The National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses – known as the "NCLEX-RN" – is a licensing test created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and administered by a private test company to candidates from around the world seeking to work as licensed registered nurses in the United States, certain US territories, several Canadian provinces, and Australia.
Registration for the exam is a two-step process; the candidate must submit an application for a license or registration with their local nursing regulatory body and must separately sign up to take the NCLEX-RN. If the local nursing body approves the candidate's license application, it will notify the NCLEX-RN test administrator. The test administrator will then notify the candidate that they have been approved to take the NCLEX-RN and will give the candidate a range of dates (averaging about 90 days, specified by the candidate's local nursing body) during which the candidate must take the NCLEX-RN exam.
Candidates have one full year after they sign up to take the NCLEX-RN to receive authorization from their local nursing body; if their application is not approved in that time period, they forfeit their NCLEX-RN registration and exam fee and will have to re-register and pay again in order to be able to take the NCLEX-RN after their local nursing regulatory body says they are approved to do so.
A candidate can only have one active NCLEX-RN registration at a time. If a candidate tries to register a second time while their first registration is still active, their second registration will be denied, and they will forfeit their registration fee.
The NCLEX-RN is administered via computer at private test centers around the world. The test uses a system called Computerized Adaptive Testing, meaning that the questions presented to each candidate will vary depending on how the candidate has responded to previous questions. A high-performing candidate who answers difficult questions correctly will receive more difficult questions as the test progresses; a low-performing candidate who answers fewer difficult questions correctly will receive fewer difficult questions.
The NCLEX-RN consists of between 75 and 145 questions, and the total test time is five hours. It does not use a raw score to determine whether a candidate has passed but instead measures whether the candidate's ability based on their answers was above or below the test's minimum passing standard. Candidates are notified if they pass or fail the exam; in addition, if they fail, they will receive a performance report that identifies areas of strength and weakness based on the test results.
Candidates who fail and want to retake the NCLEX-RN must wait at least 45 days before doing so; this may vary if their local nursing regulatory board restricts the number of times per year a candidate may take the NCLEX-RN.
In 2022, approximately 80% of candidates who were educated in the US passed the NCLEX-RN on their first try. Passing rates for repeat US-educated and first-time foreign-educated candidates were each about 44%, and about 28% of repeat foreign-educated candidates passed.
Typical Types of Test Misconduct
The test environment is heavily controlled in an effort to reduce the opportunities for cheating. You must provide an approved form of government-issued identification that matches your first and last name on the test registration exactly. You will have to sign in, and your signature at sign-in will be compared with the signature on your identification. You will be photographed, and the palm of your hand will be imaged using a near-infrared-light palm vein scan to capture a unique image of the veins in your hand. This information is stored and will be used in case there are questions about whether the person taking the NCLEX-RN is the person whose name is on the test registration.
Test candidates are not allowed to bring in any paper or writing instruments to the exam room. Electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, and smartwatches must be stored in sealable plastic bags provided by the test center. Backpacks, purses, wallets, mechanical or "non-smart" watches, coats, hats, scarves, gloves, food, drink, gum, candy, and lip balm are all prohibited in the exam room.
Test candidates are closely monitored during the exam, with audio and video records made of the test room, in addition, to live test administrators who oversee the entire process.
Given all of these precautions, including the way in which the questions to each test will vary depending on the person taking it, the opportunities for active cheating during the NCLEX-RN are quite limited. Obviously, a candidate who breaches the testing rules and brings in a mobile phone or smartwatch risks being accused of attempting to cheat. It could also be possible for a candidate to have a surrogate take the test for them, though given the identification, signature, on-site photograph, and vein scan requirements, it would be relatively easy to eventually determine whether or not the correct person took the exam.
Possible Issues During Test Administration
Most issues that arise during the administration of the NCLEX-RN are going to relate to accidental breaches of the testing rules. For many of us, grabbing our mobile phone and stashing it in our pocket or purse is something we do almost without thinking. The smartwatch on our wrists might stay on for days at a time (even at night, for those of us who use our watches to monitor our sleep cycles). Similarly, leaving our wallets or purses behind is something that would make many of us very uncomfortable. It's easy to see how a test candidate could forget to leave any of these things outside of the test room.
Another requirement during the testing process is that you return the sealed plastic bag with your electronics inside to the test administrator after you have finished the test and before you leave the test center. The test administrator will open the bag and may examine your phone or watch before returning them to you. If you open the bag yourself – something that might seem natural to do – it will be reported to the NCSBN and could result in an investigation and possible nullification of your test results.
Test takers are allowed two breaks during the course of the five-hour NCLEX-RN exam, but they are not permitted to access electronic devices, study notes, or test preparation materials during breaks. Other items such as bags, purses, wallets, mechanical or "non-smart" electric watches, coats, hats, food, drink, gum, candy, lip balm, scarves, and gloves may be accessed during breaks. If you are caught looking at your mobile phone or leafing through test prep materials during a break, it's very likely you will be investigated, and your test results may be invalidated.
The test materials are to be kept confidential. You're not permitted to record them in any way or even to discuss test questions with anyone else. In fact, test takers are warned that "Disclosure of examination items before, during, or after the examination is prohibited and may result in referral to law enforcement for criminal prosecution."
This is one area where it can be easy to make a mistake; many of us have spent our student lives reliving test questions with our friends and fellow students, and the idea that we can't talk about anything that is on a test is something that is probably foreign to most of us. If a test administrator hears you discussing any test questions with anyone else or believes you have recorded all or parts of the test in any way, this could result in an incident report and an investigation that could invalidate your test scores and threaten your ability to get a nursing license or certification
How Test Misconduct Is Investigated and Adjudicated
Test administrators have the power to report practically any kind of unusual behavior to the NCSBN for investigation and possible punitive action. Video cameras allow them to monitor multiple test candidates at once from a proctor station, and the administrators have been trained to immediately record instances of "aberrant test-taking behaviors or procedural irregularities." Recordings of test sessions are archived for at least 30 days to allow for review in case a test session incident is reported, or questions arise about a candidate's testing. Reports of potential misconduct can be evaluated not only by the NCSBN but also by the test candidate's local nursing board. Either may investigate a reported incident and, if misconduct is substantiated, take action against the candidate.
Investigations also happen outside of the testing environment. NCSBN personnel monitor the Internet, looking for instances where individuals or websites disclose test questions and answers, which violates the non-disclosure agreement that each test taker must agree to before being allowed to take the NCLEX-RN. Individuals, including nursing students and others, can also send the NCLEX tips when they find that test materials or questions and answers have been leaked.
The NCSBN also conducts statistical investigations of test results. According to the NCLEX, "All test results undergo a series of quality control checks before being released," and those that appear to have irregularities are put on hold and reviewed in more detail.
Once an incident report is filed with the NCSBN that involves any unusual issues related to your test, your results will immediately be placed on hold until the NCSBN completes its investigation of the incident. You agree as part of your enrollment to take the NCLEX-RN to "comply with any investigation that needs to be conducted."
As part of the investigative process, the NCSBN may review all records of the testing process; interview you as well as test proctors and other individuals; and evaluate your results, including considering how quickly or slowly you responded to questions on the exam.
If you are asked to answer questions as part of an NCSBN investigation into your potential misconduct, you will want to have the advice of a skilled education lawyer who can help you understand what is happening and how to best meet your obligation to comply with the investigation requests while being fair to yourself and respecting your own rights. Joseph D. Lento has years of experience advising test takers at all levels, in states all over the country, who find themselves involved in investigations related to cheating allegations. He and the Lento Law Firm Team can help you make sure that the NCSBN investigation process is as fair to you as possible.
Possible Consequences of Test Misconduct
If you are found to have violated test-day regulations – whether you actually cheated on the test or not – you can be made to leave the test center; the NCSBN may withhold or cancel your NCLEX-RN results; and your local nursing board may deny your license or prohibit you from attempting to register for a nursing license in the future.
The NCSBN reserves the right to withhold your results based only on its judgment that "there is a good faith basis to question the validity of the results for any reason" – even in the "absence of any evidence" of your "personal involvement in irregular activities." This can happen if your test reflects "unusual answer patterns" or even if you retake the test and your results show "unusual score increases from one exam to another."
Appealing a Test Decision
According to the NSCBN, the only basis for an appeal of a decision to cancel, revoke, or invalidate your NCLEX-RN results is if there is no finding that you engaged in irregular behavior. In that case, "An appeal is a candidate's exclusive means of redress with regard to NCSBN's decision to take this action." This would happen in the case where the NCSBN is relying on supposed "unusual answer patterns" to invalidate your score or where, after failing the exam once, you studied very hard and did much better on your retake so that you showed what the NCSBN believes is an "unusual" increase in your score.
If you find yourself in this position, you will benefit significantly from having Joseph D. Lento as part of your NCLEX-RN appeal team. He and his Team at the Lento Law Firm understand how these kinds of private appeal processes work in professional license testing situations. As an experienced education attorney, Joseph D. Lento can help you craft a more effective appeal and increase your chances of having your successful NCLEX-RN test score released so that you can become licensed and begin your career as a registered nurse.
Have Your NCLEX-RN Results Been Withheld or Invalidated? Here's What You Can Do Next
Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team have years of experience advising clients about testing issues, including claims that their clients have somehow engaged in improper conduct during the testing process. If your NCLEX-RN results are being withheld because you've been suspected of cheating, or because your results simply don't match up with the NCSBN's statistical claims of how you should have answered questions on the test, or by how much your score should have changed from your first attempt at the NCLEX-RN, you need to contact Joseph D. Lento. He can help you understand the NCSBN's investigation and appeal process and can advise you about how best to respond if you are invited to respond to their questions during an investigation. And where an appeal is possible under NCBSN rules, Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team can advise you on how to craft and submit the most effective appeal for your particular situation.
Your future as a nurse is too important to leave to chance. Contact education attorney Joseph D. Lento today at 888.535.3636 or reach out to the Lento Law Firm Team online today.
