NCLEX

of examination appointments

beginning January 1, 2005. Do

not discard before receiving

your test results. You may also

download this information from

www.ncsbn.org.

2005 NCLEX

®

Examination

Candidate Bulletin

Questions About...

Answers

• Registering to take the NCLEX

®

_examination

• Authorization to Test (ATT)

• Lost Authorization to Test

• Acceptable forms of identification

• Comments about the test center

• NCLEX examination development

• General NCLEX examination information

• Unresolved concerns related to examination

administration

• Name or address changes

• Name corrections on your Authorization to Test

• Licensure

• Endorsement

• Interpretation of results

• Candidate Performance Report

• Scheduling an appointment to test

• Rescheduling or unscheduling your testing

appointment

• Examination results

Visit: NCLEX

®

_{Candidate Web Site,}

http://www.pearsonvue.com/nclex.

Call: NCLEX Candidate Services

United States – Call toll-free at 1.866.49NCLEX

(1.866.496.2539), Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, U.S.

Central Standard Time.

Asia Pacific Region – Call NCLEX Candidate Services in

Sydney, Australia, at (pay number) +61.2.9320.5454,

Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, Australian Eastern

Standard Time.

Guam – Call NCLEX Candidate Services in Sydney,

Australia, at (toll-free) 1.866.895.9016, Monday - Friday, 7

am to 7 pm, Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Europe, Middle East, Africa – Call NCLEX Candidate

Services, at (pay number) +3130 287 4990, Monday

-Friday 8 am - 6 pm, Central European Time.

All other countries not listed above – Call (pay number)

1.952.681.3815, Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, Central

Standard Time.

Candidates with hearing impairments who use a

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) – Call the

U.S.A. Relay Service at 1.800.627.3529 or the Canada &

International Inbound relay service at 605.224.1837. These

services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Write: NCLEX Examination Program

Pearson Professional Testing

5601 Green Valley Drive

Bloomington, MN 55437-1099

E-mail: [email protected].

Visit: NCSBN Web site, http://www.ncsbn.org

Write: National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.

(NCSBN) Testing Services

111 E. Wacker, Suite 2900

Chicago, Illinois 60601-4277

Call NCSBN Testing Services: 866.293.9600

Fax NCSBN Testing Services: 312.279.1036

E-mail: [email protected]

Write or call your board of nursing.

Wait until you receive your Authorization to Test.

Follow directions on pages 7-9 of this bulletin.

Examination results are sent to you by your board of nursing.

Wait a minimum of four weeks following your examination

for your results to arrive in the mail.

The policies and procedures contained within this Candidate Bulletin are subject to change at any time with or without notice. If you have any questions regarding these changes contact NCSBN at 1-866-293-9600.

Candidate results are not reported during any period of time in which the board of nursing to which a candidate has applied for licensure is not a member in good standing of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN).

Copyright © 2005 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN). All rights reserved.

NCLEX®_{, NCLEX-RN}®_{and NCLEX-PN}®_{are registered trademarks of NCSBN and may not be used or reproduced without written} permission from NCSBN. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise now known or to be invented) without written permis-sion from NCSBN.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents . . . 1

What is the

NCLEX

®

_{Examination? . . . 2}

Examination Fee and Registration Information . . . 2

Overview of the Examination . . . 2

Directions for Completing the

NCLEX

®

_{Examination Registration Form . . . 3}

No Refunds . . . 3

Failure to Pay . . . 3

Special Testing Circumstances . . . 4

Acceptable Identification . . . 4

Procedures for Requesting Special Accommodations. . . 5

Sample Name Entry on an

NCLEX

®

_{Registration Form . . . 5}

Sample Address Entry on an

NCLEX

®

_{Registration Form . . . 6}

Did You Know. . . 6

How to Schedule Your

NCLEX

®

_{Examination Appointment . . . 7}

Remember…. . . 7

Candidates with Special Needs . . . 7

Schedule for Changing Your Appointment . . . 8

International Test Centers . . . 8

Group Scheduling . . . 8

Procedure for Changing Your

NCLEX

®

_{Examination Appointment . . . 9}

Personal Identification and Examination Security . . . 9

Reminder About Your Name. . . 9

Test Center Regulations . . . 9

The Day of the Examination . . . 10

Grounds for Dismissal or Cancellation of Results . . . 10

Confidentiality . . . 11

Additional Information about the

NCLEX

®

_{Examination . . . 12}

Using the Computer . . . 12

NCLEX Examination Tutorial. . . 12

The

NCLEX

®

_{Test Plan . . . 13}

Developing the Examination. . . 13

Client Needs Categories Covered on the Examination . . . 14

Definitions . . . 15

Scoring the NCLEX

®

_{Examination . . . 14}

Examination Items . . . 16

Abbreviations for States, Territories, and Canadian Provinces. . . 19

Foreign Country Codes . . . 19

Education Program Codes . . . 20

U.S. and Territories. . . 20

Overview of the

Examination

In April 1994 nurse licensure

candidates began taking the

National Council Licensure

Examination (

NCLEX

®

_{) on a}

computer at test centers

located across the United

States and its territories. The

change to computerized

adaptive testing (

CAT

) for the

nurse licensure examination

came about as a result of a

decision made in August

1991 by the National Council

of State Boards of Nursing

(

NCSBN

). The

NCLEX

exami-nations are only provided in

a computerized adaptive

testing format.

Pearson Professional Testing

provides test development

and test administration

services for the

NCLEX

Examination.

This Candidate Bulletin

provides you with the

infor-mation needed to register

and schedule a testing

appointment for the

NCLEX

examination. Please keep

this Candidate Bulletin until

you receive your

NCLEX

examination results. You will

want to refer to it as you

get ready to take the

NCLEX

examination.

What is the NCLEX

®

Examination?

The NCLEX

®

_{examination is designed to test}

knowledge, skills and abilities essential to the

safe and effective practice of nursing at the

entry level. NCLEX examination results are

an important component used by boards of

nursing to make decisions about licensure.

Only boards of nursing can release NCLEX

examination results to candidates.

The NCLEX examination is administered in

the United States, American Samoa, the

District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin

Islands. The use of the same examination by

all jurisdictions facilitates licensure by

endorsement from one board of nursing to

another.

Beginning January 2005, the NCLEX

exami-nations will be administered internationally in

Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of

the Republic of China, London, England, and

Seoul, South Korea.

Eligibility Requirements

To take the NCLEX examination, candidates

must satisfy these requirements:

❏ Apply for licensure in the state or territory

in which you wish to be licensed.

❏ Meet all of the board of nursing’s

eligibili-ty requirements to take the NCLEX

examination.

❏ Register for the examination.

Registration Process Overview

1. Submit an application for licensure to the

board of nursing in the state or territory

where you wish to be licensed.

2. Register for the NCLEX Examination with

Pearson VUE.

3. Receive Confirmation of Registration

from Pearson VUE.

4. The board of nursing makes the candidate

eligible to take the NCLEX.

5. Receive Authorization to Test (ATT)

from Pearson VUE.

If more than two weeks have passed after you

have submitted a registration for an NCLEX

examination and received confirmation from

Pearson VUE, and you have not received an

ATT, please call Pearson VUE at the

appro-priate number listed on the inside front cover.

Examination Fee and

Registration Information

Fee

The fee for taking the NCLEX

®

_examination

is $200. You may also have to pay other fees

for licensure required by the board of nursing

in the jurisdiction in which you are applying.

You must check with your board of nursing to

find out about these fees. If you choose to

schedule your NCLEX examination at the

Hong Kong, London, or Seoul test centers,

you will have to pay an international

schedul-ing fee of $150 plus a Value Added Tax

(VAT) where applicable. These fees will be

charged when you schedule your examination

appointment.

Registration Time Limit

All NCLEX examination registrations will

remain open for a 365-day time period during

which a board of nursing may determine the

candidate’s eligibility. The time period begins

when the board of nursing receives the

candi-date’s registration from the test service. Once

a candidate is made eligible, he or she must

test within the validity dates printed on the

Authorization to Test (ATT).

If the board of nursing is unable to make you

eligible within the 365-day time period, you

must wait until your current registration

expires before re-registering. A candidate may

not have two NCLEX examination

registra-tions (of the same exam type) open at the

same time. If you re-register before your

cur-rent registration expires, your second

registra-tion will be processed and denied, and the fee

collected is non-refundable.

Candidates who are not made eligible by their

board of nursing within the 365-day time

peri-od will forfeit their registrations, including the

registration fee. Candidates who wish to take

an NCLEX examination will need to

re-regis-ter and re-pay the examination fee.

How to Register for the NCLEX

Examination

1. Submit an application for licensure to the

board of nursing in the state or territory in

which you wish to be licensed. Be sure to

meet that board of nursing’s application

deadline.

2. Register using one of the following

methods.

Registering on the Web

❏ Go to the NCLEX Candidate Web site

(www.pearsonvue.com/nclex) and select

the Registration option.

❏ Answer each question as directed. Use

pages 4-7 of this bulletin as a guide in

answering the questions.

❏ You must pay for your registration by

cred-it card, using one of the following: VISA,

MasterCard or American Express. Have

your credit card ready when you begin

your Web registration.

Registering by Mail

❏ You must enclose a certified check,

cashier’s check, or money order (made

payable to the National Council of State

Boards of Nursing) for $200 in U.S.

cur-rency drawn on a bank in the United

States with your registration. Use the

enclosed envelope to return your

registra-tion form and payment. Mail to: NCLEX

Registration, PO Box 64950, St Paul, MN

55164-0950.

❏ Personal checks, cash, foreign currency,

stamps, receipts or proofs of payment will

not be accepted.

❏ Credit cards cannot be used when

register-ing by mail.

NOTE: Registrations that are not properly

completed and/or are not accompanied by the

proper payment will be returned to you and

will delay your testing.

Registering by Telephone

❏ Call NCLEX Candidate Services at one of

the numbers listed on the inside front

cover of this Candidate Bulletin.

❏ Before you call, complete the registration

form; the customer service representative

will ask you to provide the information

collected on the registration form.

❏ You must pay by using a valid VISA,

MasterCard, or American Express credit

card.

❏ Have your credit card ready when you

make your telephone call. You must supply

the name shown on the credit card, the

credit card number, and the expiration

date.

❏ Credit cards will be verified before

regis-trations are processed. Delays may be

encountered if credit cards cannot be

verified.

Directions for Completing

the NCLEX

®

_Examination

Registration Form

The registration scan form that is in the

enve-lope in the center of this Candidate Bulletin

includes all of the questions that you must

answer if you register on the Web, by mail or

by telephone. If you submit your registration

form by mail, your registration form will be

read by a computer and must be completed

accurately to ensure timely and efficient

processing.

The following instructions will help you

com-plete the mail-in form accurately. Use a No.

2 pencil to complete the form.

❏ Where required, you must both print the

requested information in the boxes above

the circles and completely fill in or “grid”

the circles corresponding to the letters

and numbers. Make heavy, black marks

that completely fill the circles

correspond-ing to the letters or numbers you have

printed. The computer cannot interpret

information that is not grided. Leave

blank spaces between your last name, first

name, middle name, and each part of your

street address.

❏ Erase cleanly any response you wish to

change; make no stray marks of any kind.

❏ Make certain you complete all four pages

of the registration form.

❏ Be sure to sign the registration form.

Unsigned forms will be returned.

❏ Mail the registration form with the

exami-nation fee in the envelope enclosed with

this Candidate Bulletin. The fee must be

paid with a certified check, cashiers

No Refunds

There will be no refund of

registration fees (Web, mail

or telephone) for any reason.

If you have not received a

confirmation of your

registra-tion within one week of

sub-mitting your registration form,

call NCLEX

®

_Candidate

Services at one of the

tele-phone numbers listed on the

inside front cover of this

Candidate Bulletin to check

the status of your registration.

Do not submit another

regis-tration and fee before calling.

If you decide to submit an

additional registration, first

stop payment on the original

payment submitted. If you

register twice for either the

NCLEX-RN

®

_{or the}

NCLEX-PN

®

_{examinations, both}

registrations will be

pro-cessed and both fees

collected. However, you will

not be allowed to have more

than one active registration

for the same examination.

No registration fees will be

refunded, not even fees

received from duplicate

registrations.

There will be no refund of the

$150 international scheduling

fee for any reason.

Failure to Pay

A candidate may not take the

NCLEX examination, if the

registration fee has been

stopped, cancelled, or

other-wise revoked, either by the

candidate or a financial

insti-tution. If this transaction

occurs, NCSBN and the

boards of nursing reserve the

right to hold and/or revoke

the candidate’s result.

check, or money order made payable to

the National Council of State Boards of

Nursing.

NCLEX

®

_{FEE: $200. You will be sent a}

con-firmation indicating that your registration was

received. Incomplete forms and forms

received without the correct fee will be

returned.

Page 1 of the Registration Form

For any of the three registration methods

(Web, mail or telephone) you will be asked to

supply the following information.

Examination Fee

Please enter the number of your payment

check or money order in the boxes provided.

1. Examination for Which You Are

Registering

Fill in the circle next to the NCLEX

exami-nation for which you are registering, either

Practical Nurse (NCLEX-PN

®

_examination)

or Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN

®

examination).

Once the registration has been submitted,

candidates who want to change the type of

examination requested or the board of nursing

where licensure was requested must contact

NCLEX Candidate Services and will be

required to pay a $50 change fee.

Once a board of nursing declares you eligible

to test, neither the board of nursing where

licensure was requested nor the type of

exami-nation can be changed.

Your Name

2. Name

Enter your name exactly as it is printed on

your primary picture identification that you

will present at the test center. Do not change

the spelling and do not change the order of

your names.

Print your last (family) name, first name, and

your middle name in the spaces provided and

completely fill in the corresponding circles.

Print one letter clearly in each box. Leave

blank spaces between each part of your name.

If any of your names are too long to fit in the

boxes provided, print as much as will fit. If

you have had a name change, and have been

made eligible by your board of nursing, you

must submit the name change to your board

of nursing. Do not call or write NCLEX

Candidate Services with this information.

See page 5 for a sample name entry on an

NCLEX registration form.

Page 2 of the Registration Form

3. Mother’s Maiden Name

Print your mother’s maiden name and fill in

the corresponding circles. Maiden name is the

last (family) name your mother used at birth

before marriage. Only the last name is needed,

not the full name. Your registration will not

be processed without this information. If you

have questions please contact NCLEX

Candidate Services at one of the numbers

located on the inside front cover of this

bulletin.

4. Your Date of Birth

Fill in the circle next to the month in which

you were born. Print the day and year in

which you were born and completely fill in

the corresponding circles. For birth dates that

are less than 10, enter zero in the first “day”

box (for example, if you were born on April 2,

1966, you would fill in the circle next to

“April” and then enter 02 for the day and

1966 for the year). Incomplete birth dates will

delay processing.

5. Sex

Indicate your sex by filling in the

correspond-ing circle. This information is used for

statisti-cal purposes only.

6. U.S. Social Security Number

Print your United States Social Security

num-ber, if you have one, and fill in the

corre-sponding circles. This information is optional

but may be used by the board of nursing to

link your NCLEX examination results to your

application for licensure.

7. Ethnic

Information

Indicate the appropriate ethnic information

by filling in the corresponding circle. This

information is used for statistical purposes

only.

8. Telephone Number (Home)

Print your home telephone number and fill in

Special Testing

Circumstances

Testing accommodations for

candidates with special

needs can be made only with

the authorization of your

board of nursing and the

approval of

NCSBN

. To make

sure that there is adequate

time to evaluate any request

for an accommodation,

con-tact your board of nursing

immediately upon receiving

this Candidate Bulletin for

instructions on how to apply

for testing accommodations.

This should be done even

before you have submitted

your

NCLEX

®

_examination

registration.

The side column on page 5

provides information about

how to request special

accommodations.

Acceptable

Identification

The only acceptable forms of

identification are:

•

drivers license

•

state/province

identification

•

national identity card

•

passport

•

U.S. military ID

All identification must be

valid (not expired) with

sig-nature and photograph. All

identification must be in

English.

the corresponding circles. This number will be

used if it is necessary to contact you about

your registration.

9. Telephone Number (Work)

Print your work telephone number and fill in

the corresponding circles. This number will be

used if it is necessary to contact you about

your registration.

10. Have You Ever Taken the NCLEX

Examination Before?

If you have previously taken the NCLEX-PN

examination, fill in the circle next to “Yes,

NCLEX-PN examination.” If you have

previ-ously taken the NCLEX-RN examination, fill

in the circle next to “Yes, NCLEX-RN

exami-nation.” If you have taken neither the

PN examination nor the

NCLEX-RN examination, fill in the circle next to

“No.”

11. Have You Ever Taken the NCLEX

Examination to Qualify for the Same

License for Which You Are Now

Applying?

Indicate by a “Yes” or “No” response whether

or not you have previously taken the NCLEX

examination for the same nursing license for

which you are now applying.

12. Have You Ever Taken the NCLEX

Examination to Qualify for a Different

License Than the One for Which You

Are Now Applying?

Indicate by a “Yes” or “No” response

whether or not you have previously taken

the NCLEX examination for a different

nursing license from the one for which

you are now applying. (For example, if you

are registering for the NCLEX-RN

exami-nation but have previously taken the

NCLEX-PN examination, you would fill

in the circle for “Yes.”)

Page 3 of the Registration Form

13. Your Maiden Name

Print your maiden name and fill in the

corre-sponding circles. Maiden name is the family

name given to you at birth before marriage.

14. Another Last Name You Have Used

Print any other last name you have used in

registering for the NCLEX examination or

applying for licensure to a board of nursing.

Fill in the corresponding circles. The name

you enter must be the name you used

immedi-ately prior to the name you currently use.

15. Last Date Other Name Used

Fill in the circle next to the month, and print

and completely fill in the corresponding

cir-cles of the year for the last date that you used

the name entered in number 14.

16. Primary Language

Fill in the circle next to the option that best

describes your language proficiency. This

information is used for statistical purposes

only.

Procedures for

Requesting Special

Accommodations

To request special

accom-modations you must do the

following:

•

Request information from

your board of nursing

concerning its

require-ments for requesting

testing accommodations.

•

Make a request for

accommodations to your

board of nursing. Your

request must comply with

requirements established

by your board of nursing

for candidates requesting

testing accommodations.

•

Send your request to

your board of nursing as

early as possible so that

if approved by the board

of nursing and NCSBN,

the special

accommoda-tions can be made in a

timely manner.

Sample Name Entry

on an NCLEX

®

Registration Form

When completing the

regis-tration form, please use a

No. 2 pencil and leave a

space between words.

Do not use ink.

17. Education Program Code

Using the list of Education Program Codes

beginning on page 20, enter the five-digit

code of the program from which you received

your nursing education and fill in the

corre-sponding circles. If educated outside the U.S.,

use the foreign education codes on page 40.

This information is required and must be

filled in.

If the name of your program is not on the list

or if you are taking the licensure examination

as a result of equivalency, please contact your

board of nursing to find the correct code to

use.

18. Graduation Date

Fill in the circle next to the month of your

graduation from your nursing program. Then

print the year of your graduation and fill in

the corresponding circles. (For example, if you

graduated in June 1997, you would fill in the

circle next to “June” and then enter 1997 for

the year.)

19. Do You Have CGFNS Certification?

Indicate whether or not you have received

certification from CGFNS (Commission on

Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools). A

current CGFNS certificate indicates that you

have passed the pre-licensure examination

that tests nursing knowledge and English skills

for graduates of foreign nursing schools.

20. CGFNS Certification Number

If you have CGFNS certification, print your

certification number in the spaces provided

and fill in the corresponding circles.

Otherwise leave this section blank and go on

to question 21.

Page 4 of the Registration Form

21. Board of Nursing From Which You Are

Seeking Licensure

Fill in the circle next to the name of the

board of nursing where you have applied for

licensure. This information is required and

must be filled in. If a board of nursing is not

selected, this form will be returned to you.

Once the registration form has been

submit-ted, candidates who want to change the board

of nursing where licensure was requested or

the type of examination requested must

con-tact NCLEX Candidate Services and will be

Sample Address

Entry on an NCLEX

®

Registration Form

When completing the

regis-tration form, please use a

No. 2 pencil and leave a

space between words.

Do not use ink.

Did You Know…

•

This bulletin can be

found at and downloaded

from www.ncsbn.org.

• NCLEX

®

_examination

appointments can be

scheduled year-round.

Most Pearson

Profes-sional Centers are open

Monday through Friday

except on holidays.

required to pay a $50 change fee. The board

of nursing where licensure was requested or

the type of examination requested cannot be

changed once that board of nursing declares

you eligible to test.

22. Your Current Mailing Address

Print the street address, city, state, territory or

Canadian province where you want your

reg-istration and scheduling information to be

mailed. Fill in the corresponding circles. To

indicate a space in your address, leave a blank

box and fill in the corresponding circle. The

state, territory and Canadian province

abbre-viations are located on page 19 of this

Candidate Bulletin. If you live outside of the

United States, its territories or Canada, leave

the section marked “State, Territory, or

Province” blank.

22a. U.S. Zip Code

If you live in the United States, print your

U.S. zip code and completely fill in the

cor-responding circles.

22b. Country Code

If your mailing address is outside the United

States and its territories, use the Foreign

Country Code list on page 19 of this

Candidate Bulletin to complete this item.

Print the three-digit country code and

com-pletely fill in the corresponding circles.

There is no country code for U.S.A.

addresses.

22c. If you live outside the U.S., please

print your postal code in this space. All

testing at Pearson Professional Centers is

subject to U.S. government trade

regula-tions and restricregula-tions, some of which are

applicable to the provision of testing

ser-vices in the U.S. and its territories. You

must supply a complete country reference

when providing your address and make sure

that such reference is consistent with the

address on your identification that you

pre-sent at the testing center.

23. E-Mail Address

If you have an e-mail address, please print it

in this space. This e-mail address will be used

to deliver your confirmation of registration,

your Authorization to Test (ATT), and the

confirmation of your examination

appoint-ment. You also will receive a paper copy of

these documents through the U.S. mail.

Sign in pencil or ink (do not print) your full

name and fill in the date. Before you mail

your registration form and examination fee

in the enclosed envelope, make sure that

you have signed your form and checked it

for accuracy. Be sure that the proper circles

are filled in, that there are no stray marks,

and that your form is complete and accurate.

How to Schedule Your

NCLEX

®

_Examination

Appointment

NCLEX

®

_{examination testing will take place}

at Pearson Professional Centers.

Appointments to take the examination can

be made through the Web or by telephone,

except for the Hong Kong, London, and

Seoul test centers. Scheduling at these centers

can only be made via the telephone with the

international scheduling group.

Authorization to Test (ATT)

After your board of nursing declares you

eligi-ble, you will receive an Authorization to Test

(ATT) in the mail (and through e-mail if you

have provided an e-mail address on your

regis-tration) from Pearson VUE. You must have

your ATT to schedule an appointment to

take the NCLEX examination and you must

present your ATT at the test center on the

day of your examination to be admitted to

the examination. You will not be admitted to

the examination without your ATT and will

be required to re-register and re-pay to take

the examination.

Call NCLEX Candidate Services at one of the

telephone numbers listed on the inside front

cover of the Candidate Bulletin to report a

lost ATT or if it has been two weeks since you

registered and have not received your ATT.

The ATT contains your test authorization

number, candidate identification number, and

an expiration date. Each ATT is valid for a

period of time specified by the state board of

nursing (varies from 60 days to 365 days;

how-ever, the average is 90 days). Once the board

of nursing declares you eligible to test and

your ATT is issued, you must test within the

validity dates of your ATT. These validity

Remember:

You will not be admitted to

the examination without your

Authorization to Test and

proper identification. If you

arrive without these

materi-als, you will be required to

re-register and re-pay the

examination fee of $200.

Candidates with

Special Needs

Testing accommodations for

candidates with special

needs will only be made with

the authorization of your

board of nursing and

NCSBN

.

Do not schedule an

appoint-ment to take the

NCLEX

®

examination until you have

received written

confirma-tion of your accommodaconfirma-tions

and your Authorization to

Test (

ATT

) indicating

‘Accommodations Granted’.

Candidates approved for

testing with special

accom-modations must schedule

their testing appointment

through the

NCLEX

Accommodations

Coordinator by calling NCLEX

Candidate Services at one of

the telephone numbers listed

on the inside front cover of

this Candidate Bulletin and

ask for the

NCLEX

Accommodations

Coordinator.

Please note: candidates

who need to test with

accommodations cannot

schedule their appointments

through the

NCLEX

Candidate

Web site.

Scheduling Your NCLEX Examination

Appointment

When scheduling your examination

appoint-ment, you should plan for a testing session

that may last a maximum of six hours if you

are taking the NCLEX-RN

®

_{examination, or}

five hours for the NCLEX-PN

®

_examination.

Candidates should make appointments to test

as soon as possible after receiving their ATTs

even if they do not want to test immediately.

WARNING: Test centers may fill up quickly

because of high volumes and previously

uled special events. Waiting to call to

sched-ule your testing appointment may significantly

limit the dates the center can seat you.

Additionally, if you wait until your ATT is

close to expiring, Pearson Professional Centers

may not be able to seat you prior to its

expira-tion. If this occurs, you will be required to

re-register and re-pay to take the examination.

You must test within the validity dates of

your ATT. As stated previously: these

valid-ity dates cannot be extended for any reason.

First-time test takers must be offered an

appointment within 30 days of the call to

schedule an appointment, and repeat

candi-dates must be offered an appointment within

45 days. If you wish, you may decline the

appointment offered and schedule later than

the 30 or 45 days.

Candidates with accommodations may not

test as walk-ins.

Scheduling Procedure

Follow these procedures to schedule your

NCLEX examination appointment.

1. You may take the examination at any

Pearson Professional Center (PPC)

locat-ed in the U.S.A. or its territories.

Beginning in January 2005, candidates

may also schedule their NCLEX

examina-tions in Hong Kong, London, or Seoul. A

list of Pearson Professional Centers will be

included with your ATT. You can find the

Pearson Professional Centers locations and

addresses on the NCLEX Candidate Web

site. You may schedule an appointment to

take your NCLEX examination at any

center. You do not have to take the

exam-ination in the same jurisdiction in which

you are seeking licensure.

2. If you choose to schedule your

examina-tion in Hong Kong, London, or Seoul, you

will be charged an additional

non-refund-able international scheduling fee of $150.

If applicable, a Value Added Tax (VAT)

may be charged for this examination.

Please be aware that once you have an

appointment in Hong Kong, London, or

Seoul, and you decide to re-schedule to a

test center in the U.S.A. or its

territo-ries, you will not receive a refund for the

$150 scheduling fee.

3. Examination appointments at test centers

in the U.S.A. or its territories can be

scheduled through the NCLEX Candidate

Web site (www.pearsonvue.com/nclex) or

by calling NCLEX Candidate Services at

one of the telephone numbers listed on

the inside front cover of this Candidate

Bulletin. You can only schedule an

appointment for the Hong Kong,

London, or Seoul test centers by the

telephone through the international

scheduling group.

You cannot schedule your examination

appointment until you receive the ATT.

Have your ATT available when you

schedule.

4. If you are using the NCLEX Candidate

Web site to schedule, you will be asked to

supply your user ID and password, which

you will receive with your ATT. You also

will be asked your preference for date and

time of testing at the Pearson Professional

Center of your choice.

5. If you schedule via the telephone, call

NCLEX Candidate Services at one of the

telephone numbers listed on the inside

front cover of this Candidate Bulletin. You

will be asked to supply your name and

your ATT number, along with other

infor-mation to verify your identity. You also

will be asked your preference for date and

time of testing at the Pearson Professional

Center of your choice.

6. If your first-choice date or time is

unavail-able, you will be offered an alternative as

close to your first choice as possible.

7. On the bottom of your ATT, make a note

of when and at which Pearson Professional

Center you have been scheduled for the

examination. Be sure to ask for directions

if you need them.

Schedule for

Changing Your

Appointment

For exams scheduled on

Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, and Friday, call 24

hours prior to the day and

time of your appointment.

For exams scheduled on

Saturday, Sunday, or

Monday, call on Friday at

least 24 hours in advance of

your appointment time.

International Test

Centers

To schedule an appointment

at Hong Kong, London, and

Seoul test centers, call

NCLEX Candidate Services

at one of the telephone

num-bers listed on the inside front

cover and ask for the

inter-national scheduling group.

Group Scheduling

Group scheduling (5 or more

candidates) must be done

through the Pearson VUE

Group Scheduling

Coordinator. For further

infor-mation please send a fax to

the attention of Group

Scheduling Coordinator at

952-681-3899.

8. A confirmation of your appointment will

be sent to you via the U. S. mail and

email (if you provided an email address).

Verify that all the information is correct.

Contact NCLEX Candidate Services

immediately to correct any errors to your

appointment.

Procedure for Changing

Your NCLEX

®

_Examination

Appointment

If you need to change your appointment date,

time or location, you may go to the NCLEX

®

Candidate Web site

(www.pearsonvue.com/nclex) or call NCLEX

Candidate Services at one of the telephone

numbers listed on the inside front cover of

this Candidate Bulletin one full business day

(24 hours) prior to your scheduled

appoint-ment. Follow the schedule in the side column

on page 8 if you need to change your

appointment.

Candidates with appointments in Hong Kong,

London, or Seoul must call the international

scheduling group in order to change their

appointment. Candidates who have

appoint-ments in Hong Kong, London, or Seoul may

re-schedule to Hong Kong, London, or Seoul

without forfeiting their $150 international

scheduling fee. If you choose to re-schedule

your examination to a test center within

United States or its territories, you will forfeit

your $150 fee.

If you have an appointment in one of the

U.S. or its territories test centers and choose

to re-schedule to Hong Kong, London, or

Seoul, you will be charged a non-refundable

$150 international scheduling fee and any

applicable Value Added Tax (VAT).

If you are a candidate who has received

spe-cial accommodations, ask for the NCLEX

Accommodations Coordinator in order to

change your appointment.

If you fail to arrive for your examination

appointment or fail to reschedule/unschedule

without giving the appropriate notice (as

out-lined in the schedule in the side column on

page 8), you will forfeit your examination fee

(and international scheduling fee if

applica-ble) and your ATT will be invalidated. You

will be required to re-register and re-pay the

examination fee of $200. Your failure to take

the examination will be reported to the

board of nursing where you have applied for

licensure.

PLEASE NOTE: Leaving a message on an

answering machine does not constitute giving

the required notice for rescheduling or

unscheduling your testing appointment. You

must either reschedule or unschedule your

appointment on the NCLEX Candidate Web

site or by speaking with an agent at NCLEX

Candidate Services.

No Refunds

There will be no refund of the $200

exami-nation fee for any reason. This policy also

applies to the international scheduling fee of

$150. See page 3 for details about the refund

policy.

Personal Identification

and Examination Security

Because of the importance of the NCLEX

®

examination, numerous security measures will

be enforced during the administration of the

examination. Strict candidate identification

requirements have been established.

Your Name

The printed name on your identification must

match exactly the printed name on your

Authorization to Test (ATT). If your name

with which you have registered is different

from the name on your identification, you

must bring legal name change documentation

with you to the test center on the day of your

test. The only acceptable forms of legal

doc-umentation are: marriage license, divorce

decree and/or court action legal name

change documents. All documents must be

in English. All documents must be the

origi-nal document. Candidates wishing to make a

legal name change, address change or e-mail

address change must contact their board of

nursing. This cannot be done at the test

center.

Reminder About

Your Name

You must use the same form

of your name as you

provid-ed on your examination

reg-istration. Do not change the

spelling and do not change

the order of your names. Use

the same form of your name:

•

as it appears on the

identification you will use

at the test center.

•

on your

NCLEX

examina-tion registraexamina-tion.

•

if you contact

NCLEX

Candidate Services for

assistance.

See also page 4 for

informa-tion about your name.

Test Center

Regulations

To ensure that all

candi-dates’

NCLEX

®

_examination

results are earned under

comparable conditions and

represent fair and accurate

measurement, it is

neces-sary to maintain a

standard-ized testing environment.

The following regulations are

designed to help ensure

such an environment.

All candidates must adhere

to these regulations:

• No study aids (textbooks,

notebooks, classroom

notes, etc.) are allowed

anywhere in Pearson

Professional Centers.

• No papers, books, food,

pens, purses, wallets,

watches, beepers, cell

phones and all other

elec-tronic devices are allowed

in the testing room.

• No cameras, photographic

equipment or devices

allowed in the test center.

Identification Requirements

When you arrive at the test center, you will

be required to present one form of acceptable

identification from the list below. You will

also be required to present your valid

Authorization to Test (ATT). You will not be

admitted to the examination without the

proper identification and your ATT; if

either of these requirements is not met, you

will be turned away; if you arrive without

these materials, you will be required to

re-register and re-pay the examination fee of

$200. If you paid the international

schedul-ing fee of $150, that will be forfeited as

well.

Acceptable Identification

The only acceptable forms of identification

are listed below. Your identification must be

printed in English language letters, must be

valid and unexpired (clearly stated), and

have a recent photograph and a signature

signed in English.

❏ Valid (not expired) driver’s license with

photo and signature.

❏ Valid (not expired) state/province

identifi-cation (ID) card with photo and signature.

❏ Valid (not expired) passport with photo

and signature.

❏ Valid (not expired) United States military

identification with photo and signature.

❏ Valid (not expired) National identity card

with photo and signature (in English

lan-guage letters).

No other identification is acceptable for

admittance to the NCLEX examination. ID’s

from countries on the United States

govern-ment’s list of embargoed countries will not be

accepted.

Additional Precautions

Additional security measures that will be

taken at the test centers include:

❏ A digital fingerprint, signature and

photo-graph will be taken at the test center and

will accompany your examination result.

Your fingerprint, signature and photograph

may be used to confirm your identity by

the board of nursing to which you have

applied for licensure. You cannot be

test-ed without having your fingerprint,

sig-nature and photograph taken.

❏ You will be observed at all times while

taking the examination. This observation

will include direct observation by test

cen-ter staff as well as video and audio

record-ing of your examination session.

The Day of the

Examination

The staff members at each Pearson

Professional Center follow designated

proce-dures to ensure that the operation of the test

center meets NCSBN criteria for standardized

testing.

The following are procedures that will be

fol-lowed when you arrive at the Pearson

Professional Center for your NCLEX

®

exami-nation appointment.

1. Plan to arrive at the Pearson

Professional Center at least 30 minutes

before your scheduled testing time. If

you arrive more than 30 minutes after

your scheduled appointment, you may be

required to forfeit your NCLEX

exami-nation appointment.

If you forfeit your examination

appoint-ment you will be required to re-register

and re-pay the examination fee. Your

fail-ure to take the examination will be

report-ed to the board of nursing where you have

applied for licensure.

2. Friends, relatives or children who

accom-pany you to the test center will not be

permitted to wait in the test center or

contact you while you are taking the

examination.

3. You will be required to present your

Authorization to Test (ATT)and your

valid picture identification that includes

your signature in English.

4. You will be asked to provide your

signa-ture, and you will have your fingerprint

and photograph taken. Hats, scarves and

coats may not be worn in the testing room

or while your photograph is being taken.

5. You will be required to leave your personal

belongings outside the testing room.

Coats, scarves and hats are not allowed in

the testing room. Secure storage will be

Test Center Regulations,

continued

• No hats or coats.

• Eating, drinking or use of

tobacco is not allowed in

the testing center.

• Unauthorized scratch

paper may not be brought

into the testing room.

(Note boards and markers

will be provided by the test

center staff.)

• Note boards may not be

removed from the test

center.

• Candidates may not leave

the testing room without

the test administrator’s

permission.

• Candidates must provide a

fingerprint each time they

enter the testing room.

Grounds for

Dismissal or

Cancellation of

Results

An examinee who engages

in irregular behavior and/or

does not heed the

adminis-trator’s warning to

discontin-ue inappropriate behavior

may be dismissed from the

test center or have

examina-tion results voided. All of the

following behaviors are

con-sidered to be irregular

behavior:

• Giving or receiving

assis-tance of any kind.

• Using any prohibited aids.

Prohibited aids are any

devices or materials that

will be helpful in taking the

NCLEX

®

_examination.

Examples of aids that are

prohibited are handheld

calculators, conversion

tables, dictionaries, etc.

provided. Storage space is small, so

candi-dates should plan appropriately. Pearson

Professional Centers assumes no

responsi-bility for candidates’ personal belongings.

If you leave the testing room for any

rea-son, you will be required to have your

fin-gerprint taken when you leave, and again

when re-entering the testing room.

Do not take textbooks or notebooks

containing NCLEX examination study

materials to the test center as such items

are considered prohibited testing aids.

Doing so may result in dismissal or

can-cellation of your testing results.

6. The test administrator (TA) will provide

you with an erasable note board that may

be replaced as needed during testing. You

may not take your own note boards,

scratch paper or writing instruments to

the examination, nor may you remove the

note board from the testing room at any

time. Turn in your note board to the TA

after you complete testing.

7. You will have up to six hours to complete

the NCLEX-RN

®

_{examination, and five}

hours to complete the NCLEX-PN

®

exam-ination; total examination time includes a

short tutorial, two preprogrammed

option-al breaks and any unscheduled breaks you

may take. The first optional break is

offered after two hours of testing. The

sec-ond optional break is offered after three

and one-half hours of testing. The

com-puter will automatically tell you when

these scheduled breaks begin.

All breaks count against testing time.

When you take a break, you must leave

the testing room, and you will be required

to provide a fingerprint before and after

your break.

8. The test administrator will give you a

short orientation and then will escort you

to a computer terminal. You must remain

in your seat during the examination,

except when authorized to leave by test

center staff. You may not change your

computer terminal unless a TA directs you

to do so.

PLEASE NOTE: On rare occasions, technical

problems may require rescheduling of a

candi-date’s examination. If circumstances arise

causing you to wait more than 30 minutes

after your scheduled appointment time, or a

restart delay lasts longer than 30 minutes, you

will be given the choice of continuing to wait

or rescheduling your appointment without an

additional fee.

❏ If you choose to wait, you may later

change your mind at any time prior to

beginning or restarting the examination.

❏ If you choose not to reschedule, but rather

test after a delay, you will have no further

recourse and your testing results will be

considered valid.

❏ If you choose to reschedule your

appoint-ment or the problem causing the delay

cannot be resolved, you will be allowed to

test at a later date, at no additional

charge.

Every attempt will be made to contact

candi-dates if technical problems are identified prior

to a scheduled appointment.

9. Raise your hand to notify the

administra-tor if you:

❏ Believe you have a problem with your

computer.

❏ Need an additional note board.

❏ Need to take a break.

❏ Need the administrator for any reason.

10. After your examination is finished, you

will be asked to complete a brief

comput-er-delivered questionnaire about your

test-ing experience.

11. When you have finished the

question-naire, raise your hand to summon the test

administrator. The TA will collect and

inventory all note boards. The TA will

dismiss you when all requirements are

ful-filled.

12. You may ask the test administrator for a

Confidential Comment Sheet for any

nar-rative information about your testing

ses-sion you want to provide to NCSBN, the

Pearson Professional Centers or NCLEX

Candidate Services.

PLEASE NOTE: Pearson Professional Centers

administer many types of examinations

including some that require essay-type

responses. Pearson Professional Centers have

no control over noises made by candidates

typing during another examination. Typing

noise is considered a normal part of the

com-Grounds for Dismissal or

Cancellation of Results,

continued

• Attempting to take the

examination for someone

else.

• Bringing any

NCLEX

exami-nation study materials

(textbooks, notebooks,

classroom notes, etc.) to

the testing center or

accessing or attempting to

access such study

materi-als at any time after the

start of the examination

administration, including,

but not limited to, break

times.

• Failing to follow testing

regulations or the

instructions of the test

administrator.

• Creating a disturbance of

any kind.

• Copying, reconstructing or

removing examination

items and/or responses (in

any format) or notes about

the examination from the

testing room or attempting

to do the same.

• Tampering with the

opera-tion of the computer or

attempting to use it for any

function other than taking

the examination.

Confidentiality

Candidates should be aware

and understand that the

dis-closure of any examination

materials including the

nature or content of

exami-nation items, before, during,

or after the examination is a

violation of law. A violation

of this type can result in a

civil liability and/or

disci-plinary actions by the

licens-ing agency includlicens-ing the

denial of licensure.

puterized testing environment, just as the

noise of turning pages is a normal part of the

paper-and-pencil testing environment.

Earplugs are available upon request.

Questions About Your Testing Session

If you have questions about your testing

ses-sion, please contact NCSBN within two

weeks of your testing appointment.

Results Reporting

For quality control purposes, every

computer-ized NCLEX examination is scored twice;

once by the computer at the test center and

then the result is verified after the

examina-tion record has been transmitted to Pearson

VUE.

Although the examination is scored as the

candidate completes each item, NO

RESULTS are released at the test center.

Examination results, available ONLY from

your board of nursing, will be mailed to

candi-dates approximately one month after taking

the examination. DO NOT CALL your

board of nursing, NCLEX Candidate

Services, the Pearson Professional Centers

or NCSBN for examination results.

Candidate Performance Report

When a candidate fails, the board of nursing

sends the candidate a Candidate Performance

Report (CPR). This report identifies the

per-formance as failing, provides the number of

items administered to the candidate, and a

summary of the candidate’s relative strengths

and weaknesses based on the test plan. It is

hoped that failing candidates can use this

information to help guide their study before

retaking the examination.

Retake Policy

Candidates must wait a minimum of 45 or 90

days between each examination. The

determi-nation of the minimum frequency within

which a candidate may retake the

examina-tion is established by policy by each

individu-al board of nursing and NCSBN.

Additional Information

About the NCLEX

®

Examination

Examination Length

Both the NCLEX-RN

®

_{and the NCLEX-PN}

®

are variable length adaptive tests. The

NCLEX examinations are not offered in paper

and pencil or oral examination formats. An

NCLEX-RN examination can be anywhere

from 75 to 265 items long. Of these items, 15

are pretest items that are not scored.

Regardless of the number of items

adminis-tered, the time limit for this examination is

six hours. An NCLEX-PN examination can

be anywhere from 85 to 205 items long. Of

these items, 25 are pretest items that are not

scored. The time limit for this examination is

five hours. It is important to note that the

time allotted for the examination includes the

tutorial, the sample items, all breaks

(restroom, stretching, etc.) and the

examina-tion. All breaks are optional.

The length of your test is determined by your

responses to the items. Once the minimum

number of items has been answered, testing

will stop when the candidate’s ability is

deter-mined to be either above or below the passing

standard with 95% certainty. Depending upon

the particular pattern of correct and incorrect

responses, different candidates will take

differ-ent numbers of items and therefore use

vary-ing amounts of time. Of course, the

examina-tion will stop when the maximum number of

items has been taken or when the time limit

has been reached. Remember, it is in the

can-didate’s best interest to maintain a steady pace

of spending approximately one minute on

each item. That pace will allow the candidate

to complete the examination within the

allot-ted time should the maximum number of

items be necessary to make a pass-fail

decision.

It is important to understand that the length

of your examination is not an indication of a

pass or fail result. The number of items

answered is not related to a pass or fail

deci-sion. A candidate with a relatively short

examination may pass or fail just as the

candi-date with a long examination may pass or fail.

Using the Computer

The

NCLEX

®

_{examination is}

given on a computer. You are

not expected to know how to

use a computer before you

take the examination. A

tuto-rial will be included as part

of the examination. The

tuto-rial will instruct you on the

use of the mouse and how to

record an answer.

Even after the examination

starts, you will be able to

request assistance at any

time regarding the operation

of the computer. In addition

to the traditional four option

multiple choice items, the

tutorial will include

informa-tion on how to respond to

different item formats.

Another function is the use

of an on-screen optional

calculator. Again, the

appli-cation of this calculator will

be reviewed in the tutorial

prior to the beginning of the

examination.

NCLEX Examination

Tutorial

The tutorial can be reviewed

at the NCSBN Web site at

www.ncsbn.org. Click on

Testing Services and follow

the links to the tutorial.