Canada · Licensing examWhat is the REx-PN exam passing score?
It’s a line on an ability scale. NCSBN defines the passing standard as the minimum ability needed to practise safely and effectively at entry level, and a logit as the unit used to compare your ability with how hard each item is. The standard is reviewed every five years, along with the test plan.
| In effect | Standard |
|---|---|
| January 4, 2022 to December 31, 2026 | -0.32 logits |
| January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2031 | -0.09 logits |
Regulators on the Practical Nurse Exam Committee approved the 2027 standard in September 2026. The 2027 figure, -0.09, sits higher on the scale than -0.32, so from 2027 you need a slightly higher ability estimate to pass. A negative number isn’t a negative score: it’s just a point on the scale. NCSBN doesn’t convert either figure to a percentage, and it says no fixed percentage of candidates passes or fails.
How the computer decides whether you pass
After every answer, the computer re-estimates your ability from all your answers so far and how hard those items were. It then picks an item you should have about a 50% chance of getting right. One of three rules ends the exam:
- 95% confidence: it stops once it’s 95% certain your ability is clearly above or clearly below the standard. NCSBN says this is the most common outcome.
- Maximum length: if you’re very close to the standard, it continues to 150 items and then looks only at your final ability estimate.
- Out of time: if you haven’t answered the minimum number of items, you fail. If you have, it uses your final ability estimate from the items you completed.
Under the last two rules, the 2027 test plan says an estimate at or above the standard is a pass. The exam isn’t marked section by section. Your overall performance decides it.
Does a REx-PN that stops at 90 questions mean you passed?
No. The length doesn’t tell you either way, and NCSBN says you can pass or fail at any length. Every exam has between 90 and 150 items. Thirty of them are pretest items that don’t count, and they look just like the rest, so the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) puts the scored count at 60 to 120.
Single-answer items are scored right or wrong. From January 2026, select-all-that-apply items can earn partial credit. You have to answer every item to move on, and CNO says the items are numbered, so you can see how far you’ve come. There’s no time limit per item. CNO says candidates on similar exams generally take 60 to 90 seconds.
Don’t rush through items at the end. NCSBN warns that rapid guessing on an adaptive test can drastically lower your score, because it feeds you easier items and pulls your estimate down.
REx-PN pass rate in Ontario
CNO’s Nursing Registration Exams Report for 2025, dated October 8, 2026, gives first-attempt pass rates for Ontario-educated applicants. It leaves out applicants educated elsewhere in Canada or abroad.
| Year | Writes | Pass |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3,152 | 73.1% |
| 2023 | 3,720 | 83.3% |
| 2024 | 4,365 | 80.8% |
| 2025 | 4,897 | 78.5% |
2022 was the first year of the REx-PN in Ontario, so earlier figures belong to a different exam. The report also breaks the rates down by college, program and campus. These figures come from writers under the 2022 passing standard, so they can’t tell you what rates will look like under the 2027 one.
How pass rates change with each attempt
In the same CNO report, the 2025 pass rate fell with each of the first four attempts by Ontario-educated applicants.
| Attempt | Writes | Pass |
|---|---|---|
| First | 4,897 | 78.5% |
| Second | 908 | 56.7% |
| Third | 316 | 43.7% |
| Fourth | 154 | 36.4% |
The British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) has paused posting school results while it reviews how it reports exam data, and the yearly statistics on its page are for the older exam. NCSBN’s exam statistics pages publish pass rates for the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), and they list no REx-PN pass rate table.
Sources: NCSBN · CNO · BCCNM and 7 more. Checked November 2026.
- NCSBN: Passing Standard ↗
- NCSBN: Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) ↗
- NCSBN: 2027 REx-PN Test Plan (PDF) ↗
- NCSBN: Candidate Performance Report ↗
- NCSBN: 2026 REx-PN Candidate Bulletin (PDF) ↗
- NCSBN: REx-PN FAQs ↗
- NCSBN: Exam Statistics and Publications ↗
- CNO: REx-PN FAQs ↗
- CNO: Nursing Registration Exams Report for 2025 ↗
- BCCNM: Exam statistics ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
Explore