Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1539852
18 NURSING SPOTLIGHT 6 leaders on why NCLEX passage rates are declining By Mariah Taylor M any nurse leaders expressed surprise that the National Council Licensure Examination pass rate declined earlier this year, but most said the one-year drop is not cause for concern. In the first quarter of 2025, the NCLEX pass rate for registered nurses dropped to 71.6%, compared to 79.1% in the same period in 2024. e decline affected U.S.-educated and internationally educated nurses, as well as both first-time and repeat test takers, according to a June report from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Declining pass rates is not new. In 2023, state nursing boards revised the NCLEX to counteract years of declining pass rates among U.S.- educated, first-time test takers. e new test was designed to better measure nurses' clinical judgment and critical thinking skills. In the first year of the new test's launch, pass rates rose from 70.4% in mid- 2022 to 81.4% in mid-2023.Test developers attributed the higher pass rate to increased transparency and outreach, while critics said the exam got easier. But rates are declining again. Becker's reached out to nursing leaders to gauge their reactions to the shi and what might be behind the drop. Note: responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Timothy Carrigan, PhD, RN. Regional Chief Nursing Officer of Illinois and Indiana at Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.): My initial reaction is that I'm not overly surprised. We're seeing a change in how new graduate nurses are prepared coming out of their undergraduate programs, and we largely believe this is a result of changes in curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic. ese students were being educated — some starting as far back as high school — during a time when all of us were adjusting to new methods of teaching and learning. Lisa Gossett, MSN, RN. System Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Experience Officer at Premier Health (Dayton, Ohio): Honestly, [declining pass rates] hasn't been my experience with our local schools. Our two primary feeder schools — one an associate degree program, the other a baccalaureate program — have consistently been above the Ohio average of 75% in recent years. So my first thought was, "Yay us!" but of course, it's still distressing to hear. I had a conversation with one of our key partners at Wright State University here in Dayton about some of the changes in how the NCLEX is administered. One of her theories is that the dip might be tied to some schools not being as proactive or upfront as they could have been in preparing students. e new format is more competency- and scenario-based, and I wonder if everyone was truly ready for that. Were students appropriately prepared for this style of exam? at's the question. Tim Plante, MSN, RN. Region Chief Nursing Officer of the Central Region of CommonSpirit Health (Chicago): [e declining rates are] concerning. When I think about what may have influenced that change, a few things come to mind. First, nursing schools are seeing increased enrollment, which means more people are taking the test. With a larger and more diverse group of test-takers, you naturally get a wider range of skill levels. Second, in the past year or two, the NCLEX changed its question format. While I'm not fully versed in the specifics, I've read about it and heard from students who are nervous about it. Schools had become very good at tracking and preparing students for the old Image Credit: Adobe Stock