 ] |
| ] |
| Membership Info |  | Test Shuts Off... | | NCLEX RN Page | |  Practice Questions | NCLEX LPN Page | | Test Day Preparation | | Boards Of Nursing | | NCLEX Tips | | SiteMap | | ||
|  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
[ NCLEX News ] Click here for most recent NCLEX PASSING RATE News.
Dear Colleague,
In an attempt to dispel inaccurate rumors that have recently circulated
among the nursing community, we
write to you at this time to share some important information regarding
the latest program developments
that influence the operations of the National Council Licensure Examinations
(the NCLEX-RN® and
NCLEX-PN® examinations). The following five topics have been identified
by NCSBN as ‘essential’
issues that you should be informed about to assist in preparing candidates
to take the NCLEX
examinations:
Alternative Item Formats
As part of the continuous quality improvement process of the NCLEX program,
the NCSBN Examination
Committee routinely considers how to best assess entry-level nurse
competence. This commitment
inspired the introduction of NCLEX using Computerized Adaptive Testing
(CAT) in 1994 and has
influenced the decision to introduce alternate items (previously known
as innovative items and “Next
Generation” NCLEX items) on the NCLEX examinations in 2003.
NCSBN first presented information on alternate items to boards of nursing
at the NCSBN Annual Meeting
in 1999 and a demonstration of some of the potential item formats was
conducted. The reports of the
NCSBN Examination Committee at the 2000 and 2001 NCSBN Annual Meetings
provided updates on a
pilot study using alternate item formats. In addition, NCSBN has provided
information on the introduction
of alternative item formats through a number of different print and
electronic media outlets since 2000.
An alternate item format is an examination item that takes advantage
of new technology and uses a
format other than standard, four-option, one correct response multiple-choice
items to assess candidate
ability. Alternate item formats may include: Multiple-choice items
that require a candidate to select one or
more responses, fill-in-the-blank items (including calculation and
prioritization item types), or items asking
a candidate to identify an area on a picture or graphic. It is important
to note that all NCLEX item formats,
including current standard multiple-choice items, may include charts,
tables, or graphic images. The
intent of these new, alternate item formats is to assess candidate
ability in a manner more efficient and
with more fidelity than can be achieved with standard multiple-choice
items.
The introduction of alternative item formats on April 1, 2003, was for
purposes of pre-testing the quality of
these new formats. As with all standard NCLEX items, it is required
that alternate items be pre-tested
before becoming part of the operational (scored) part of the examinations.
This is done in order to gather
‘real’ statistical information on all newly developed items. As with
multiple-choice items, alternate items
have to meet NCSBN’s stringent statistical criteria before they can
be used as operational items. The
current investigation by the Examination Committee is designed to assess
if these new item formats can
accomplish these objectives and the collection of real data is necessary
to that end. If items utilizing
these formats meet NCSBN’s selection criteria, these items will be
placed in operational item pools
beginning as soon as October 2003.
Currently, there is no requirement in the NCLEX-RN Test Plan (current
and proposed) that candidates will
receive a fixed percentage of items with alternate formats. Initially,
less than two percent of the items in
an operational pool will be of the alternate item format type. This
indicates that a candidate who takes a
minimum length exam, which is the majority of NCLEX reference group
candidates, on average may be
administered one operational item of the alternate format.
NCSBN’s Examination Committee will continue to monitor the roll out
of these new item types and
provide reports on all aspects of NCLEX item development to all stakeholders
as part of its ongoing
charge to continuously improve development of the NCLEX examinations.
To stay informed on the
introduction of alternate item formats into NCLEX item pools, please
visit the Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) document on our home page (www.ncsbn.org). The FAQ is frequently
updated and contains the
most complete information on the new item formats.
Proposed NCLEX-RN? Test Plan
At its January 2003 business meeting the Examination Committee reviewed
the results of the Report of
Findings from the 2002 RN Practice Analysis: Linking the NCLEX-RN®
Examination to Practice, Smith &
Crawford, 2003. Based on empirical data from this practice analysis
study, expert opinion of the
Examination Committee and NCSBN staff, the committee recommended changes
in the structure and
content distribution of the NCLEX-RN Test Plan. A draft of the revised
NCLEX-RN Test Plan was
distributed to all Member Boards of Nursing, the Practice Analysis
Panel of Experts, and NCSBN legal
counsel in January 2003 for feedback on the proposed changes. Additionally,
information about the
recommended changes was presented at the 2003 NCSBN Midyear Meeting.
During its April business
meeting, the Examination Committee considered all feedback and a final
draft of the proposed NCLEXRN
Test Plan was developed for presentation to and approval by the NCSBN
Delegate Assembly in
August 2003.
After consulting with various stakeholders the committee determined
that if the new NCLEX-RN Test Plan
is approved at the 2003 NCSBN Annual Meeting, it will be available
free of charge electronically for
download or in hard copy for purchase via the NCSBN Web site (www.ncsbn.org)
in Fall 2003.
Forthcoming information on the availability of the new NCLEX-RN Test
Plan will be disseminated to
Member Boards of Nursing, nursing educators, and candidates via the
NCSBN Web site and publications
as soon as it becomes available after the NCSBN Annual Meeting August
5-8th, 2003. If adopted, it is
expected that implementation of the new NCLEX-RN Test Plan will occur
in April 2004.
Investigation of the Current NCLEX-RN® Examination Passing Standard
It is necessary to re-evaluate the appropriateness of the passing standard
for the entry-level nurse
licensure examinations on a regular basis because the practice of nursing
evolves and changes over
time. To ensure that the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN
examinations accurately
reflects the amount of nursing ability currently required to practice
safely and competently, the evaluation
of the passing standard is coordinated with the three-year cycle of
test plan content evaluation, conducted
using a practice analyses of entry-level RNs. This three-year cycle
was developed to keep the test
content and passing standard current with entry-level practice.
The current evaluation cycle for the NCLEX-RN will commence fall 2003.
The NCSBN Board of Directors
will use multiple sources of information to guide its evaluation and
discussion regarding the establishment
of the passing standard. NCSBN will convene a panel of nine nurses
to perform a criterion-referenced
standard setting procedure. Members of this panel will represent the
four NCSBN geographical areas,
various nursing specialties, different minority groups, educators who
work directly with entry-level RNs,
and one member will represent the newly licensed RN population. In
addition to the recommendations of
the panel, the results from a survey of nursing professionals including
nursing educators, directors of
nursing in acute care settings, and administrators of long-term care
facilities will be evaluated. After
considering all available information, the NCSBN Board of Directors
will establish the standard for the
NCLEX-RN that reflects the level of knowledge, skills, and abilities
required for safe and effective entry level
RN practice in the United States.
The current passing standard is -0.3500 logits on the NCLEX-RN scale,
which translated into a pass rate
of 86.7% for First-Time, U.S. Educated Candidates during 2002. Although
it is too soon to know whether
the passing standard will be raised, lowered, or maintained, it is
anticipated that the decision will affect
the pass rates of the NCLEX-RN examination for the duration of the
following three year cycle. It is
projected that if the passing standard is lowered or maintained, the
pass rate will increase and
conversely, if the standard is increased, the pass rate will decrease.
Regardless of the decision made by
the NCSBN Board of Directors, information regarding the decision will
be communicated to Boards of
Nursing, nursing education programs and other NCLEX stakeholders as
soon as possible after the Board
establishes the new standard in November 2003. It is expected that
the establishment of any standard
will be employed coincident with the implementation of the new NCLEX-RN
Test Plan in April 2004.
Exclusive NCLEX Examination Registration with Pearson VUE
As of August 15, 2002, The Chauncey Group International, NCLEX test
service since 1994, ceased
accepting registrations for the NCLEX examination. Between August 15,
2002 and the present, the
NCSBN Testing Services Department has received and returned more than
4,000 candidate registrations
and fees which were mailed to Chauncey in error. While NCSBN Testing
Services does return these
registrations and fees to candidates in a timely manner, candidates
are nevertheless delayed in
registering for the NCLEX examination.
We take this opportunity to remind all NCLEX stakeholders that Chauncey
NCLEX Examination
Candidate Bulletins cannot be used for NCLEX examination registrations.
It is suggested that if
candidates require a new Pearson VUE NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin
that they contact their
prospective board of licensure to obtain one. To take advantage of
the speed of the new Pearson VUE
administration system it is recommended that candidates use the electronic
copy of the bulletin found on
the NCSBN Web site (www.ncsbn.org). The instructions on how to register
with Pearson VUE by
telephone or through the Internet are provided in the bulletin. Either
of these methods allows a candidate
to register and take the examination sooner than if they were to register
by mail.
NCLEX Invitational 2003
NCSBN invites you to join us in Boston for the fourth annual NCLEX Invitational
Friday, September 26,
2003. This year’s agenda will focus on the NCLEX Program one year after
partnering with the new
NCLEX test service provider, Pearson VUE. Sample program content includes:
Internet based
examination registration and scheduling, the new NCLEX-RN Test Plan,
a review of the NCLEX passing
standard setting process, newly developed alternate item formats and
future initiatives for the NCLEX
Program. In addition, an interactive session explaining NCLEX Results
Reporting: From the importance
of Program Codes to the Candidate Performance Report (CPR) will be
conducted. As in past years, the
NCLEX Invitational will provide invaluable information for boards of
nursing, nursing educators, nurse
recruiters, NCLEX review courses, and representatives from professional
nursing organizations.
Continuing education credits will be awarded. Please visit the Events
portion of the NCSBN Web site at
www.ncsbn.org to register.
Although this letter is designed to inform you of recent developments,
as always, the most current and
complete information about the National Council of State Boards of
Nursing and the NCLEX examinations
is available from our Web site at www.ncsbn.org, e-mail at nclexinfo@ncsbn.org
or by phone toll-free at
1.866.293.9600. Please feel free to contact us with your comments,
questions, and concerns.
Sincerely,
Donna Dorsey, MS, RN
Kathy Apple, MS, RN
President Executive Director
National Council of State Board of Nursing, Inc. National Council of
State Board of Nursing, Inc.
Casey Marks, PhD
Director of Testing Services
National Council of State Board of Nursing, Inc.