One reason was that while computer technology has improved, there are still many people who don’t understand how the NCLEX works or how to prepare for it. As a result, many students who take the exam have little chance of passing it.
The NCLEX has become a well-known exam in its own right. But in terms of popularity and number of people taking it, the NCLEX is still dwarfed by the NCLEX exam. Therefore, it made sense to consider revising the exam to reflect those facts.
The initial goal was to make the exam more modern. So, the exam wasn’t designed with computer training in mind – the computer labs that used to be included on the test were eliminated.
Instead, a section was added about how to use computer software that would be needed to take the test. They replaced the traditional paper study guides with a self-paced system that allows students to take the test at their own pace. It also provides information about which software suites to use for maximum efficiency on the test.
The next goal was to make the exam more fair. All students took the same test and their scores were submitted to the same rating agency, so they were supposed to be fairly similar.
To this end, all NCLEX students have been eliminated from the pool of candidates. The fact that the old test date was set aside meant that the tests would be of equal value. It didn’t matter if you took the old exam in the summer or in January.
To make the NCLEX exams more fair, a slight adjustment was made to the existing curriculum. Specifically, students were told that they weren’t required to study certain areas of the exam. For example, they were told that they could skip some of the questions on ethics, but not on logic.
In addition, students were also told that they couldn’t take a list of questions on ethics and use them as examples for the questions on logic in the NCLEX. So students were reminded that they still need to complete both sets of test questions.
The third goal was to make it easier to retake the exam. The computer labs were removed in favor of allowing students to take the test at home.
This means that once again, the entire test is written on paper, with no digital score sheets or viewing tables. This is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, since the old exam was notorious for being too difficult for many students to take.
The NCLEX exam dates 2020 is already here. Now it’s up to you to figure out which test you’ll take.
