NCLEX examinations are developed and owned by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN).
The NCSBN administers these examinations on behalf of its member boards, which consist of the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
NCLEX examinations are designed to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for the safe and effective practice of nursing at the entry level.
The individual will be scored on their ability to think critically about decisions involving nursing care.
After the start of World War II, state boards of nursing came under increasing pressure to expedite licensing and schedule exams more frequently.
[5][6][7] In 1994, the NCSBN revolutionized NCLEX by transitioning from paper-and-pencil exams to a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) format.
[8][9][10] The governing body responsible for making changes to the NCLEX is the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).
Examples of cognitive level are memorization or recall, knowledge, analysis and application.
This portion of the NCLEX deals with adult medical and surgical care, pediatrics, and gerontology, which is the study of the elderly and the effects of aging.
These topics may include growth and development, birth abnormalities, child abuse, common infectious diseases of children, and usual childhood traumas such as burn injuries and fractures.
Questions under this category deal with birth control measures, pregnancy, labor and delivery; care for a newborn infant, growth and development, and diseases that can spread easily like sexually transmitted infections.
[4] Like the section on Health Promotion and Maintenance, the Psychosocial Integrity category constitutes approximately 12 percent of the NCLEX questions.
Other situations covered in this section are about psychosocial problems that fall short of psychiatric illness.
Also included in this section may be questions about crisis intervention, substance abuse, and therapy through communication.
Some of these alternative format questions ask information about a chart, graph, or audio clip.
The computer will continue to randomly generate questions from that category until the individual has met the requirements of the test plan.
In recent years, however, the NCSBN has added new format questions which do not involve simple multiple-choice selection.
Examples of the new formats include identifying and selecting a particular area of a drawn body part, selecting multiple correct answers via check boxes, free response mathematical questions usually involving medication calculations, and ordering the steps of a medical or nursing procedure.
The individual will have to apply the rules, facts, and processes they know and then make decisions about what is best for the patient's care based on the situation.
[4] Multiple education platforms offer test preparation programs that aim to help students study and pass the exams.
Kaplan, UWorld, and Khan Academy offer sample questions mirroring the actual exam to assist in active and personalized learning.