NCSBN Upholds Current Passing Standard for the NCLEX-RN(R) Examination

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Jan 6, 2016) -  The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN^®) Board of Directors (BOD), www.ncsbn.org, 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 from the NCSBN website at https://www.ncsbn.org/RN_Test_Plan_2016_Final.pdf.

About NCSBN
Founded March 15, 1978, as an independent not-for-profit organization, NCSBN was created to lessen the burdens of state governments and bring together boards of nursing (BONs) to act and counsel together on matters of common interest. NCSBN's membership is comprised of the BONs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories -- American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also 24 associate members that are either nursing regulatory bodies or empowered regulatory authorities from other countries or territories.

NCSBN Member Boards protect the public by ensuring that safe and competent nursing care is provided by licensed nurses. These BONs regulate more than 4.5 million licensed nurses.

Mission: NCSBN provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection.

The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not the individual member state or territorial boards of nursing.

*A logit is defined as a unit of measurement to report relative differences between candidate ability estimates and item difficulties.

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