NCLEX
THE NCLEX-RN®
EXAMINATION
Chapter 1
The NCLEX-RN® Examination
Guide for Test-Takers
R
epeating the NCLEX-RN®
Examination
THE NCLEX-RN®
EXAMINATION
UNIT I THE NCLEX-RN® EXAMINATION
The NCLEX-RN® Examination
Have you talked to graduate nurses about their experiences taking the NCLEXRN® exam? They probably told you that the test wasn’t like any nursing test they had ever taken. How can that be? The NCLEX-RN® exam is primarily multiplechoice test questions, and as a nursing student you are used to taking multiplechoice tests. In fact, you’ve taken so many tests by the time you graduate from nursing school that you probably believe there can’t be any surprises on a nursing test. Yet there is one more surprise waiting for you, and it is called
NCLEX-RN® exam.
The NCLEX-RN® exam is similar to other standardized exams in some ways, yet different in others:
•
The NCLEX-RN® exam is written by nurse specialists who are experts in a content area of nursing.
• content is selected to allow the beginning practitioner to prove
All
minimum competency on all areas of the test plan.
•
Minimum competency questions are most frequently asked at the application level, not the knowledge level. All the responses to a question are similar in length and subject matter and are grammatically correct. • test items have been extensively tested. National Council knows that
All
the questions are valid; all correct responses are documented in two different sources.
What does this mean for you?
•
National Council defines what is minimum-competency, entry-level nursing. •
Questions and answers are written in such a way that you will not be able to predict or recognize the correct answer.
•
National Council is knowledgeable about the strategies regarding length of answers, grammar, etc. They make sure you can’t use these strategies to select correct answers. English majors have no
EXAMINATION
Chapter 1
The NCLEX-RN® Examination
Guide for Test-Takers
R
epeating the NCLEX-RN®
Examination
THE NCLEX-RN®
EXAMINATION
UNIT I THE NCLEX-RN® EXAMINATION
The NCLEX-RN® Examination
Have you talked to graduate nurses about their experiences taking the NCLEXRN® exam? They probably told you that the test wasn’t like any nursing test they had ever taken. How can that be? The NCLEX-RN® exam is primarily multiplechoice test questions, and as a nursing student you are used to taking multiplechoice tests. In fact, you’ve taken so many tests by the time you graduate from nursing school that you probably believe there can’t be any surprises on a nursing test. Yet there is one more surprise waiting for you, and it is called
NCLEX-RN® exam.
The NCLEX-RN® exam is similar to other standardized exams in some ways, yet different in others:
•
The NCLEX-RN® exam is written by nurse specialists who are experts in a content area of nursing.
• content is selected to allow the beginning practitioner to prove
All
minimum competency on all areas of the test plan.
•
Minimum competency questions are most frequently asked at the application level, not the knowledge level. All the responses to a question are similar in length and subject matter and are grammatically correct. • test items have been extensively tested. National Council knows that
All
the questions are valid; all correct responses are documented in two different sources.
What does this mean for you?
•
National Council defines what is minimum-competency, entry-level nursing. •
Questions and answers are written in such a way that you will not be able to predict or recognize the correct answer.
•
National Council is knowledgeable about the strategies regarding length of answers, grammar, etc. They make sure you can’t use these strategies to select correct answers. English majors have no