I’ve written many articles about the NCLEX on Nursejanx in the past. In fact, they are the most popular articles on Nursejanx, and that’s hardly surprising. The concept of Passing the NCLEX-RN in 75 Questions remains one of the most Googled search terms in reference to this exam. Let’s find out how to do it!

So how do you pass the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions?

You have to do well.

Basically, you need to be over a passing threshold that the NCLEX creators have set for the test. To figure our your testing level, the NCLEX uses something called Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT).

Here’s how CAT works:

Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) on the NCLEX NCLEX The NCLEX uses CAT to administer your exam. This info is direct from the NCSBN and Pearson Vue, the official authorities on the NCLEX. Why CAT? CAT is used for the NCLEX because it: Reduces the number of “easy” items that high-ability candidates receive; “easy” items tell little about a high performing candidate’s ability Reduces the number of “difficult” items low-ability candidates receive; candidates tend to guess on items that are too difficult which can skew results Reduces item exposu…

What kinds of questions should I expect to pass the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions?

Hard ones.

If you are testing at or above the passing threshold (which is required to pass the test), then you will likely get the hardest questions in the testing bank before you get cut off at 75 questions.

The hard questions are the select all that apply (SATA) and prioritization questions, because many of the answer choices are going to be correct, and you will have to decipher the most correct choice in order to get credit.

How will it feel if I am doing well enough to pass the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions?

Maybe good, maybe horrible.

If you are at or above the passing threshold for the NCLEX-RN, that means that you are getting all of the hardest questions in the testing bank, and probably not seeing the easier questions.

If you don’t know how this test works, you might assume that you’re an idiot since every single question seems like the hardest one imaginable. You have to remember that this test is not scored like ones you’ve taken in nursing school. There is no magical percentage that determines your grade at the end. In fact, there is no grade at all!

So long as you are testing above the passing threshold, you could get every other question wrong and still pass your NCLEX-RN. In nursing school, that would be a massive fail at 50%. But the NCLEX is different, remember that!

It’s a weird feeling for sure, but try not to stress out if it feels like you’re doing horribly. Maybe a genius will get all the hardest questions correct, but you don’t have to in order to pass the NCLEX-RN.