Chicago — The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) voted on Dec. 9, 2015 to uphold the current passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination (the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses). The passing standard will remain at the current level of 0.00 logit that was instituted April 1, 2013. This passing standard will remain in effect through March 31, 2019.
After consideration of all available information, the NCSBN BOD determined the current passing standard was sufficient as a measure of safe and effective entry-level registered nurse (RN) practice. The BOD used multiple sources of information to guide its evaluation and discussion of the passing standard. As part of this process, NCSBN convened an expert panel of 11 nurses to perform a criterion-referenced standard-setting procedure. The panel’s findings supported retaining the current passing standard. NCSBN also considered the results of national surveys of nursing professionals, including nursing educators, directors of nursing in acute care settings and administrators of long-term care facilities.
In accordance with a motion adopted by the 1989 NCSBN Delegate Assembly, the NCSBN BOD evaluates the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination every three years to protect the public by ensuring minimal competence for entry-level RNs. NCSBN coordinates the passing standard analysis with the three-year cycle of test plan evaluation. This three-year cycle was developed to keep the test plan and passing standard current.
A PDF of the 2016 NCLEX-RN® Test Plan is available free of charge on the NCSBN website.