This page contains information for educators and schools working with students who will be taking the NCLEX-RN — the required registration examination for Registered Nurses in Ontario.
Registration exams such as the NCLEX-RN contribute to patient safety. The exam tests whether the writer has the knowledge, skill and judgment to provide safe care during their first year of practice. As the provincial regulator of the nursing profession, CNO is accountable for ensuring that only those who demonstrate the ability to apply nursing knowledge and provide safe care are able to practice in Ontario.
About the NCLEX-RN examination
The NCLEX-RN tests competency of nursing applicants and is a registration requirement.
The exam is a computer-adaptive test (CAT) in which the questions are geared to the level of the person completing the exam. The questions are reflective of nursing practice today and test the writer's clinical judgment.
Approximately 22-33 percent of the questions are case studies that reflect nursing practice today. These case studies test the writer's clinical judgment; specifically, critical decisions nurses must make in a variety of health care settings. The questions focus on interactions between nurse and client, the client's needs and expected outcomes.
Test content is not localized
The NCLEX-RN does not test knowledge of specific health care systems, history, cultural issues, or government policy and laws. Such items vary by province and territory in Canada as well as across American states.
Applicants to CNO write a jurisprudence exam that tests for this kind of knowledge.
To ensure the test content is appropriate, Canadian nurses, including clinical educators, have reviewed the content of the NCLEX-RN. They continue to review and develop the exam to ensure it meets CNO's needs as regulators, and the public's need for safe nursing care.
Help to develop exam content
RN volunteers are needed to develop and review NCLEX-RN exam items. Visit the Volunteer Opportunities webpage to learn more.
Preparing your students
These materials can help your students prepare for the NCLEX-RN examination.
- Test Plans provide information about exam structure, content and administration.
- The NCLEX website contains resources to help students prepare for their exam.
Third-party NCLEX-RN prep courses
Your students' nursing education and the resources mentioned above should be enough to prepare for the NCLEX-RN. Several third-party vendors offer preparation courses. These are not associated with, or endorsed by, CNO or the exam provider. No third party has access to the exam question bank, and exam writers should be wary of any party claiming to have such access. We are aware of “American” content in some preparation courses. However, the exam does not test a writer's knowledge of a particular health care system, history or legislation.
Rewriting the NCLEX-RN
Some of your students may not pass the NCLEX-RN on their first attempt. As an educator, you are in an excellent position to support students developing study plans.
Students who do not pass the NCLEX-RN receive a Candidate's Performance Report (CPR). This report provides them with information about how they did in each section of the exam. Help your students review the CPR and relate it to the content of their nursing program, reminding them of content from earlier years.
Encourage students who have failed the examination to review the prep material before their next attempt.
Results Reports
Canadian schools can subscribe to twice-yearly (May and November) exam results reports for their programs from Mountain Measurement. Mountain Measurement is the company that compiles and analyzes NCLEX-RN data.
To learn more, see a sample results report and subscribe, visit the NCSBN Program Reports page.
You can also check CNO's comprehensive Nursing Registration Exams Report, which includes individual program results and NCLEX-RN results for each year.