National Certification Exam Candidates

No, the practice tests are different, but can also be purchased through the website.

No, the practice tests are different, but can also be purchased through the website.

The passing score for the exam is a scaled score. This is how that works. You can find this document in the SNN Library under the title How many questions do you have to get correct to pass the exam?

That is a question that is not easily answered. The passing score is determined by a psychometric formula and is different for every exam.  The number of correct answers is converted to what is known as a "scaled score" which for our exam is 620, but it is not a consistent percentage or number correct.  One of the FAQs on our website which I have copied below may help.  I hope you find this info helpful and good luck on the exam.

Because of the number of candidates who sit for the NBCSN exam, the testing company cannot "pre-equate" the test questions. This means the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) cannot be determined until all of the candidates have taken the exam throughout the entire testing window.

Questions that did not perform as expected are analyzed and a determination is made as to how a particular question will be handled in regard to scoring. All of those questions are reviewed by a group (usually 5) of subject matter experts (SMEs) during a formal "problem item notification" (PIN) meeting with a test development specialist from the testing company. SMEs are nationally certified school nurses who have passed the NCSN exam and who have volunteered for the opportunity. NBCSN works very hard to get a panel of school nurses who have diverse educational, clinical, and geographical backgrounds and who have practiced for a number of years and are certified.

Questions that come up during the PIN call might be handled in a number of ways.

• A question may be discarded, either to be archived (no longer to be used) or to be rewritten to go back into the new question or a pretest category. In that case, the question would not be counted for or against a candidate. The situations where this might happen are:
• a question for which candidates chose two choices almost equally as often;
• a question for which high performers did poorly and low performers did well; and
• a question for which very few chose the correct answer.
• In some cases, the panel looks at question that has been chosen for review and determines that it is, in fact, appropriate and it will not be changed.

Once the fate of the questions being reviewed has been determined, the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) is set and score reports can then be produced and sent to candidates.

Pat Krin
School Health Services Consultant
School Health Consulting Services
patkrin@outlook.com

No, the practice tests are different, but can also be purchased through the website.

The passing score for the exam is a scaled score. This is how that works. You can find this document in the SNN Library under the title How many questions do you have to get correct to pass the exam?

That is a question that is not easily answered. The passing score is determined by a psychometric formula and is different for every exam.  The number of correct answers is converted to what is known as a "scaled score" which for our exam is 620, but it is not a consistent percentage or number correct.  One of the FAQs on our website which I have copied below may help.  I hope you find this info helpful and good luck on the exam.

Because of the number of candidates who sit for the NBCSN exam, the testing company cannot "pre-equate" the test questions. This means the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) cannot be determined until all of the candidates have taken the exam throughout the entire testing window.

Questions that did not perform as expected are analyzed and a determination is made as to how a particular question will be handled in regard to scoring. All of those questions are reviewed by a group (usually 5) of subject matter experts (SMEs) during a formal "problem item notification" (PIN) meeting with a test development specialist from the testing company. SMEs are nationally certified school nurses who have passed the NCSN exam and who have volunteered for the opportunity. NBCSN works very hard to get a panel of school nurses who have diverse educational, clinical, and geographical backgrounds and who have practiced for a number of years and are certified.

Questions that come up during the PIN call might be handled in a number of ways.

• A question may be discarded, either to be archived (no longer to be used) or to be rewritten to go back into the new question or a pretest category. In that case, the question would not be counted for or against a candidate. The situations where this might happen are:
• a question for which candidates chose two choices almost equally as often;
• a question for which high performers did poorly and low performers did well; and
• a question for which very few chose the correct answer.
• In some cases, the panel looks at question that has been chosen for review and determines that it is, in fact, appropriate and it will not be changed.

Once the fate of the questions being reviewed has been determined, the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) is set and score reports can then be produced and sent to candidates.

Pat Krin
School Health Services Consultant
School Health Consulting Services
patkrin@outlook.com

No, the practice tests are different, but can also be purchased through the website.

The passing score for the exam is a scaled score. This is how that works. You can find this document in the SNN Library under the title How many questions do you have to get correct to pass the exam?

That is a question that is not easily answered. The passing score is determined by a psychometric formula and is different for every exam.  The number of correct answers is converted to what is known as a "scaled score" which for our exam is 620, but it is not a consistent percentage or number correct.  One of the FAQs on our website which I have copied below may help.  I hope you find this info helpful and good luck on the exam.

Because of the number of candidates who sit for the NBCSN exam, the testing company cannot "pre-equate" the test questions. This means the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) cannot be determined until all of the candidates have taken the exam throughout the entire testing window.

Questions that did not perform as expected are analyzed and a determination is made as to how a particular question will be handled in regard to scoring. All of those questions are reviewed by a group (usually 5) of subject matter experts (SMEs) during a formal "problem item notification" (PIN) meeting with a test development specialist from the testing company. SMEs are nationally certified school nurses who have passed the NCSN exam and who have volunteered for the opportunity. NBCSN works very hard to get a panel of school nurses who have diverse educational, clinical, and geographical backgrounds and who have practiced for a number of years and are certified.

Questions that come up during the PIN call might be handled in a number of ways.

• A question may be discarded, either to be archived (no longer to be used) or to be rewritten to go back into the new question or a pretest category. In that case, the question would not be counted for or against a candidate. The situations where this might happen are:
• a question for which candidates chose two choices almost equally as often;
• a question for which high performers did poorly and low performers did well; and
• a question for which very few chose the correct answer.
• In some cases, the panel looks at question that has been chosen for review and determines that it is, in fact, appropriate and it will not be changed.

Once the fate of the questions being reviewed has been determined, the "cut score" (i.e., passing score) is set and score reports can then be produced and sent to candidates.

Pat Krin
School Health Services Consultant
School Health Consulting Services
patkrin@outlook.com

No, the practice tests are different, but can also be purchased through the website.