NCLEX-PN Passing Score: What −0.18 Logits Actually Means

−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. A logit is a measurement unit that places estimated ability on the same scale as item difficulty. Practice NCLEX-PN items with Passy for safer reasoning →, not an invented percent.

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, also through March 31, 2029. 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.

Get a second explanation of a missed item in Passy’s NCLEX-PN practice → 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’s CAT page says candidates should find each item challenging, because each item is targeted to their ability, so a hard-feeling item does not tell you which side of the standard you are on.

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 with Passy →.

The free 20-question set is a checkpoint, not a logit estimator.

Keep mixed NCLEX-PN practice with Passy pointed at decisions →, not at a rumor cutoff.