Every year, thousands of nursing graduates sit for the NCLEX. Current data shows the
first-time pass rate for internationally educated candidates in early 2025 dropped to 46.6%, down from 58.8% in Q1 2024
The decline reflects the NGN’s increased demand for clinical reasoning rather than textbook recall. It means that smart prep now matters more than ever.
In this article, we’ll break down exactly how to make that happen, covering both the content strategies you need before exam day and the practical rules to follow during the test.
Content Tips: How to Prepare Before the Exam
Before we discuss how to solve your exam in a way that you pass it on your first attempt with only 85 questions, it’s important to address your study schedule that’ll make it happen.
You must keep the following in your mind when preparing for the NGN NCLEX.
Understand the NGN Format
The NGN NCLEX brings a new level of clinical judgment testing. It’s still a computerized adaptive test (CAT), but you’ll now face case studies, bow-ties, drag-and-drop cloze items, matrix multiple-response questions, and many other question types.
Naturally, instead of testing recall, the exam is engineered to measure how you think and act as a safe nurse. Partial-credit scoring is built into many items, so even if you don’t nail every option, demonstrating clinical reasoning will still earn you points.
At the heart of the NGN is the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Model (CJM). You should be able to run this six-step cycle almost automatically:
- Recognize cues
- Analyze cues
- Prioritize hypotheses
- Generate solutions
- Take action
- Evaluate outcomes
If your study plan isn’t structured around this model, you’ll struggle on test day. Fortunately, Feuer Nursing Review’s courses train you to think around this model and get maximum rights on your first try.
Practice with NCLEX-Style Questions
Content knowledge without application is useless on the NGN. You must practice for the test daily with mixed-format, timed questions. And the real value is in how you review your questions.
For every wrong answer, write down why you missed it, the correct rationale in your own words, and a takeaway rule you can reuse later. Over time, your “error log” will get you a lot of answers right.
When practicing NGN formats, be deliberate. Case studies should be approached step by step where you label which CJM phase you’re in at each question.
For matrix items, read row by row instead of trying to “balance” your checkmarks.
When solving for drop-downs, predict the answer before revealing the options. And for
bow-ties, always identify the condition first before moving on to interventions and monitoring parameters. Feuer Nursing Review’s classes will particularly teach you how to tackle every single kind of question mindfully.
Study Smart, Not Hard
Studying for the NCLEX is structured, consistent work. Most students benefit from a 4–8 week plan where each day is divided into content review, practice questions, and rationale analysis.
Your sample daily block could look like:
- 60–90 minutes of targeted content review
- 60–90 minutes of timed practice questions
- 45–60 minutes of rationale review and updating flashcards
Keep your resources lean. Choose one reliable Q-bank with NGN items, one concise content outline, and one set of NGN case studies. Jumping between multiple prep programs is a fast way to dilute your focus and waste time.
Build Test-Day Confidence
Confidence comes from simulation. In the final two weeks, take at least two full-length, timed practice exams under conditions that mimic the testing center. Use the same breaks, scratch notes, and pacing strategies you plan to use on the real day. Your brain performs better when it’s rehearsing the environment.
On exam day, your mindset matters as much as your prep. Reframe the NCLEX, you’re not taking one giant exam, you’re just making one safe decision at a time, ideally only 85 times.
Use brief breathing resets between case studies, and before selecting an answer, ask yourself three quick checks:
- Did I identify the key cues?
- Am I acting within RN scope?
- Does my selected answer choice protect airway, breathing, circulation, or safety?
Finally, handle your logistics early. Confirm your test center, ID, and break plan a week ahead. The night before, don’t cram; just skim your high-yield notes and get real rest. A sharp brain scores higher than a sleep-deprived one.
Exam Tips Rules to Follow During the Test
Now that we know how to study for the exam, we’re going to spill some tips that will save your exam day.
1. Remember the ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
When you’re stuck between two good-looking answers, return to your fundamentals. The NCLEX is built to test whether you can recognize and act on threats to life. That means airway comes first, followed by breathing, and then circulation.
If a patient is hypoxic, unstable, or in respiratory distress, those interventions take priority every single time.
For example, a patient with pneumonia who is short of breath gets oxygen and positioning before you worry about giving IV antibiotics. Interventions tied to ABCs almost always
out-rank other options.
2. Acute Before Chronic
Another classic rule to get questions right on the NCLEX is to address the acute issue before the long-standing one. The exam does not ask who needs the most care in general, it’s heavier focus is on making sure you know how to prioritise patient care.
A newly diagnosed diabetic in crisis takes priority over the stable patient with a five-year history of controlled disease.
So, you must think in terms of instability. Sudden chest pain, active bleeding, or rapid mental status changes are conditions that beat chronic fatigue or long-standing edema every time.
3. Trust Your First Instinct: Don’t Change Answers
Many students fail the NCLEX not because they didn’t know the material but because they second-guessed themselves. On the NCLEX, your first instinct is usually right.
You’ve trained your brain for months to recognize safe, evidence-based actions, so it’s only natural that the exam rewards your intuition.
Only if you realize you misread the question stem, then you can correct yourself. But in general, don’t change your answer unless you’re fixing a reading error.
4. Safety First
Always remember that the NCLEX does not test how much obscure pharmacology you have memorized, it rather tests whether you’re a safe nurse. Answers that emphasize patient safety and risk reduction are often the right ones.
If a choice directly prevents harm, for example, raising side rails, identifying a patient before giving meds, using PPE, it should catch your eye. Even in tricky questions, safety-oriented answers win out.
5. Use the Odd-One-Out Rule When Unsure
Even after all your studying, there will be questions you simply don’t know. That’s normal. When it happens, lean on pattern recognition. If one option is fundamentally different in scope or approach than the others, it often stands out as correct.
For example, three answers may describe passive monitoring while one involves a direct, safe intervention. In those cases, the outlier is often the right call. But a word of caution, this
rule is a last resort. Use it only when you truly don’t know anything, not as a shortcut for every tough question.
Conclusion
Passing the NGN NCLEX in 85 questions requires mastering clinical judgment and preparing with the right resources. Since 1971, Feuer Nursing Review has helped thousands of U.S. and foreign-educated nurses achieve success on the NCLEX.
We’ve poured over 50+ years of NCLEX® prep expertise into building courses that make sure you pass on your first attempt, that too by solving the least possible number of questions.
Our review program is perfect if you:
- Want to pass the NCLEX on your first try
- Studied nursing outside the United States
- Have failed the test one or more times
- Need a structured refresher before retesting Contact us today to secure your nursing career in the US!
