What is the significance of nursing education program NCLEX passage rates and the NCLEX National Average passage rate?


The NCLEX or National Council Licensure Examination is the national licensing examination for practical and registered nurses. Quarterly and cumulative passage rates for first time test takers are calculated and published by a contracted testing service and are made available to the Florida Board of Nursing and are posted on the website.

The NCLEX National Average passage rate is the average number of all member first time test takers for a reporting period, calculated by the National Testing Service using the test takers’ scores during the reporting period, to determine the average of the conglomerate scores.

Pursuant to s.464.019, F.S., the Florida Board of Nursing monitors these passage rates to ensure the achievement of Florida approved nursing education program graduates. Approved nursing education programs must achieve a graduate passage rate that is not lower than 10 percentage points less than the average passage rate for graduates of comparable degree programs who are United States educated. An approved nursing education program shall be placed on Approved/probationary status by the Florida Board of Nursing pursuant to s. 464.019 for failure to meet the required passage rates on the NCLEX for two consecutive calendar years (http://laws.flrules.org/2014/92).

For more information on NCLEX passage rates or to view individual Florida nursing education program NCLEX passage rates on our interactive website entitled “Compare Florida Prelicensure Nursing Education Programs”, please visit our Education and Training Programs page.