NCLEX-RN study plan builder

NCLEX Study Plan: Build a Week-by-Week Schedule for Your Exam Date

Enter your exam date, or the weeks you have (2 to 12), and the hours you can study each week, and mark the content areas you find hardest. For a plan of two weeks or more, the builder lays out every week: NCSBN's tutorial and a full-length practice exam as your baseline in week 1, more practice exams two or three weeks apart when there is time for them (one in each week of a 2-week plan), question-type sets picked for your weakest areas and dosage calculation sets as your hours allow, two guides and time to review every rationale. An exam date under two weeks away gets one short plan for the days left. The plan below is the default, 8 weeks at 15 hours a week.

Plan builder

Your NCLEX study schedule, week by week

Change any input and the plan rebuilds on this page; nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Each practice task links to the practice it uses, and no week asks for more than your weekly hours (a first week longer than seven days gets its share for the extra days).

Plan from

Weeks until your exam

Hours you can study each week6 to 60. Week 1 needs 6: NCSBN's tutorial, a short guide and a practice exam of up to 5 hours.

Your weakest content areas (optional)

From a practice exam's score report, or a Candidate Performance Report if you are retaking. Leave them all off to follow the test plan's weights.

Your plan: 8 weeks, 15 hours a week, 4 full-length practice exams.

Weeks: 8
Hours a week: 15
Full-length practice exams: 4
Study time in all: 120 h

How this plan was set

No weakest areas marked, so the areas run from the largest share of the exam to the smallest. After Practice Exam 1, mark its lowest areas and the plan reorders itself.

Week 1
15 h
FocusManagement of CarePharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
1. 30 min
  Take NCSBN's candidate tutorial
  NCSBN's own walk-through of the exam software and how each question type is answered.
  - NCSBN's Prepare page on NCLEX.com
2. 30 min
  Read how the NCLEX is built
  85 to 150 questions, up to five hours, and why the exam can stop at 85, so the practice exam holds no surprises.
  - How many questions are on the NCLEX
3. 5 h
  Take Practice Exam 1 as your baseline
  In one sitting, on the 5-hour clock, with no notes. Its score report shows where you start, by client-need area and question type.
  - Practice Exam 1Free
4. 3 h
  Review every rationale of Practice Exam 1
  The questions you got right as well as the ones you missed. Write down each fact or rule you did not know, and note your two lowest client-need areas and question types.
5. 30 min
  Read the prioritization and delegation guide
  Which client to see first and what an RN can delegate, with practice. Management of Care has the largest share of the test plan.
  - NCLEX prioritization and delegation
6. 2 h 15 min
  Question-type practice: 9 sets
  45 questions in 9 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Management of Care and Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
7. 30 min
  Dosage calculation: 2 sets
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - Dosage Calculation ConversionsFree
  - Desired Over Have FormulaFree
8. 2 h 45 min
  Content review: Management of Care and Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
  Management of Care makes up 15–21% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan and Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies 13–19%. Go through the test plan's list for each area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 2
15 h
FocusPhysiological Adaptation
1. 30 min
  Case study: Heart Failure
  Six questions that follow one client through the clinical judgment steps, as the case studies on the NCLEX do. Read every rationale.
  - Heart FailureFree
2. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
3. 3 h
  Question-type practice: 12 sets
  58 questions in 12 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Physiological Adaptation. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
4. 30 min
  Dosage calculation: 2 sets
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - Dimensional Analysis NursingFree
  - Weight-Based Dosage CalculationFree
5. 9 h 30 min
  Content review: Physiological Adaptation
  Physiological Adaptation makes up 11–17% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 3
15 h
FocusSafety and Infection Prevention and Control
1. 5 h
  Take Practice Exam 2
  In one sitting, on the 5-hour clock. Compare its score report with Practice Exam 1: an area that has not moved goes to the top of next week.
  - Practice Exam 2
2. 3 h
  Review every rationale of Practice Exam 2
  The questions you got right as well as the ones you missed. Write down each fact or rule you did not know, and note your two lowest client-need areas and question types.
3. 30 min
  Case study: Anaphylaxis
  Six questions that follow one client through the clinical judgment steps, as the case studies on the NCLEX do. Read every rationale.
  - AnaphylaxisFree
4. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
5. 2 h 15 min
  Question-type practice: 9 sets
  45 questions in 9 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Safety and Infection Prevention and Control. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
6. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - Pediatric Dosage CalculationFree
7. 2 h 30 min
  Content review: Safety and Infection Prevention and Control
  Safety and Infection Prevention and Control makes up 10–16% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 4
15 h
FocusReduction of Risk Potential
1. 30 min
  Case study: Pneumothorax
  Six questions that follow one client through the clinical judgment steps, as the case studies on the NCLEX do. Read every rationale.
  - PneumothoraxFree
2. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
3. 3 h 15 min
  Question-type practice: 13 sets
  60 questions in 13 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Reduction of Risk Potential. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
4. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - Reconstitution Dosage CalculationFree
5. 9 h 30 min
  Content review: Reduction of Risk Potential
  Reduction of Risk Potential makes up 9–15% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 5
15 h
FocusHealth Promotion and Maintenance
1. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
2. 3 h 15 min
  Question-type practice: 13 sets
  63 questions in 13 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Health Promotion and Maintenance. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
3. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - IV Flow Rate CalculationFree
4. 10 h
  Content review: Health Promotion and Maintenance
  Health Promotion and Maintenance makes up 6–12% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 6
15 h
FocusPsychosocial Integrity
1. 5 h
  Take Practice Exam 3
  In one sitting, on the 5-hour clock. Compare its score report with Practice Exam 2: an area that has not moved goes to the top of next week.
  - Practice Exam 3
2. 3 h
  Review every rationale of Practice Exam 3
  The questions you got right as well as the ones you missed. Write down each fact or rule you did not know, and note your two lowest client-need areas and question types.
3. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
4. 2 h 15 min
  Question-type practice: 9 sets
  41 questions in 9 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Psychosocial Integrity. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
5. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - IV Drip Rate CalculationFree
6. 3 h
  Content review: Psychosocial Integrity
  Psychosocial Integrity makes up 6–12% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 7
15 h
FocusBasic Care and Comfort
1. 1 h 30 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
2. 3 h 30 min
  Question-type practice: 14 sets
  59 questions in 13 formats, picked for the questions they hold in Basic Care and Comfort. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
3. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - Heparin Drip CalculationFree
4. 9 h 45 min
  Content review: Basic Care and Comfort
  Basic Care and Comfort makes up 6–12% of the content-area questions in the 2026 test plan. Go through the test plan's list for this area: for each topic, first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. Spend most of the time on topics you have missed so far, and spread it over several days rather than one long sitting.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Week 8: the final week
15 h
Focusyour lowest areas on your last practice exam
1. 5 h
  Take Practice Exam 4, your last full-length exam
  Early in the week, in one sitting on the 5-hour clock, so there is time left to review it before your exam.
  - Practice Exam 4
2. 3 h
  Review every rationale of Practice Exam 4
  The questions you got right as well as the ones you missed. Write down each fact or rule you did not know, and note your two lowest client-need areas and question types.
3. 2 h 15 min
  Redo the questions you missed
  Answer the questions you missed in earlier weeks again before you look at their rationales. Coming back to them a week or more later is the point.
4. 2 h
  Question-type practice: 8 sets
  36 questions in 8 formats. Read the rationale for every answer option, right or wrong.
5. 15 min
  Dosage calculation: 1 set
  Work each question by hand, with its units, before you open the worked answer.
  - mcg/kg/min CalculationFree
6. 2 h 30 min
  Review your weakest areas
  The client-need areas where Practice Exam 4 scored lowest. Quiz yourself from the notes you made from rationales (cover the answer, recall it, then check) and redo any question you missed twice.
  - NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
7. Last days
  The last day or two
  This site's suggestion, not an NCSBN rule: no new full-length exam and no new topics. Quiz yourself lightly from your notes rather than rereading them, keep to your usual sleep, and check that the first and last names on your ID match the names on your ATT exactly, as the Candidate Bulletin requires.
  - 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin

Want it day by day, with each practice set and practice exam ticked off as you finish it? Make a day-by-day plan: it is saved in your browser.

Practice Exam 1, the first 2 practice sets of every question type and all dosage calculation sets are free, with no sign-up, and so are the practice case studies; all of them stay free when paid plans start, and the plan marks them. The rest of the practice in the plan needs a paid plan then: see pricing.

How it works

How the plan is built

The rules the builder follows for a plan of two weeks or more, so you can adjust a week by hand and keep its logic. The durations are this site's estimates: 15 minutes for a practice set of up to five questions with its rationales, 3 hours to review a practice exam, 30 minutes for a case study or a guide. A practice exam gets its full 5-hour clock.

01A baseline before anything elseWeek 1 holds NCSBN's candidate tutorial and the guide to the exam's format, then a full-length practice exam as your baseline, so the plan starts from your own score report rather than a guess. That is why the builder needs at least 6 hours a week.
02Full-length exams two or three weeks apartAfter the baseline, practice exams are evenly spaced two or three weeks apart (about every two weeks from 10 hours a week), and the last one comes early in the final week; a 2-week plan has one in each week. Below 9 hours a week a practice exam, its review and the redo of earlier misses do not fit in one seven-day week, so a review can continue the next week, the last exam comes in the week before the final week, and a plan of 2 or 3 weeks has room for the baseline only. The plan uses the 6 practice exams here in order, each once, and never schedules more.
03Weakest areas first, then by share of the examThe areas you mark as weakest come first and, in plans of six weeks or more, come back in a later week. The rest follow their share of the 2026 test plan, largest first, and every area gets a week of focus. In plans of four weeks or more the final week returns to the areas you marked (the two with the largest share of the test plan, if you marked more than two), or, if you marked none, to the lowest areas on your last practice exam.
04Practice picked for the week's areasEvery practice question here is tagged with its client-need area. In each week with room for them, the plan picks the question-type sets that hold the most questions in that week's areas, counting your weakest areas double, one set per format before a format repeats. Dosage calculation sets follow in order, basic to advanced, as the hours allow. The prioritization and delegation guide comes in the week that covers Management of Care, or the first week after it with room, and a case study comes in week 2 or later when there is room: in every plan from 10 hours a week.
05Every rationale, then the misses againAfter each practice exam and set you read the rationales, for the questions you got right as well as the ones you missed. From week 2, every week keeps time for answering earlier misses again before you look at their rationales.
06Content review fills the restThe hours left go to the week's areas, spread over several days rather than one long sitting. For each topic in the test plan's list you first write down what you remember, then check it against your course notes or a review book. In the final week of a plan of four weeks or more they go to your weakest areas, quizzing yourself from your notes rather than rereading them.

An exam date under two weeks away gets one short plan for the days left instead. It opens with NCSBN's tutorial, holds a full-length practice exam only when the days have room for it and its whole review (at least 9 hours of study time in those days, and at least 3 days), and spends the rest of the time, as it allows, on your weakest areas, or on the three largest areas if you mark none.

2026 test plan

The eight client-need areas and where they fall in the plan

NCSBN's 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan sets each area's share of the content-area questions. The plan gives the larger areas their weeks first unless you mark others as weakest. This is where each one falls in the default plan.

Client-need areas, their share of the content-area questions and their week in the default plan
Client-need area	Share of content-area questions	Focus in the default 8-week plan
Management of Care	15–21%	Week 1
Safety and Infection Prevention and Control	10–16%	Week 3
Health Promotion and Maintenance	6–12%	Week 5
Psychosocial Integrity	6–12%	Week 6
Basic Care and Comfort	6–12%	Week 7
Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies	13–19%	Week 1
Reduction of Risk Potential	9–15%	Week 4
Physiological Adaptation	11–17%	Week 2

NCSBN's chart gives one figure per area, 18% for Management of Care. Because exam length varies, an individual exam can differ from it by up to 3 percentage points either way, which is the range shown. The shares apply to the content-area questions, 52 of a minimum-length exam's 85: the 18 case-study questions are counted apart, and the 15 pretest questions are not scored. Management of Care has the largest share, so the plan puts the prioritization and delegation guide in the week that covers it, or the first week after it with room. NCSBN updates the test plans every three years; the 2026 plan runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029.

Sources: NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan and NCSBN, Test Plans.

The evidence

Why the plan is built on questions, spacing and rationales

Three findings from learning research shape the plan. None of the three papers is about the NCLEX or nursing students: the two experiments used undergraduates and the review covers learners in general. Read them as reasons for the method, not as a promise about a score.

Practice testing and spaced study. In 2013, Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed the research on ten learning techniques, chosen because they were expected to be relatively easy for students to use. They rated two of high utility, practice testing and distributed practice (study spread out over time), because these benefit learners of different ages and abilities and have been shown to raise performance on many kinds of tests, even in real educational settings. They rated rereading and highlighting of low utility and suggested practice testing instead of rereading. That is why every week of a plan of two weeks or more holds questions (the baseline exam in week 1, a redo of earlier misses in every week after it), why missed questions come back a week or more later, and why content review starts with recalling each topic before you check it.

A test is study, not only a measurement. In a 2006 study by Roediger and Karpicke, students read short prose passages and then either took recall tests on them or studied them again. On a test five minutes later, restudying did better. On tests two days and one week later, the students who had been tested remembered substantially more, although restudying had made students more confident that they would remember. The plan treats each practice exam the same way: it shows where you stand, and taking it is study too.

Feedback after multiple-choice questions.Multiple-choice questions carry a risk: a wrong option you chose can stick. In a 2008 study by Butler and Roediger, students answered multiple-choice questions on short passages. For two thirds of the questions they were shown, after each answer, right or wrong, whether they were correct and the correct answer, either straight after the question or at the end of the test; the other third got no feedback. On a fill-in-the-blank test a week later, both kinds of feedback raised the share of correct answers and cut the wrong answers picked up from the multiple-choice options, compared with the questions without feedback. A rationale here gives you that feedback for every question, and it also explains why the answer is right, which the study did not test: reading the explanation is this site's own step.

Sources: Dunlosky et al., Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (2013); Roediger and Karpicke, Test-Enhanced Learning, Psychological Science (2006); Butler and Roediger, Feedback Enhances the Positive Effects and Reduces the Negative Effects of Multiple-Choice Testing, Memory & Cognition (2008).

Timeline

How long to study for the NCLEX: what sets the timeline

NCSBN does not recommend a length of study. Once your nursing regulatory body makes you eligible, your Authorization to Test sets the dates within which you must test, so count back from your exam date.

NCSBN rules that bound an NCLEX study timeline
Rule	What the Candidate Bulletin says
Registration	Stays open for 365 days from when your nursing regulatory body receives it, while the board decides whether you are eligible to test. If you are not made eligible in that time, the registration and its fee are forfeited.
Authorization to Test (ATT)	Arrives once you are eligible. It is valid for a period your nursing regulatory body sets, 90 days on average, and you must test within its dates. They cannot be extended: if you do not test within them, you register and pay the exam fee again.
Your first appointment	First-time candidates are offered an appointment within 30 days of calling or trying online to schedule one. The Candidate Bulletin warns that waiting to schedule can leave few dates to choose from, and that waiting until your ATT is close to expiring can leave no seat before it does.
Changing the appointment	Online or by phone at least one full business day (24 hours) before it. For an exam on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, no later than the Friday before, at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
A retake	At least 45 test-free days after the last attempt, and up to eight attempts a year, unless your nursing regulatory body allows fewer. Repeat candidates are offered an appointment after 45 days.

The builder takes your exam date and counts whole weeks back from the day before it; days left over go into week 1. A date more than 12 weeks away gets a plan for the last 12 weeks, and a date under two weeks away gets one short plan for the days you have. Our suggestion, not an NCSBN rule or a research finding: if your first practice exam shows gaps in several areas, plan 6 to 8 weeks rather than 2 or 3, and schedule the exam itself early, since the Candidate Bulletin warns that test centers can fill up.

Source: 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin.

Retaking

A study plan for an NCLEX retake

Start from the report your nursing regulatory body sends to candidates who did not pass, or from a practice exam while you wait for it.

When a candidate fails, the nursing regulatory body sends a Candidate Performance Report. It gives the number of questions the candidate answered and a summary of their relative strengths and weaknesses based on the test plan, and NCSBN intends it to guide study before a retake. A candidate who did not answer the minimum number of questions gets a shorter report without that breakdown. Mark the areas the report shows as weakest in the builder: the plan puts them first and, in plans of six weeks or more, brings them back in a later week.

NCSBN's retake policy allows up to eight attempts a year with at least 45 test-free days between them, unless your nursing regulatory body allows fewer, so check its own policy. The 45 days are a minimum, not a schedule. Official results, which bring the report, come from your board within about six weeks of the exam, and that time varies by board. A retake is a new registration with the same fee, and as for any attempt you need an Authorization to Test before you can schedule it. If the report has not arrived when you start, build the plan from a practice exam's score report and change the weakest areas when it comes. Each practice exam here is a fixed set of 85 questions, so a repeat shows you questions you have already seen: if you took some of them before your first attempt, swap in ones you have not taken.

NCLEX results: Quick Results, the Candidate Performance Report and the retake steps

Sources: 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin, NCSBN, Candidate Performance Report and NCSBN, NCLEX FAQs.

Practice

The practice the plan uses

Every practice task in the plan links to one of these. The tutorial, the content reviews and the last-days check link to NCSBN's own pages.

NCLEX-RN practice exams

Adaptive full-length exams of 85 to 150 questions on a 5-hour clock, each with a practice estimate and a score report by client-need area and question type. Practice Exam 1 is free, with no sign-up.

NCLEX question types

Practice sets in all 16 formats, every question with its rationale.

Dosage calculation practice

Sets by skill, from unit conversions to mcg/kg/min drips, each question with a worked answer.

NCLEX case studies

Unfolding case studies of six questions that follow one client through the clinical judgment steps.

Prioritization and delegation

Which client to see first and what an RN can delegate, with practice questions.

How many questions are on the NCLEX

85 to 150 questions in up to five hours, and the three rules that end the exam.

NCSBN's own Prepare page on NCLEX.com has the candidate tutorial for the exam software, which week 1 of the plan includes.

FAQ

NCLEX study plan: FAQ

How much time should you give yourself to study for the NCLEX?

NCSBN does not recommend a study length. What does set a limit is your Authorization to Test: once your nursing regulatory body makes you eligible, it is valid for a period the board sets, 90 days on average, and its dates cannot be extended. First-time candidates are offered an appointment within 30 days of asking for one. This builder plans 2 to 12 weeks back from your exam date. Our suggestion, not a research finding: if your first practice exam shows several weak areas, plan 6 to 8 weeks rather than 2 or 3.

Is 2 weeks enough to study for NCLEX?

NCSBN publishes no recommended study time, and the answer depends on where you start. A 2-week plan here opens with a full-length practice exam and, at 9 or more hours a week, has a second one in week 2. The two exams and their reviews take most of those hours: the more hours you have, the more practice on your weakest areas fits between them. If the first exam shows gaps in several areas and your ATT dates allow it, more weeks let you spread the practice out, and spaced practice is one of the two techniques a 2013 review of learning research rated of high utility.

How to study for NCLEX?

Start with a full-length practice exam to find your weakest client-need areas. Then give each week to a few areas: practice questions in every format, the rationale for every answer option, and content review of what you missed. Take another full-length exam every two or three weeks, answer missed questions again a week or more later instead of rereading your notes, and keep the last day or two light. The builder on this page lays that out for your date and hours.

What is the best study method for nursing students?

The best evidence we found is a 2013 review by Dunlosky and colleagues of ten learning techniques, chosen because they were expected to be relatively easy for students to use. It rated two of high utility: practice testing and distributed practice, which means study spread out over time. It rated highlighting and rereading of low utility. The review covers learners in general; it is not about nursing students or the NCLEX.

Is the NCLEX getting harder in 2026?

The passing standard did not change with the 2026 test plan: in December 2022, NCSBN's Board of Directors voted to uphold the NCLEX-RN passing standard of 0.00 logits through March 31, 2029. The 2026 test plan, in effect from April 1, 2026, gives the eight client-need areas the same percentage ranges as the 2023 plan; one area, Safety and Infection Control, was renamed Safety and Infection Prevention and Control.

Sources: NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan; NCSBN, Test Plans; 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin; NCSBN, Prepare (NCLEX.com); NCSBN, Passing Standard; NCSBN, Candidate Performance Report; NCSBN, NCLEX FAQs; NCSBN 2023 NCLEX-RN Test Plan; Dunlosky et al., Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (2013); Roediger and Karpicke, Test-Enhanced Learning, Psychological Science (2006); Butler and Roediger, Feedback Enhances the Positive Effects and Reduces the Negative Effects of Multiple-Choice Testing, Memory & Cognition (2008). Last reviewed October 22, 2026.

Independent practice resource. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and Next Generation NCLEX® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.

NCLEX Study Plan: Build a Week-by-Week Schedule for Your Exam Date

Your NCLEX study schedule, week by week

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8: the final week