The test that a nurse needs to pass to get a license is called the National Council Licensure Examination, or N-CLEX. There are separate tests for registered nurses, or RNs, and practical nurse, or PNs.
A report recently released from the Florida Center for Nursing noted that in 2024, Florida had the lowest pass rate on the exam of all 50 states, for both RNs and PNs.
Rayna LeTourneau is the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Nursing, which released the report.
“We have historically been underperforming the national average,” she said.
The first-time pass rate for Florida RNs was 84.9%, a drop of more than 6 percentage points below the national average. For PNs, the first-time pass rate 80.78%, a gap of more than 7 percentage points below the national average.
LeTourneau commented on what is being done to help raise the pass rates.
“In Florida, there has been a tremendous amount of effort and resources put toward filling faculty vacancies and student success initiatives at individual program levels,” she said.
Although Florida has performed below the national average for more than ten years, the gap between its scores and the national averages did decrease in 2024.
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