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Entry-level nurses face a myriad of challenges, from navigating increased care complexities to serving an aging client population. The persistent knowledge-to-practice gap further complicates their role. In this context, the entry-level nurses’ lack of confidence and client experience can lead to practice errors. This session will shed light on these challenges and the crucial role of effective clinical judgment in delivering safe nursing care.

The NCLEX is a variable-length computerized adaptive test (CAT). It resorts to modern psychometric theory coupled with the state-of-the-art computer-driven administration to deliver a psychometrically sound, standardized exams for evaluating candidates’ performance with the passing standard required to conduct safe, entry-level nursing practice. This session will describe the background and algorithms behind the NCLEX CAT methodology.

Standard setting is a process used by testing professionals to determine the passing score on a test. It is an important step in establishing the validity and legal defensibility of an exam program. The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN exams are re-evaluated for their respective passing standards triennially. In this session, NCSBN staff will discuss the steps involved in setting NCLEX passing standards.

The current NCLEX examinations score items using one of three scoring rules: 0/1 scoring rule, +/- scoring rule, or the rationale scoring rule. This session explores each of these three scoring rules by using examples that cover all eligible item types on the NCLEX exam. Additionally, the session will cover general information about using the Partial Credit Model to convert the item scores onto the NCLEX scale.

This session focuses on recent research projects related to clinical judgment.

Newly licensed nurses face a myriad of obstacles in the entry-level period, namely, difficulty making consistent, effective clinical judgments. This session will highlight several approaches to facilitating entry-level nurses’ clinical judgment behaviors in the transition-to-practice period.