WK7 NCLEX-PN EXAM EXPLAINED THE NCLEX-PN® EXAMINATION

WHAT IS THE NCLEX-PN® EXAMINATION? • National Council Licensing Examination for Practical/Vocational Nursing graduates • Designed to test knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to safely and effectively practice nursing as a new entry-level LPN/LVN • The NCLEX-PN® examination results provide the basis for licenses granted to practical/vocational nurses by state boards of nursing Slide 2 OVERVIEW OF NCLEX-PN® CAT • A well-planned examination that takes into consideration differences in nursing regulations within states • Fair to each candidate and provides ample opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and ability as a beginning LPN/LVN • Important nursing content is included, regardless of the number of items chosen by the computer for a candidate. • Previous knowledge about using a computer is unnecessary to take the test Slide 3 THE CAT METHOD OF TESTING • Computer selects the items you will answer while you are taking the examination • As you answer the standardized items, the computer chooses the next best item to measure your competence • Based on how many items a candidate answers correctly, and on the difficulty levels of the items • Administers items with difficulty levels so that each candidate will answer about half correctly Slide 4 THE CAT METHOD OF TESTING (CONT’D) • Testing stops when the minimum number of items is answered, if it can be determined with certainty that the candidate passed or failed • All candidates answer a minimum of 85 items • The maximum number of items any candidate will answer during the 5-hour maximum testing period is 205