NCLEX pass rates are falling — and the decline is steeper than most nursing students realize.
The first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate for U.S.-educated candidates dropped to 86.7% in 2025, down from 91.2% in 2024. That's the largest single-year decline since the Next Generation NCLEX launched in April 2023, and the lowest first-time pass rate since 2022.
The overall pass rate (including repeat test-takers) is even starker: 69.1% in 2025, down from 73.3% in 2024 — meaning roughly 3 in 10 people who sat for the NCLEX last year did not pass.
If you're preparing for the NCLEX in 2026, this matters. Not because it should discourage you — but because understanding why rates are declining tells you exactly what to study differently.
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Try GoodNurse Free — No Card Needed →NCLEX Pass Rates: The Numbers (2022–2025)
Here's how first-time U.S.-educated NCLEX-RN pass rates have moved over the past four years:
| Year | First-Time Pass Rate | Overall Pass Rate | Key Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ~85% | ~67% | Pre-NGN era |
| 2023 | ~88% | ~70% | NGN launched April 2023 |
| 2024 | 91.2% | 73.3% | First full NGN year — rates peaked |
| 2025 | 86.7% | 69.1% | Largest single-year decline since NGN launch |
The 2024 spike was largely explained by self-selection: the students who tested in 2024 had the most time to prepare for the new NGN format. The 2025 cohort includes more students who were caught between curriculum changes and the new exam — without fully adapting to either.
The 2026 NCLEX test plan (effective April 1, 2026) adds another layer of change, with renamed content categories and new activity statements across several client needs subcategories.
Why Are Pass Rates Falling? 4 Root Causes
1. The COVID Clinical Judgment Gap
Students who entered nursing programs in 2020–2022 experienced significant disruption to clinical rotations. Simulations replaced bedside experience. Rushed practicums replaced full immersive placements.
The Next Generation NCLEX was specifically designed to test clinical judgment — the ability to assess a situation, prioritize interventions, and make decisions the way a real nurse would in real time. Students with reduced clinical exposure are disproportionately affected.
This cohort is now hitting the NCLEX in 2025 and 2026. The exam is finding the clinical judgment gaps that early COVID disruptions created.
2. The NGN Learning Curve Is Still Steep
The NGN introduced entirely new question formats: bow-tie items, matrix/grid questions, cloze (drop-down), extended drag-and-drop, and enhanced hot spots. These formats require fundamentally different test-taking strategies than traditional multiple choice.
Many nursing school curricula are still catching up. Students are often encountering NGN question formats for the first time in commercial prep courses — not during school — which compresses their adaptation window.
The NCSBN's own data shows that partial-credit NGN items are a source of significant score variance. Students who don't practice these formats specifically tend to underperform even when they know the underlying clinical content.
3. The Rise of Internationally Educated Test-Takers
Internationally educated nurses now make up a growing share of NCLEX test-takers, driven by U.S. healthcare system demand and immigration policy shifts. Historically, internationally educated candidates pass at lower rates than U.S.-educated first-time takers.
As this group grows as a percentage of the total testing pool, the overall pass rate is mathematically pulled downward — even if U.S.-educated student outcomes remain stable.
4. Overconfidence After 2024's Record Rates
The 91.2% first-time pass rate in 2024 created a perception that the NGN was "easier than expected." Some programs and students reduced preparation intensity based on the 2024 numbers.
The 2025 decline suggests the 2024 peak was an outlier driven by atypically prepared cohorts, not a new baseline.
🧠The students who beat the decline all had one thing in common
They practiced clinical judgment — not just content recall. GoodNurse builds clinical reasoning through AI-guided explanations, NGN question formats, and adaptive practice that targets your specific weak areas.
Start Practicing Free →What This Means If You're Taking the NCLEX in 2026
Three things are true simultaneously for the 2026 NCLEX cohort:
1. The exam is harder to prepare for than it was before 2023. The NGN format rewards clinical experience and reasoning over memorization. Students who prep with traditional flashcards and multiple-choice question banks are leaving points on the table.
2. The new 2026 test plan adds content changes effective April 1. "Safety and Infection Control" is being renamed "Safety and Infection Prevention and Control," with three new activity statements added. Students testing after April 1 need updated prep materials.
3. The gap between passing and failing is narrower than you think. The NGN's partial-credit scoring means you can score partial points on complex items — which means targeted preparation in your weak areas has an outsized impact on your final result.
5 Strategies That Beat the Trend
Based on what separates passing from failing candidates in the NGN era:
1. Practice clinical judgment formats specifically. Don't just do multiple-choice banks. Practice bow-tie questions, matrix grids, and cloze items until the format feels natural. The format itself causes students to lose points even when they know the content.
2. Use your weak areas, not your comfortable ones. The NCLEX algorithm identifies your competency ceiling. Studying what you already know well doesn't move the needle. Spend 70% of your prep time on your documented weak areas.
3. Study rationales, not just answers. Understanding why an answer is correct builds transferable clinical reasoning. Memorizing that "the answer is B" does not. Students who read every rationale — including for questions they got right — consistently outperform those who don't.
4. Simulate exam conditions regularly. Stamina and pacing matter. The NCLEX can run up to 135 questions. Students who practice under timed conditions with full case study stems are better equipped for the cognitive load of the real exam.
5. Use your CPR if you're retaking. Your Candidate Performance Report tells you exactly which NCLEX content areas you underperformed in. Every hour spent on a "strong" area from your CPR is an hour wasted. Target the "below passing standard" categories first, then "near passing standard."
The Bottom Line
The declining NCLEX pass rate in 2025 is not a reason to panic — it's a signal. The exam is getting better at identifying the clinical judgment gaps that the NGN was designed to catch. The students who pass are the ones who prepare for how the exam actually works, not how it used to work.
The 2026 cohort has more information available than any previous group. The pass rate data, the test plan changes, the NGN format research — it's all public. The question is whether you use it.
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