Is the NP Certification Exam Getting More Difficult? | ThriveAP (2024)
The nurse practitioner profession is a rather young one. The changes we constantly see when it comes to professional regulations and policies are a byproduct of being a part of a developing profession. In just the past few years, for example, we’ve seen nurse practitioner specialty designations change and divide.
The content of nurse practitioner certification exams has certainly changed to reflect these specialty divisions. Adult NPs, for example, must now select either a primary or acute care track, affecting the questions they’ll be asked on the certification test. Time also can influence the outcome of such assessment measures. Certifying bodies may receive pressure to make it more or less difficult to enter the profession.
So, in the face of change and the natural pressures that come with serving in a regulatory capacity over a profession, just how has the difficulty of the AANP certification exam changed in recent years?
The table below shows the passing rates on both the AANP’s family nurse practitioner and adult nurse practitioner certification exams.
Overall, the family nurse practitioner certification test has maintained a pretty even pass rate over the eight year period covered in the AANP’s reports. The most recent year reported, 2015, had the lowest passing rate to date. Coming years will show if the downward trend is to continue.
Pass rates on the adult nurse practitioner certification exam have decreased somewhat over the past eight years. This corresponds with the movement to the adult-gerontology primary care exam rather than the general adult designation. The general adult certification exam averaged an 89.2 percent passing rate while NPs taking the adult gerontology primary care exam have just an 81.9 percent success rate on average.
They will take a great deal of analytical thought, clinical judgment, and preparation. In 2022, the AANP exam pass rate for the Family Nurse Practioner (FNP) was 74%. For the 2022 FNP exam pass rate for ANCC certification was 86%.
Pass rates for the FNP exam from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) were 74% in 2022, down from 84% the prior year.
The AANP is rumored to be the easier of the two exams, specifically for those seeking their FNP certification since it has a 5% higher pass rate than that of the ANCC FNP exam. Using the pass rate as a basis for difficulty then you can reasonably say that the AANP exam is easier than the ANCC.
Taking one or two practice exams can help you assess where you fall. Depending on your practice exam performance, the amount of material you determine you need to master, and other time commitments, start studying 3-6 months prior to graduation from your NP program.
I found studying for NP boards to be much more overwhelming than the NCLEX. I felt like all of undergrad was spent prepping you for a test and that actual nursing took a backseat to that. Grad school was the opposite. It's whole focus was on patient care and passing boards never took the limelight.
I've done some research on this, and there are indeed certain states that are easier to get an NP license in. For example, Texas and Arizona are known for their relatively straightforward licensing processes, with shorter waiting times and fewer bureaucratic hurdles.
Is NP or PA school harder? PA and NP schools are challenging in their own ways. PA school does require more instructional and clinical hours than NP schools, but with the right study tool, you'll be okay no matter what you choose.
A candidate's score is based solely on the 135 scored questions. Of the 150 questions, 15 are pretest questions. Pretest questions are used on the examinations to obtain statistical information for determining how well they perform prior to vetting them for use on the scored portion of the examination.
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