NCLEX Test-Taking Strategies: 12 Rules for NGN Questions (2026)
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You can know the content and still lose points if you misread the question. On the NCLEX, how you think through an item matters as much as what you know. Here are 12 test-taking rules, updated for the NGN format, that help you choose the best answer under pressure.
The core mindset
1. Answer as the ideal nurse, in the ideal setting. Not what you saw on your unit, what the textbook says is safest.
2. Assume you have the order and the time. Unless the question says otherwise, do not skip a step because it is inconvenient.
3. Every question is asking one thing. Find it. Reword the stem in your own words before looking at the answers.
Priority questions
4. Airway, breathing, circulation. When choices are all valid, the physiological threat usually wins.
5. Use Maslow. Physical needs before psychosocial, unless safety is the issue.
6. Unstable before stable, acute before chronic, unexpected before expected. The patient who is changing gets seen first.
7. Assess before you act, unless it is an emergency where action is the assessment, like starting CPR.
Answer-choice strategy
8. Eliminate the clearly wrong first. Two down usually leaves a coin flip you can reason through.
9. Watch absolutes. Always, never, and all are often wrong, but not always, so do not make it a reflex.
10. Do not read in information. Answer the question in front of you, not the what-ifs.
NGN-specific rules
11. Treat select-all and matrix items as separate true-false calls. Judge each option on its own. There is partial credit on many NGN items, so evaluate every one carefully.
12. On case studies, follow the clinical judgment steps. Recognize cues, analyze them, prioritize, then act and evaluate. The questions are literally built on that model (NCSBN).
Make the strategy automatic
Strategies only help if they are second nature by test day. Our Pink Book: NCLEX-NGN Test-Taking Strategy Guide turns these rules into a system you can actually apply on hard questions, for $19. Want the strategies plus the content and a full question bank? The FastTrack bundle has it all for $169. Both come with our Pass Guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best NCLEX test-taking strategy?
Reword the question to find what it is really asking, then use priority frameworks like ABC and Maslow to choose the best answer among valid options.
How do I answer select-all-that-apply on the NGN?
Treat each option as its own true-false decision, and remember many NGN items give partial credit, so judge every choice carefully.
Do test-taking strategies really help?
Yes, especially when two answers both look right. Strategy is how you break the tie the way the NCLEX wants.
You've got this. Learn the rules, drill them on questions, and let strategy carry the close calls.
Nurse June, BSN, RN
Founder, Your Nursing Space
