RN Ranking Methodology
Welcome to our 7th Annual RN Program Rankings – 2023 Edition!
We are firm believers in providing students with all the information possible to make the right choice when selecting a nursing school. With this in mind, we feel a great way to provide this transparency is through studying nursing programs and their students’ performance on the NCLEX-RN exam.
The NCLEX-RN exam is used by all state boards of nursing across the United States to help assess a student’s competency and is required for licensure. Many state boards of nursing use the total overall NCLEX-RN pass rates for a school as one of the main ways to approve a school’s ability to provide a nursing education in the state. This is why we feel the NCLEX-RN pass rates are one of the best ways to determine a nursing program’s student preparedness, and that is why we have chosen to rank them using this method.
Methodology
Our methodology began with obtaining NCLEX-RN exam pass rates for all RN programs (ADN, BSN, Direct-Entry MSN) state by state through several methods, including making a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. We requested the previous 5 years of information that is available.
Once this data was obtained, we filtered out the programs with the following characteristics:
- Programs that have closed or will be closing at the time of data collecting
- Programs with no pass rate data available for the previous 1 or 2 years, depending on the state and number of years of data available
- Programs with only one year of pass rates
Once non-qualifying programs had been filtered, the ranking process began:
- NCLEX-RN pass rates were analyzed going back to the most recent years of data available up to 5 years, each state may have varying years, see the data table below for each state’s year range analysis.
- Schools’ pass rates were averaged together and weighted by the recency of the exam; for example, exam pass rates in 2021 count more towards overall rankings than scores from 2017. The weighting cofactor values table used:
| Number Years of Data Available | Weighting Cofactors (Most Recent First) |
|---|---|
| 5 Years | 0.37,0.27,0.17,0.12,0.07 |
| 4 Years | 0.4,0.3,0.2,0.1 |
| 3 Years | 0.45,0.35,0.2 |
| 2 Years | 0.65,0.35 |
| 1 Year | 1 |
Ranking Details By State
The table below lists information by state, including the years of NCLEX-RN pass rate data analyzed, the number of schools in each state, and the number of top-ranked programs.
| State | Years Rankings Based On | Number Schools Analyzed | Number Schools Ranked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2017 - 2021 | 36 | 10 |
| Alaska | N/A | 2 | N/A |
| Arizona | 2017 - 2021 | 33 | 10 |
| Arkansas | 2017 - 2021 | 30 | 10 |
| California | 2017 - 2021 | 131 | 20 |
| Colorado | 2017 - 2021 | 28 | 10 |
| Connecticut | 2017 - 2021 | 20 | 5 |
| Delaware | 2017 - 2021 | 7 | 3 |
| Florida | 2017 - 2021 | 149 | 20 |
| Georgia | 2017 - 2021 | 51 | 20 |
| Hawaii | 2016 - 2020 | 8 | 3 |
| Idaho | 2018 - 2021 | 11 | 5 |
| Illinois | 2017 - 2021 | 80 | 20 |
| Indiana | 2016 - 2020 | 48 | 20 |
| Iowa | 2017 - 2021 | 33 | 10 |
| Kansas | 2017 - 2021 | 32 | 10 |
| Kentucky | 2017 - 2021 | 49 | 20 |
| Louisiana | 2014 - 2018 | 26 | 10 |
| Maine | 2017 - 2021 | 12 | 5 |
| Maryland | 2017 - 2021 | 25 | 10 |
| Massachusetts | 2017 - 2021 | 42 | 20 |
| Michigan | 2012 - 2016 | 59 | 20 |
| Minnesota | 2017 - 2021 | 43 | 20 |
| Mississippi | 2017 - 2021 | 23 | 10 |
| Missouri | 2017 - 2021 | 53 | 20 |
| Montana | 2017 - 2021 | 14 | 5 |
| Nebraska | 2017 - 2021 | 16 | 5 |
| Nevada | 2017 - 2021 | 12 | 5 |
| New Hampshire | 2017 - 2021 | 15 | 5 |
| New Jersey | 2017 - 2021 | 49 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 2017 - 2021 | 20 | 5 |
| New York | 2017 - 2021 | 103 | 20 |
| North Carolina | 2017 - 2021 | 83 | 20 |
| North Dakota | 2017 - 2021 | 10 | 3 |
| Ohio | 2017 - 2021 | 94 | 20 |
| Oklahoma | 2017 - 2021 | 46 | 20 |
| Oregon | 2017 - 2021 | 27 | 10 |
| Pennsylvania | 2017 - 2021 | 77 | 20 |
| Rhode Island | N/A | 5 | N/A |
| South Carolina | 2017 - 2021 | 31 | 10 |
| South Dakota | 2017 - 2021 | 11 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 2017 - 2021 | 47 | 20 |
| Texas | 2017 - 2021 | 121 | 20 |
| Utah | 2017 - 2021 | 19 | 5 |
| Vermont | N/A | 3 | N/A |
| Virginia | 2017 - 2021 | 67 | 20 |
| Washington | 2017 - 2021 | 34 | 10 |
| West Virginia | 2017 - 2021 | 27 | 10 |
| Wisconsin | 2017 - 2021 | 38 | 10 |
| Wyoming | 2018 - 2021 | 9 | 3 |
LPN to RN & Paramedic to RN Ranking Details
Much of our main state ranking methodology above was used in coordination with the Online LPN to RN ranking. Other contributing factors weighted into this ranking include but not limited to:
- Tuition cost
- Average program length
- Geo coverage
- Further educational pathways and partnerships
- # of cohorts annually
Referenced Rankings
Concerns, Questions, and Corrections
We understand there is much more in deciding which school best supports students on their path to becoming registered nurses, but providing this information for students can be another point to consider in choosing a school to attend. Our recommendation would be to use our rankings in addition to other factors in helping find the right school.
Please send comments, questions, or corrections to us via our contact form