All Nursing Exams

Glossary of nursing exam terms

35 nursing exam terms in plain English, from Authorization to Test and logit to OSCE and testing window, as the official bodies use them.

Checked November 10, 2026

Short answer: This glossary explains 35 terms used in the NCLEX, the nurse practitioner board exams and the licensing routes for internationally educated nurses, each in one or two plain sentences. Every definition follows how the official body uses the term: the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), the two nurse practitioner boards, or the regulators in Canada and Australia.

The terms are in alphabetical order. Where a term has its own page on this site, the definition links to it.

Numbers to B

95% Confidence Interval Rule

One of the three rules NCSBN uses to end the NCLEX. The computer stops giving items once it is 95% certain that your ability is clearly above or clearly below the passing standard.

AANPCB (NPCB)

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), which now operates under the name NPCB, is a national certification board for nurse practitioners. Its credentials include FNP-C (family) and AGNP-C (adult-gerontology primary care), and its exams have 150 multiple-choice questions and are given at Prometric test centers.

Ahpra

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) assesses registration applications from internationally qualified nurses on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Registration and a visa are two separate processes, and success in one does not guarantee the other.

ANCC

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) also certifies family and adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioners, with the FNP-BC and AGPCNP-BC credentials. Its exams for both have 175 questions, 150 of them scored, and are given at Prometric test centers.

Authorization to Test (ATT)

For the NCLEX, the ATT is the email from Pearson that lets you schedule your exam, sent after your board makes you eligible and you have registered. Its length is set by the board, 90 days on average, and it cannot be extended.

Blueprint

The plan of what a board exam covers, with the number or share of items in each area. AANPCB calls it a blueprint, ANCC calls it a test content outline, and the NCLEX version is called a test plan.

Bow Tie

An NCLEX item type named in NCSBN's official item types tutorial, in which you drag answers into a figure shaped like a bow tie. The tutorial says it includes the functions of Drag-and-Drop Cloze and Drag-and-Drop Rationale.

C

Candidate Performance Report (CPR)

An individualized, two-page report that the board sends to a candidate who fails the NCLEX. It shows how many items you took and rates each content area and clinical judgment as below, near or above the passing standard.

Case study

A set of six NCLEX items about one unfolding client scenario, with one item for each step of the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model. Every NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN has three case studies, which make 18 items.

Client Needs categories

The content areas of the NCLEX test plans, each with a set percentage range of the exam. For example, the 2026 NCLEX-RN test plan gives Management of Care 15 to 21% of the exam and Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies 13 to 19%.

Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM)

NCSBN's model of how nurses make clinical decisions, used to write NCLEX items and case studies. Its six measurable steps are recognize cues, analyze cues, prioritize hypotheses, generate solutions, take action and evaluate outcomes.

Computerized adaptive testing (CAT)

The way the NCLEX is delivered: after every answer, the computer re-estimates your ability and chooses the next item to match it. Each item is picked so that you have around a 50% chance of answering it correctly, as explained in How is the NCLEX scored?.

E to N

Educational credential assessment (ECA)

A report on nursing education completed outside Canada, prepared by an approved provider. The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) accepts ECAs from three listed providers and still accepts NNAS expedited reports.

International scheduling fee

An extra fee for taking the NCLEX at an international test center: US$150 for U.S. and Australian licensure candidates and CA$150 for Canadian candidates, plus value-added tax (VAT) where it applies. It is non-refundable, and it stays the same after February 1, 2027.

Logit

The unit of the NCLEX ability scale, used to report differences between a candidate's ability and the difficulty of the items. The NCLEX passing standards are written in logits.

Maximum-Length Exam Rule

The NCLEX rule for a candidate who reaches the maximum number of items, which is 150. At that point the computer sets aside the 95% Confidence Interval Rule and decides on the final ability estimate from all your answers.

NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN

The National Council Licensure Examinations for registered nurses and for practical nurses. Both have 85 to 150 items in five hours, and the NCLEX-PN is used for U.S. licensure only.

NCSBN

The organization of nursing boards behind the NCLEX. Its Board of Directors reviews the passing standards every three years, and its Delegate Assembly voted the registration fee that starts on February 1, 2027.

Next Generation NCLEX (NGN)

The current version of the NCLEX, launched on April 1, 2023, with item types designed to measure clinical judgment and decision making. See What are the Next Generation NCLEX question types?.

NNAS

National Nursing Assessment Services (NNAS) is a credentialing service for nurses educated outside Canada; it does not issue licenses. Its Expedited Service costs CA$750 and produces an Advisory Report that goes to the regulators you choose.

Nursing regulatory body (NRB)

The board or regulator in the place where you want to be licensed or registered. It sets the eligibility rules, makes you eligible to take the NCLEX and sends your official results.

O to R

Objective structured clinical exam (OSCE)

The second exam in Australia's outcomes-based assessment, taken after the NCLEX-RN. It is held in person only, in Adelaide and Melbourne, and the fee is AU$4,000.

Outcomes-based assessment

The two exams that Stream B candidates must pass before they apply for registration in Australia: a multiple-choice exam, which for registered nurses is the NCLEX-RN, and then the OSCE. See The NCLEX for Australia.

Passing standard

The level of ability a candidate must reach to pass the NCLEX. It is 0.00 logits for the NCLEX-RN and -0.18 logits for the NCLEX-PN, in effect through March 31, 2029.

Plus/minus scoring

An NCLEX partial-credit method: you earn points for the correct options you select, and points are taken away for incorrect ones. The item score can be no higher than the number of correct options and no lower than zero.

Pretest item

A question that is on the exam but does not count toward your result: the NCLEX has 15, the AANPCB exams have 15 and the ANCC exams have 25. NCSBN and ANCC both say you cannot tell pretest items apart from scored ones.

Quick Results

An optional service that gives U.S. licensure candidates unofficial NCLEX results two business days after the exam, for US$7.95, if their board takes part. It is not available for Canada or Australia, and it does not authorize you to practice.

Rationale scoring

An NCLEX partial-credit method for items that pair two pieces of information. Both parts of the pair must be correct to earn points.

Run-out-of-time (R.O.O.T.) Rule

The NCLEX rule for a candidate whose time ends first. If you have not answered the minimum number of items, you fail; if you have, the result is based on all the answers you gave.

S to Z

Scaled score

A score converted from the number of questions you answered correctly onto a fixed scale. ANCC requires a scaled score of 350 or higher on a scale with a maximum of 500, and AANPCB states that its scores are not reported as a percentage of correct answers.

Self-check

The first step for every internationally qualified nurse or midwife who wants to register in Australia. It assesses only your qualification, assigns you to Stream A, B or C, and must be done by you, not by an agent.

Stand-alone item

An NCLEX item that is independent of other items, unlike the linked items of a case study. About 10% of the exam is stand-alone clinical judgment items, depending on exam length.

Test plan

NCSBN's official outline of what the NCLEX covers, which NCSBN updates every three years. The 2026 NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN test plans are in effect from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029.

Testing window

The period in which a nurse practitioner candidate must schedule and take the board exam: 120 days at both AANPCB and ANCC. Replacing a missed window costs US$75 at AANPCB and US$100 at ANCC, one time only.

Zero/one scoring

An NCLEX partial-credit method used when an item asks you to choose a set number of responses. You earn a point for each correct response, and nothing is taken away for an incorrect one.

What to do next

  1. Read the full guide for your exam: NCLEX-RN: the full guide or FNP exam, AANP: the full guide.
  2. When a term on a board's page is not in this list, ask that board what it means in its own process. The same word can mean different things at different boards.
  3. Before you rely on a fee or a deadline, open the official page in the Sources list. Fees and dates change.

Common questions

Are these the official definitions?

They are plain-English versions of how each official body uses the term, and each one traces to a page in the Sources list. Where the exact wording matters, read the official page.

Why is "trend" not in this glossary?

We found no official page open to the public today that names or defines a "trend" item. We will add it if NCSBN publishes a definition.

Is there an official list of every NCLEX item type?

NCSBN's item types tutorial shows 11 practice item types and calls them a representative sample. NCSBN also states that there is no set percentage of each item format on an exam.

Does "ATT" mean the same thing at every board?

No. For the NCLEX it is an email from Pearson. AANPCB and ANCC also use the name Authorization to Test for the notice that lets you schedule your board exam with Prometric.

All Nursing Exams, NCLEXPace and NPractitioner are run by the same team.

Sources