Nurse Entrance Test
The Nurse Entrance Test (NET), offered by Educational Resources, Inc., is one of several entrance tests used during the admission process for nursing schools. The NET test is used by 24 percent of all registered and licensed practical nursing programs.
The NET test evaluates students based on seven areas: math, reading comprehension, written expression, test taking, learning styles, stress level, and norming.
- The math portion focuses on concepts such as percentages, number systems, whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and algebraic equations.
- The reading comprehension portion includes items such as critical thinking, reading rate and placement, predicting outcomes, inferential reading, and finding the main idea of a passage.
- The written expression portion of the NET test covers skills such as sentence structure, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, pronouns, irregular verbs, and subject- verb agreement.
- For the test-taking portion, your test-taking skills are compiled into a report for nursing programs.
- The learning styles area determines how you learn best, which determines the type of learner you are. The various learning styles include visual, auditory, solitary, social, oral dependent, and writing dependent.
- The stress level portion of the NET test gathers your profile from various areas of life, such as work, school, family, friends, time, and money. It determines how much stress these areas cause in your life and how you manage them. The norming is done at a national level to evaluate the relevance of the NET test questions.
To take the NET test, you must first complete and submit a registration form, along with the fee (generally around $40-$50, depending on the testing center). How you are allowed to register depends on the testing site. Some accept mail-in forms only, while others allow you to register online or via telephone. NET test appointments are first-come, first-served, and it is generally required that you register at least ten days in advance. You will be asked to provide first and second choices for testing dates. You will receive a confirmation via mail as to when you are scheduled to take the NET test. On the day of the test, you will need to bring this confirmation, along with a valid photo ID, to the testing center.
The NET test is administered primarily via computer at various colleges and testing sites throughout the country, although some sites still use paper-and-pencil testing. It is a two-hour test. You will be required to complete 60 questions in 60 minutes on the math section 33 questions in 30 minutes on the reading comprehension section.
Once you complete the NET test, you will receive your results in two weeks. Your score report will contain three scores: a reading comprehension score, a math score, and a composite score. Passing scores for the NET test depend on each nursing school’s standards. A minimum score of 50 percent on the reading comprehension area is typically required for nursing school admission. To pass the math area, you must have a score of 50 percent or higher. The composite score is an average of your math and reading comprehension scores. You must get at least 60-65 percent to pass. If you do not pass, you are allowed to retake the NET test once per academic year after going through a 30-day waiting period.
Last Updated: 04/24/2012