NCLEX-PN guideScores & results
NCLEX-PN Passing Score: What −0.18 Logits Actually Means
The current NCLEX-PN passing standard is −0.18 logits through March 31, 2029. It is not a percentage-correct score and not an X-out-of-85 requirement.
Short answer
The current NCLEX-PN passing standard is −0.18 logits, effective through March 31, 2029. A logit compares estimated candidate ability with item difficulty. It is not a percentage of questions correct, and NCSBN does not publish a rule that you must answer a fixed number of the 85–150 items correctly.
−0.18 logits is the PN cut, not a percent correct
NCLEX.com’s passing-standard page lists the NCLEX-PN standard as −0.18 logits through March 31, 2029. Practice PN items for safer reasoning, not an invented percent. A logit is a measurement unit that places estimated ability on the same scale as item difficulty.
That number does not mean:
- 18% incorrect.
- 82% correct.
- −18 questions.
- a fixed number right out of 85.
The NCLEX reports pass/fail, not a percentage score.
Why CAT cannot use “you need 60%”
Because the exam is computerized adaptive testing, candidates receive different items at different difficulties. Two candidates can answer different mixes correctly and still land on the same side of the standard. A raw percentage would ignore item difficulty.
Treat social-media cutoffs (“you need 75%,” “95% means you got 95% right”) as unofficial. In CAT discussion, 95% usually refers to the computer’s confidence in its ability estimate under the common stopping rule—not a required percent correct.
How hard is the NCLEX-PN? is the difficulty page. This page is only the standard.
PN is not scored on the RN standard
The current NCLEX-RN passing standard is 0.00 logits for its own cycle. PN is −0.18. Different exams, different standards. NCLEX-PN vs NCLEX-RN compares more than this one number. Do not use an RN passing-score article as your PN cut.
Ask for a second explanation of a logit-style miss rather than converting it into a rumor percentage.
Question count still is not a score
An exam can stop at 85 because the estimate is clearly above or clearly below the standard. A 150-item exam can also end either way. Read stopped at 85 and 150 questions.
Last-item “difficulty” is not a reliable DIY score. NCLEX notes that candidates cannot accurately identify statistical item difficulty.
What to use as a study target instead
Do not build a plan around an invented X/85. Use practice to find repeat patterns: Coordinated Care misses, medication-parameter misses, infection-control PPE misses, case-study cue misses.
Turn those patterns into the next PN study block.
The free 10-question set is a checkpoint, not a logit estimator.
Keep mixed NCLEX-PN practice pointed at decisions, not at a rumor cutoff.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.