The NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination -Registered Nurse), the most popular of all nursing certifications, is the test that is used to test basic nursing competency of candidates upon graduation from nursing school, and is the entry level examination for awarding licensure to practice as a registered nurse.
The NCLEX-RN Exam
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has developed NCLEX-RN as an exam to be used by state boards of nursing to test basic level competence in nursing concepts to determine qualification for nursing practice.
The NCLEX-RN is a computerized test that uses a variety of testing formats such as fill in the blank, multiple-choice, and multiple response among others. The key to remember with the test is that the choices made in answer to the test question must be both safe and effective. If only one element of the two is met then that is not the best response to the question.
The examinations range from 75 to 265 test questions. On the test are 15 test items, which are being validated for possible use in future versions of the exam. The candidate answers the test questions and testing continues until it is determined with 95% certainty that the candidate has either passed or failed the exam. The candidate has a maximum of six hours in which to finish the test.
The NCLEX-RN website has copies of the test plans which describe the content of the examination and these may be downloaded free of charge.