The 2026 NCSBN NCLEX Conference brought together nursing faculty, exam developers, and NCSBN’s measurement and testing team to share the latest research and data behind the NCLEX exam. From new classroom technology to updated clinical judgment scoring trends, this year’s sessions gave nursing programs plenty to bring back to their own faculty meetings.
If you missed the conference, or you’re still working through your notes, here are three major takeaways from the 2026 NCSBN NCLEX Conference.
Takeaway #1: Faculty Are Bringing New Technology Into Clinical Judgment Instruction
Faculty presenters from across the country shared research on how they’re building clinical judgment skills in the classroom, and the tools they’re using look different than they did even a few years ago. Presentations covered:
- Virtual reality learning experiences designed to build clinical decision-making skills
- Simulation scenarios created specifically to strengthen clinical judgment
- Early applications of artificial intelligence software in nursing instruction
One thing came through in every session: nursing programs now have more tools than ever to build clinical judgment before students sit for the NCLEX, and faculty are already putting them to use.
Takeaway #2: NCLEX Scoring Precision Continues to Improve
NCSBN reported that scoring precision on the NCLEX has increased since the updated exam launched in 2023. In practical terms, that means the exam is getting more accurate at measuring whether a candidate meets the minimum competency standard for safe, entry-level nursing practice.
That’s good news for nursing programs. It means the scoring model behind the Next Generation NCLEX is working as designed, and programs can trust what a passing or failing result says about a candidate’s readiness.
Takeaway #3: Clinical Judgment Performance Data Shows Steady Gains
NCLEX items are scored against the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM), a framework that breaks clinical judgment into six sequential steps, from recognizing cues to evaluating outcomes. NCSBN shared several years of performance data against this model, and a few trends stood out:
- Candidates continue to perform well on clinical judgment items overall, though average ability scores in this area have dipped slightly since the updated exam launched
- Prioritizing Hypotheses, historically the most challenging of the six NCJMM steps for candidates, has seen a performance improvement over the last two quarters of 2026
- Variability across all six NCJMM steps has decreased over time, meaning candidates are performing more consistently across every step rather than excelling in just one or two areas
Put simply, candidates aren’t just getting more clinical judgment items right. They’re applying clinical judgment more consistently across every stage of the decision-making process, which is exactly the behavior the NCJMM was built to capture.
Also on the Agenda
These three takeaways aren’t the whole story. The conference also included sessions on regulatory insights and how boards of nursing collaborate with faculty, an overview of NCLEX operations and candidate support, sensitivity and differential item functioning reviews that keep the exam fair across candidate groups, foundations of clinical judgment for entry-level nurses transitioning into practice, and a live polling session that captured attendee sentiment throughout the day. Any of these could be worth a closer look if your program is digging into exam development or fairness testing specifically.
What This Means for Your Program
New classroom technology and steadier clinical judgment performance nationally both point to real progress in how nursing education prepares students for practice. If Prioritizing Hypotheses and overall consistency keep improving, programs that put faculty development and remediation toward the NCJMM’s weaker steps should see that pay off in their own students’ results.
See the Full Picture with UWorld
Conference data like this only helps if you can see where your own students land. UWorld’s NCLEX Teaching & Learning Platform lets educators tag assignments to the NCJMM and pull reporting across all six clinical judgment steps, from recognizing cues to evaluating outcomes, so you can see exactly where a class or an individual student needs support. Pair that with UWorld’s new multi-client NGN case studies, which have students prioritize care across two to four clients at once, and your program gets both the data and the practice needed to strengthen the NCJMM steps where students are struggling most.
Insights above are based on sessions and data shared at the 2026 NCSBN NCLEX Conference.
