The Next Generation National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) or NGN questions became operational on April 1, 2023! The move toward the changes in the NCLEX licensing exam originated in 2012 from national data indicating that new nurses, practicing nurses who work with new nurses, and nursing faculty validated that nurses at all educational levels are making important clinical nursing judgments as they begin practice. Beginning April 1, 2023, all licensed vocational nurse (LVN) and registered nurse (RN) candidates taking the NCLEX exam were given questions to measure their abilities to make correct patient assessments, plan nursing care to meet patient needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of that nursing care. Between 2012 and April 1, 2023, NCSBN and Pearson Vue staff were engaged in research in the development and analysis of new questions following a Clinical Judgment Measurement Model.

Nursing programs have been emphasizing critical thinking, clinical judgment, and appropriate nursing interventions in readiness for the “NGN.” The table viewable on page 6 at https://www.bon.texas.gov/pdfs/newsletter_pdfs/2023/October%202023%20Bulletin%20Final.pdf indicates that students were prepared to apply their knowledge about patient assessment (cues) and analysis to provide and evaluate nursing care for the individual patient. There are three levels of NCLEX data:

• NCLEX pass rates for the quarter prior to the introduction of NGN.

• NCLEX pass rates for the two quarters under NGN questions (April through September).

• NCLEX pass rates for 2023 so far (lacking the final quarter of 2023).

Board Staff hypothesize that three factors may account for the increased pass rate:

1. Programs have recovered from the disruption of the pandemic.

2. Programs focused on higher level teaching strategies to encourage an improvement in clinical judgment.

3. The NGN questions are more realistic in reflecting patient care and nursing knowledge, more familiar to students.

Individual NCLEX reports will be distributed to all vocational nursing and professional nursing programs in late January 2024 when all annual data will be downloaded and processed. These preliminary numbers are a positive indicator that NCLEX pass rates will be improved for 2023.