The NCLEX pass rate fell in 2025, and it fell noticeably.
After two years of climbing, the first-time US-educated NCLEX-RN pass rate dropped from 91.2% in 2024 to 86.7% in 2025. That is a 4.5-point fall, and the lowest figure since 2022.
Before anyone panics, one thing needs saying. That drop is a fall from a record high, not a collapse. And the passing standard did not move.
This guide covers what the numbers actually show, six credible reasons behind the shift, and what it means for how you prepare. Written for internationally educated nurses (IENs) and repeat test-takers.
Quick answer: The NCLEX pass rate for first-time US-educated RN candidates fell from 91.2% in 2024 to 86.7% in 2025, the first decline since the Next Generation NCLEX launched. The standard did not change, and 86.7% is still near the long-run average.
Likely contributors include complacency after the 2024 peak, a format that looks more intuitive than it is, question banks that do not score items the way the exam does, and growth in repeat and internationally educated candidate volume.
What the NCLEX Pass Rate Numbers Actually Show
Here is the NCLEX pass rate trend for first-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates, from NCSBN's published annual statistics.
| Year | First-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN pass rate |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 79.9% |
| 2023 | 88.6% |
| 2024 | 91.2% |
| 2025 | 86.7% |
The 2024 figure was the highest NCSBN has reported in over a decade, and 2025 is the first decline since the Next Generation NCLEX launched in April 2023.
Three pieces of context matter before you read anything into it.
The drop is from a peak, not into a crisis. 86.7% remains well above the 2022 low of 79.9%, and close to the average across recent years.
The standard did not change. The passing standard is 0.00 logits for the NCLEX-RN and -0.18 logits for the NCLEX-PN through 31 March 2029. NCSBN reviewed it and kept it the same. The exam did not get harder.
The 2025 figures come from NCSBN's own report. You can read the 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics directly rather than relying on summaries.
The Repeat Candidate Picture
The NCLEX pass rate gap between first-time and repeat candidates is far larger than any year-to-year movement.
| Candidate type, 2025 | Pass rate |
|---|---|
| First-time, US-educated | 86.7% |
| Repeat, US-educated | 52.7% |
| First-time, internationally educated | 47.3% |
| Repeat, internationally educated | 30.5% |
That gap, not the 2025 dip, is the number worth preparing around.
Six Reasons the NCLEX Pass Rate Slipped
NCSBN publishes NCLEX pass rate figures but not the causes. What follows is reasoning from the data and from what prep providers and educators report, so treat it as credible explanation rather than established fact.
1. The Record 2024 NCLEX Pass Rate Created Complacency
When a record NCLEX pass rate is reported, the message that travels is "this is going well."
A cohort preparing in 2025 heard that 91.2% of first-time candidates passed. That is a reasonable thing to find reassuring, and reassurance tends to produce lighter preparation.
2. The Format Looks More Intuitive Than It Is
Next Generation items feel approachable. A case study reads like a real client record. A matrix asks a straightforward question about each finding. There is no obscure vocabulary to decode.
That surface familiarity hides what is actually being measured. NCSBN rebuilt the exam after research found that 65% of practice errors by entry-level nurses related to poor clinical decision-making, and only 20% of employers were satisfied with new nurses' decision-making.
Items that look easy to read still demand that you choose the most urgent problem and the priority action. Our plain-English guide to the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model explains what each item is really asking.
3. Practice Tools That Do Not Score Like the Exam
This one is concrete and fixable.
Many question banks still grade select all that apply items as all or nothing. The real exam uses +/- scoring, subtracting a point for each incorrect selection.
The effect is that an over-selecting habit stays invisible. Your practice tool either rewards you for a near-complete answer or penalizes you fully, while the real exam quietly deducts points you had already earned.
| Item type | Real exam rule | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Select all that apply | +/- scoring | Selecting only what you can justify |
| Highlight items | Typically +/- | Highlighting only what answers the question |
| Matrix multiple choice | 0/1 per row | Answering every row, no penalty |
| Drop-down cloze | 0/1 per blank | Answering every blank, no penalty |
| Bow-tie | 0/1, up to 5 points | Filling every target, no penalty |
Recalculate a few of your recent select all that apply answers using the real rule. Our guide to how partial credit works on the NCLEX covers every rule with worked examples.
4. Volume Measured Instead of Review
Question counts are easy to track, so they become the measure rather than the NCLEX pass rate habits that matter. Two nurses can each finish three thousand questions and get opposite results, because one reviewed every rationale and logged every miss and the other checked the score.
The habit that closes the gap costs nothing: review rationales for the questions you got right, not just the ones you missed. A correct answer can come from knowledge, elimination, or a guess, and only the rationale tells you which.
Our guide to the most overlooked part of NCLEX preparation covers this in detail.
5. Practice Percentages Treated as Predictions
Because the exam adapts, most candidates are answering items they have roughly a 50% chance of getting fully right by the end.
A strong percentage on a fixed practice set therefore predicts very little, especially if that set leans toward recall. Candidates who feel ready on that basis are measuring the wrong thing.
Adaptive readiness assessments that band performance are a better signal. Our guide to how computer adaptive testing decides whether you pass explains why.
6. Growing Repeat and Internationally Educated Volume
The overall NCLEX pass rate across all candidates reflects who is testing, not only how well people prepare.
In 2025 there were over 42,000 repeat US-educated RN candidates and over 40,000 repeat internationally educated candidates. Those groups pass at 52.7% and 30.5% respectively.
As their share of total volume grows, all-candidate figures fall even when individual preparation is unchanged. That is composition, not difficulty.
How Individual Preparation Changed, and Did Not
One more thing sits behind the NCLEX pass rate movement, and it is easy to miss in the national figures.
Study stacks have grown. It is now common for a candidate to hold a question bank, a video subscription, a flashcard app, a mnemonics app, and an AI note tool at once. More tools does not mean more preparation, and several partly finished resources teach less than one completed one.
AI study tools have also arrived quickly. Uploading your own lectures and generating quizzes solves a real problem, but a confidently written incorrect rationale in nursing can teach something clinically unsafe. Verify every generated rationale against a review book or NCSBN material, and do not let generated questions replace a bank written by nurse educators.
What has not changed is what works. Reviewing rationales, logging errors, practising complete case studies, and building stamina were the deciding habits before the 2024 peak and remain so after the 2025 dip.
Our guide to free NCLEX resources covers how to build a plan without stacking subscriptions.
What Did Not Cause the NCLEX Pass Rate Drop
Ruling things out matters as much as ruling them in.
The exam did not get harder. The passing standard is unchanged through March 2029.
The 2026 test plan did not raise the bar. A new test plan took effect on 1 April 2026 following NCSBN's 2024 practice analysis, but the changes are largely terminology, most visibly renaming Safety and Infection Control to Safety and Infection Prevention and Control.
You can read the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan directly.
There is no curve. You are measured against a fixed standard, not against other candidates, so a weaker cohort does not make it harder for you.
It is not the question formats themselves. Bow-tie, matrix, and drop-down items mostly carry no penalty for a wrong answer. The formats are generous; the thinking they test is not.
What the NCLEX Pass Rate Trend Means for Your Preparation
The NCLEX pass rate trend is context, not destiny. Six adjustments follow from the reasons above.
- Treat a high national figure as background noise. Your result depends on your ability estimate, not the cohort average.
- Check how your question bank scores select all that apply items. If it grades them all or nothing, recalculate manually.
- Review rationales for correct answers, using a one-sentence justification test to keep it sustainable.
- Keep an error log, tagging every miss by content area and by clinical judgment step.
- Practise complete case studies, not isolated items. Every exam has three of them, 18 items in total. Our guide to the three unfolding case studies explains the structure.
- Use one consistent method for prioritization questions, such as Dr. Zeeshan's Method, applied in Prioritization 2026 NCLEX Review (Episode 76).
Our 30-day NCLEX study plan builds these into a weighted schedule.
A Note for Internationally Educated Nurses
The first-time internationally educated NCLEX pass rate was 47.3% in 2025, and 30.5% for repeat candidates. Those gaps are structural rather than a reflection of clinical ability.
Practice framework. Management of Care is the largest content area on the RN exam at roughly 18%, and it tests delegation between RNs, LPNs, and assistive personnel, scope of practice, escalation, and client rights. These follow North American rules.
An experienced nurse can answer correctly for the system they trained in and still miss the question, which is a missing fact rather than a reasoning failure.
Reading load. Case studies carry heavy text across several tabs. A weak Recognize Cues rating can reflect reading pace in a second language as much as clinical knowledge, and timed case study practice builds both.
Time since graduation. Many IENs test years after finishing school and need content rebuilt rather than refreshed.
One-on-one tutoring can identify which of these is costing you most, and REPEAT TEST-TAKERS: You Need to Hear This! (Episode 78) was recorded for candidates testing again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NCLEX pass rate in 2026?
The most recent full-year NCLEX pass rate figures are for 2025, when the first-time US-educated NCLEX-RN pass rate was 86.7%, down from 91.2% in 2024. Repeat US-educated candidates passed at 52.7%.
Did the NCLEX get harder in 2025 or 2026?
No. The NCLEX pass rate fell, but the passing standard is unchanged at 0.00 logits for the NCLEX-RN and -0.18 logits for the NCLEX-PN through 31 March 2029, and the April 2026 test plan update was largely terminology.
Why did the NCLEX pass rate drop?
NCSBN publishes figures rather than causes. Credible contributors include complacency after the record 2024 rate, a format that looks more intuitive than it is, practice tools that do not score items the way the exam does, and growth in repeat and internationally educated candidate volume.
Is a lower pass rate bad news for me personally?
Not directly. A falling NCLEX pass rate does not change your bar, because the exam is not graded on a curve, so you are measured against a fixed standard rather than against other candidates in your cohort.
What is the repeat NCLEX pass rate?
The repeat NCLEX pass rate in 2025 was 52.7% for US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates and 30.5% for internationally educated candidates. Repeat US-educated NCLEX-PN candidates passed at 41.7%.
The National NCLEX Pass Rate Does Not Decide Your Result
A falling NCLEX pass rate tells you something about a cohort. It tells you nothing about your own gap, and that is the only thing you can act on.
If you have tested before, your Candidate Performance Report rates you on eight content areas and on each of the six clinical judgment steps. Our guide to reading your NCLEX Candidate Performance Report walks through every line.
Submit your CPR for analysis on the NCLEX High Yield website, or text us at 725-444-7551 to speak with our team.
We will tell you honestly what your report shows, including when changing how you study would serve you better than buying anything.
You can also join our free weekly Zoom sessions, explore our NCLEX programs, or build a schedule with the NCLEX High Yield Study Planner.
CPRs must be dated within the last 12 months. Reviews are professional guidance based on experience and are not affiliated with NCSBN or a prediction of your exam result. Pass rate figures are from NCSBN's published annual statistics and were checked in September 2026. Explanations for the 2025 decline are interpretation rather than NCSBN findings.
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