How predictive is UWorld self assessment?
Are UWorld Self Assessments accurate. These exams are incredibly accurate if you will put all your best effort into them! They will predict your scores very accurately.
While new NBME practice tests were more predictive of Step 1 scores than old NBME tests, UWorld test scores were the most predictive.
Your score on UWorld questions may feel like a marker of your progress, however your percentile on UWorld is not an accurate predictor of how you should expect to perform on Step 2 CK. As a reminder, UWorld is a learning resource, not a testing resource.
Of the UWorld self assessments, #1 overestimates your score by about 10 points and may give a false sense of security to students. #2 is generally a good predictor of actual score performance.
90% of users report that UWorld's questions are the same level of difficulty or more difficult than the questions they encountered on the NCLEX. Why do we make our questions so difficult? Because we believe that practicing with anything less is not the best use of your time and energy.
Learners with an average QBank score of 56% pass the NCLEX at a 92% rate.
But I just finished a test & my score was higher today than all last week...the more you do the questions, the more the concepts will sink in. Just like with the NCLEX, the more questions you get right, the harder the next ones are gonna be. That tells me you're progressing & you should be proud! So, how'd you do???
2021 NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates* | ||
---|---|---|
Repeat, U.S. Educated | 43.24% | 43.35% |
First-Time, International | 42.99% | 45.97% |
Repeat, International | 23.72% | 27.02% |
Total | 71.85% | 53.67% |
Subject Examination Scores
A CBSE score of 70 is approximately equivalent to a score of 200 on the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Step 1.
How Many Times Should You Do UWorld Step 1? UWorld recommends completing two full passes through the UWorld QBank. Do the first pass along with your first- and second-year medical school curriculum and save the second pass for your dedicated period of study for the USMLE.
Is UWorld a good predictor for NCLEX?
Here are the results from this year's NCLEX Success survey: 90% of students report that UWorld questions are the “same difficulty” or “more difficult” than the actual NCLEX exam for which they were studying. Students with a QBank average of 56% or higher had a NCLEX pass rate of 92.2%.
58-60% is OK, a good sign is being consistently above the average scores. The Uworld package I bought came with 2 assessment exams. I took the first about 1.5 weeks before my scheduled test date.

For most students, this means getting through three blocks of 40 questions per day, 5-6 days per week. Reserving 1-2 days per week to take a UWorld self-assessment exam or NBME practice exam and review it is also important because students must get a sense of their scores.
As mentioned above, Uworld STEP 2 CK is the most important resource to study for STEP 2 CK. UWorld STEP 2 CK covers most concepts of the exam and gets you familiar with the question styles. So, understanding the UWorld STEP 2 CK inside out is the milestone to scoring high on the exam.
Performance on Step 1 was significantly correlated with performance on both NBME and CBSE exams (r = 0.730, P < 0.001). Pre-clinical grades; MCAT score. Pathology was the strongest predictor of USMLE step 1 performance (P < 0.001). Higher perception of adequacy corresponded with higher scores.
So I would recommend to get Uworld early and do 10 questions for each day when you relax or just get exposed to the questions. I normally did 10 questions on my bed before I go to sleep.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) reports 13.43% of NCLEX-RN candidates fail the exam on their first attempt. The number of unsuccessful test-takers is low compared to the more than 86% who pass the exam on their first try.
Recommended study times may vary depending upon the level of preparation needed and can range anywhere from four to twelve weeks or more. Although this article provides a guide to studying NCLEX in one month, it is highly recommended you allocate more than just four weeks to prepare for your exam.
If you are getting above 50% on Uworld you will be fine, just keep reading rationales because that is the most important part.
The 48th is the cumulation of the scores for all the students who are using Uworld as their study material. At 33rd rank, you are currently below the median rank.
How much Uworld should I do a day?
Students should plan to get through 1 to 2 blocks of 40 questions per day, and if time remains, then getting through the incorrect questions closer to exam day can be helpful (rather than doing a full UWorld reset).
The calculated number of daily questions (often between 60 to 120 questions) depends on the length of your dedicated study period (usually between 4 and 8 weeks).
For example, for a one-hour 40Q UWorld block, which typically takes one hour to complete, plan to spend about two hours reviewing the explanations.
Scores of 32/40 or 80% on your first attempt at random blocks of UWorld is very strong performance. This would roughly correspond to Step 1 scores of 255+, assuming you sustain these scores through the entire question bank.
For example, if you are scoring in the 75th percentile, you are scoring higher than 75% of people taking the test. It's a statistical analysis. The median score is the middle score of everyone who has taken it. Your score is your raw score, or percentage you got correct on that test.
The NCLEX is scored using dichotomous scoring, so you can either pass or fail the exam. Currently, to pass the NCLEX-RN, the standard is 0.00 logits–or answer questions correctly at least 50% of the time.
First, Step 2 CK scores are significantly higher than Step 1 scores. So a 240 on Step 1 is the 60th percentile. However, it would be below the median for Step 2 CK (31st percentile). One reminder: med students are excellent test-takers.
The Free 120 does not generate a three-digit score. It does give you a percentage correct, which some people have tried to correlate to a Step 1 score, but there isn't any real data about how predictive it is.
2 Answers By Expert Tutors
If you miss 15 questions on a test with 50 total questions, your score would be a 70%.
In summary, getting through the UWorld Qbank in 30 days is indeed possible! That being said, it is still recommended to start earlier than 30 days so that you can both move through the QBank at a slightly more relaxed pace and work through it twice, which is ideal.
How long does it take to do 40 UWorld questions?
Thus, a standard 40-question block will take students no longer than one hour. Since most students will be doing 1-3 blocks of 40 questions during their dedicated study period, they should expect to spend 1-3 hours a day answering questions.
Most students will find the questions on the UWorld test bank are as hard or harder than the questions on the NCLEX. This is a good thing because it means students studying with UWorld know if they do well in UWorld Nursing, there's a good chance they'll do well on the actual NCLEX.
58-60% is OK, a good sign is being consistently above the average scores. The Uworld package I bought came with 2 assessment exams. I took the first about 1.5 weeks before my scheduled test date.
So I would recommend to get Uworld early and do 10 questions for each day when you relax or just get exposed to the questions. I normally did 10 questions on my bed before I go to sleep. So I could finish all 2000+ questions 1 week before NCLEX day.
If you do not finish the QBank YOU WILL BE FINE. Unfortunately there is no telling in what NCLEX will ask you out of all the possible content... especially not in 60 questions (w COVID changes)... it is okay if you do not cover everything or finish the entire QBank. It is impossible to remember absolutely everything.
you can do Uworld Qbank and FA textbook so it should take around 3–6 months depending on your background knowledge, if you are a visual learner then you can use Lecturio videos for detailed review, BnB for a short review, or onlinemeded for quick and concise review.
If you're making/doing excellent Anki cards, you might top out at doing 80-120 questions/day. However, while you will find people who (productively) do more than 120 UWorld questions in a day, they are often not doing Anki.
If I had to do it again, I'd go through UW at least twice (EVERY question, and reading EVERY answer explanation). Basically, do it as many times as you can. First Aid should similarly be read over and over again.
Remember, there are 200 scored items on Step 1. But you have to answer 60% of them correctly to pass. That's 120/200.
What Is A Good Average On UWORLD Step 1. Scoring 65% in UWorld Step 1 Qbank is considered a good average especially for anyone who has taken it for the first time. Meanwhile, having 75% and above will most likely get you a 250+ in the exam!
Is UWorld self assessment similar to NCLEX?
When I answered the questions, I used the thought process of uWorld to answer it with their rationale, helped me remember big topics. This test mimics the NCLEX, ranges from 75-265 questions given and SHUTS OFF when it determines if you have reached passing level - JUST LIKE THE NCLEX!!!
No you can only take the assessment once. It can't be reset.
Also from the Uworld Support Team: "...if you are scoring greater than 60% you should be confident you are ready for the exam. If you are scoring in the 50-60% range, you may want to review your incorrect questions to be certain you have mastered the concepts covered in those questions."
If you are getting above 50% on Uworld you will be fine, just keep reading rationales because that is the most important part.
58-60% is OK, a good sign is being consistently above the average scores.
Students have been known to score 270+ on USMLE Step 1 just by using UWorld and First Aid. There are also students, however, who have gone through the question bank 3 or more times, and can't seem to get a passing score on the exam. This underscores the fact that UWorld is effective only if used properly.
Can I Recommend Uworld? Yes, absolutely! Uworld NCLEX questions are a solid set of questions to use with your NCLEX prep! Just make sure to review content before doing the questions.
For many students, UWorld is enough for them to pass the NCLEX. With an almost 100% pass rate, it's pretty clear that students successfully use the UWorld NCLEX prep to prepare them for the National Council Licensure Examination.
On timed mode, UWorld allows 90 seconds per question (the same amount of time allowed on the Step 1 exam). Thus, a standard 40-question block will take students no longer than one hour.