Pass rates of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's new NCLEX testing format were "similar to statistics reported prior to the pandemic," Nicole Williams, MSN, RN, the associate director of examinations told Becker's.
The NCSB recently reported that the first round of results from the revised version specifically yielded positive results for first-time test takers.
Part of the changes, Ms. Williams explained, were reformatted questions designed to test and prepare nurses for a post-COVID-19 healthcare landscape, as well as test their clinical judgment.
"The decision to enhance the NCLEX arose out of a recognition that clinical judgment underpins almost everything nurses do," she said. "We undertook the creation of an exam that more accurately reflects the increasing acuity and complexity of client care and the role of the nurse in safely managing that care."
Case studies included in the exam were also updated to more accurately reflect what nurses may experience in the field now.