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NCLEX
National Council Licensure Examination



Introduction to the NCLEX
Information provided by Kaptest.com

As a nursing student, you're no stranger to exams. Yet nursing school exams are significantly different from the NCLEX, or National Council Licensure Examination. In nursing school, exams are knowledge-based--you're tested on the facts that you know. The NCLEX is application-based--you're tested on how you take the facts that you know and use them in actual situations.

Why Must You Take the NCLEX?
This multiple-choice test has only one purpose: To determine if it's safe for you to begin practice as an entry-level nurse. The NCLEX is prepared by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Each state requires that you pass this exam to obtain a license to practice as a registered nurse. The designation registered nurse or R.N. indicates that you have proven to your state board of nursing that you can deliver safe and effective nursing care.

What's a CAT?
CAT stands for Computer Adaptive Test. Each test is assembled interactively based on your response to the questions, which you now enter at a personal computer station (no more number two pencils). This assembly ensures that the questions you're answering are not "too hard" or "too easy" for your skill level. Your first question will be relatively easy; that is, below the level of minimum competency. If you answer that question correctly, the computer selects a slightly more difficult question. If you answer the first question incorrectly, the computer selects a slightly easier question. By continuing to do this as you answer questions, the computer is able to calculate your level of competence. The nursing content of the exam has not changed with the implementation of the CAT format.

No More Build up to Specific Test Dates
You'll schedule an individual date and time to take the NCLEX. Testing is available year-round 15 hours a day, 6 days a week, in 5-hour time slots. Although a determination will be made at the conclusion of your exam as to whether you passed or failed the exam, your results will not be made available to you at the exam site. You'll be notified by your individual state board of nursing about two to four weeks after the exam.

For more information about the NCLEX visit
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