLEX-PN written examination was given only in April and October. Since April 1, 1994, the NCLEX for licensure as a registered nurse or a practical/vocation nurse has been administered by computer at a local test center.
Computerized Adaptive Testing
Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is a term used to describe not only the technology (the computer) used to give an examination but also the theory that is used to make sure the test is accurate and measures what it is supposed to measure.
It is probably fair to say that all students who are enrolled in a nursing program expect to obtain a nursing license after graduation.
A CAT exam is administered at a computer terminal. Students begin testing at different times, and students in the testing room may be taking entirely different tests on totally different subjects. Some tests have a time limit, and others have a number-of-questions limit. Some tests have both limits.
The NCLEX-PN has a limit on both. A practical/vocational nursing school graduate taking the NCLEX-PN has 5 hours in which to answer a maximum of 205 questions. At the end of the 5 hours and/or205 questions, the computer will shut off. The developers of the test suggest that students spend about 1 minute of each question.
When taking a CAT exam, you must answer every question you are given, even if you have to guess on some of the answers. You can’t go back to review previous questions or change answers. The way the CAT exam works is as follows: You are given the question. If you choose the correct answer, you get a slightly less difficult question. Whether you pass the test depends not on how many questions you answer correctly, but on how many of the more difficult questions you answer correctly.
After you have answered the minimum number of questions, which is 85, the computer compares your performance to the passing standard, you pass the exam and the computer shuts off. In the second case, if you’re clearly below the passing standard, the computer shuts off and you fail the examination. In the third case, you’re close to the passing standard but it’s not clear whether you pass or fail. In this case the computer continues to give you questions until it’s clear that your knowledge is sufficient for you to pass the test or insufficient and you fail the test.
The post The NCLEX-PN appeared first on BSN Nursing Guide.