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NCLEX-RN Practice Test with Rationales

These free practice questions for NCLEX RN follow the current NCSBN RN test plan, and every answer comes with a cited rationale.

  • 85–150 items (CAT)
  • 5-hour limit
  • pass/fail against a fixed standard
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  • No signup to start
  • Every answer includes a source note
  • Updated October 15, 2026
NCLEX-RN practice questions on a phone

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A real NCLEX-RN question

Pick an answer. You will see whether you are right, why, and the source it comes from. No signup.

  • 20 free questions like this one
  • An explanation and a source note on every answer
  • The full bank is $29.99, once
Basic CareTry a real question

A client with a nasogastric tube is receiving enteral feedings. The nurse notes that the client has a distended abdomen and reports cramping. What is the priority action?

The real test at a glance

How many questions are on the NCLEX-RN test, and what score passes?

The NCLEX-RN is computer-adaptive: it ends somewhere between 85 and 150 questions, as soon as it can tell whether you pass.

Practice target

Adaptive: stops once it's sure you pass or fail

Questions written from the NCLEX-RN Test Plan effective April 2026 (NCSBN); not official or recalled NCLEX items. Internal QuizCram practice target. NCLEX uses computer-adaptive testing and an official logit passing standard, not a raw percentage.

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NCLEX-RN practice questions on a phone

What the real exam covers

The 7 areas of the NCLEX-RN and their weights

Share of scored questions per area, from the NCSBN blueprint (2026 test plan (effective April 2026)). All 300 questions in this bank are filed under these areas.

  • Management of care18% of the exam
  • Safety and infection prevention and control13% of the exam
  • Health promotion and maintenance9% of the exam
  • Psychosocial integrity9% of the exam
  • Basic care and comfort9% of the exam
  • Pharmacological and parenteral therapies16% of the exam
  • Physiological adaptation and reduction of risk potential26% of the exam

Source: NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, distribution of content, checked October 14, 2026.

Full topic blueprint and drills

Clinical Judgment Matrix

Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) ROME Decision Flow

Respiratory Opposite · Metabolic Equal — The core algorithm tested on NCLEX-RN to identify primary acid-base imbalance.

ConditionpHPaCO2 (Resp)HCO3- (Metab)Rule Alignment
Respiratory Acidosis <7.35 >4522–26 NormalRespiratory Opposite
Respiratory Alkalosis >7.45 <3522–26 NormalRespiratory Opposite
Metabolic Acidosis <7.3535–45 Normal <22Metabolic Equal
Metabolic Alkalosis >7.4535–45 Normal >26Metabolic Equal

From the question bank

Try 3 more real questions

Tap an answer to check it. Every explanation cites the official source.

  1. Q1Pharmacology

    A client with atrial fibrillation is prescribed warfarin (Coumadin). The nurse is reviewing the medication administration record. Which laboratory value should the nurse monitor most closely?

    Tap an answer to check it

  2. Q2Infection Control

    A nurse is caring for a client with a central venous catheter. Which intervention is the MOST effective in preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections?

    Tap an answer to check it

  3. Q3Management

    A charge nurse observes that a newly licensed nurse is administering medications without scanning the barcode on the client's wristband. What is the best initial action?

    Tap an answer to check it

0 / 3 right · 3 to goKeep going: 20 free questions Read them all with answers

Study plan

How to pass the NCLEX-RN

Learn each domain, drill until it’s automatic, then prove it in a timed mock exam.

  1. Step 1

    Master the 4 Client Needs categories: Safe Care, Health Promotion, Psychosocial, Physiological

  2. Step 2

    Practice prioritization and delegation — the skill tested most often across every category

  3. Step 3

    Drill clinical judgment: recognize cues, analyze cues, prioritize hypotheses, take action, evaluate outcomes

  4. Step 4

    Review pharmacology by class: expected effects, adverse effects, and patient teaching

  5. Test day

    Book the real test once you clear the pass mark comfortably, twice in a row.

Exam simulator

Sit a timed mock exam for the NCLEX-RN

  • A real countdown. One question at a time, no feedback until you submit.
  • Flag and review. Mark questions to come back to before you hand in.
  • Score by topic. Your result against the target, every answer explained.

Questions are mixed by the weights NCSBN publishes, so the topics match how the exam is built.

Try the free mock exam

The free mock exam runs 20 questions from the free set, once. Unlocking adds full-length runs of 85 questions from the whole bank. A practice mock exam, not an official replica.

Free taster
20 q
Full run
85 q
Practice clock
85 min
Target
85%

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  • 20 original questions with source notes
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  • All 300 questions, every topic
  • 85-question timed exam simulator; see the score note below
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Internal QuizCram practice target. NCLEX uses computer-adaptive testing and an official logit passing standard, not a raw percentage.

What failing the NCLEX-RN exam costs

Wait to retest
45 test-free days between exams
Attempt limits
Up to 8 times a year; some nursing regulatory bodies set stricter limits or longer waits

Source: NCLEX — results and retakes, NCSBN, checked September 30, 2026. The full bank is $29.99, once.

Free study kit

Everything free for the NCLEX-RN test

Nurse in a white uniform with a stethoscope standing in a hospital room, a patient in bed behind her

6 min read

NCLEX-RN in 2026: How the Test Decides You Passed, the April 2026 Test Plan, and How to Prepare

About these questions

How we check these questions

  1. Written from the source. Every question is our own wording of a fact in the 2026 NCSBN NCLEX-RN Test Plan & Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, never copied from a real exam.
  2. Checked against its section. Each answer names the section it comes from, and the answer is checked against that text. Anything we cannot confirm there is not published.
  3. Machine checks on the whole bank. Validators look for duplicates, missing explanations and missing sources.
  4. Re-checked on changes. When NCSBN revises the source, the bank is audited again. Last update: October 15, 2026.

Questions written from the NCLEX-RN Test Plan effective April 2026 (NCSBN); not official or recalled NCLEX items. Spot an error? Email [email protected] with the question; we check it against the source and fix confirmed errors. Editorial policy.

Tried the NCLEX-RN questions?

Good to know

NCLEX-RN FAQ

All RN candidates answer a minimum of 85 and a maximum of 150 items within the allotted five-hour period. The exam ends as soon as a pass/fail decision is reached.

There is no percentage. NCSBN scores the NCLEX against a fixed passing standard on a logit scale, so a practice percentage cannot be converted into a pass prediction.

The RN test plan carries broader management-of-care and clinical-judgment expectations. QuizCram keeps separate RN and PN banks rather than reusing one set of questions.

Yes. Open the exam simulator and sit a timed mock exam of 20 questions built from the free questions, once, with no signup. Unlocking the exam adds full-length runs of 85 questions in 85 minutes (a practice clock), as many as you like, each a new draw from the whole bank.

It splits the questions across the exam's areas using the weights NCSBN publishes, then picks questions inside each area, favouring ones you missed before and never repeating one within a run. A retake is a new draw, so you will meet different questions. It is a practice mock exam, not an official replica of the real exam.

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