Florida's nursing exam pass rates have shifted from a post-graduation afterthought to a pre-enrollment filter. The state's first-time NCLEX-PN pass rate of 78.56% is the lowest among the 50 states, and the Florida Center for Nursing's "State of Nursing Education in Florida: 2026 Report," covered by Miami Today on October 21, 2026, also names faculty shortages as a pipeline bottleneck.
For LPN candidates, that means reviewing first-attempt pass rates, checking approval or probation status, and asking direct questions about NCLEX-PN preparation before enrolling. First-attempt results are now a core part of choosing the right LPN/LVN bridge program.
What the Florida Center for Nursing's 2026 Report Flags
Florida's first-time NCLEX-PN Exam pass rate landed at 78.56%, the lowest among all 50 states and just over 8 points below the national average of 86.59%, according to the Florida Center for Nursing's State of Nursing Education in Florida: 2026 Report. Miami Today reported on the findings on October 21, 2026, describing a pipeline that spans LPN, ADN, and BSN programs. The report spans the full prelicensure pipeline, but the PN-specific figures below matter most for LPN and LVN candidates.
What the report pins down
- First-attempt results: Florida's 78.56% NCLEX-PN pass rate was the lowest state-level rate, with 18 of 54 jurisdictions compared coming in below the national average.
- Faculty gaps: Full-time faculty vacancy rates were 6.7% for PN programs, 8.3% for BSN programs, and 12.8% for ADN programs.
- Capacity pressure: The most common reason programs gave for not accepting more applicants was a shortage of qualified applicants; limited clinical sites ranked second.
Why these issues travel together
Unfilled faculty roles can reduce available seats, raise student-to-instructor ratios, and thin out remediation or NCLEX coaching. When a PN program is short on instructors, first-attempt preparation often becomes less structured, and pass rates can slip. A program that cannot keep faculty is one to scrutinize during LPN/LVN Program Admissions. For practical nursing students specifically, including those in LPN to RN in Florida bridge programs, the 6.7% faculty vacancy rate and the statewide NCLEX-PN figure are the data points to watch. First-attempt exam performance should be a program-selection criterion, not a personal afterthought.
How to Read a School's NCLEX-PN Pass Rate Without Being Misled
First-attempt is the number to watch
Schools may present NCLEX-PN results several ways. The first-attempt pass rate shows how many graduates passed on their first try during a defined period. All-attempt rates include repeat test-takers and can look stronger simply because students retake the exam until they pass. Use first-attempt rates for school-to-school comparisons among LPN programs in Florida.
Two numbers for the same school can both be correct
Pass rates may be reported by calendar year (January through December) or academic year (July through June), and they may cover different graduating classes or test windows. A jump or dip in one period can reflect which students happened to sit for the exam, not a change in teaching quality. Always ask which reporting window a school is using.
Small cohorts swing fast
With a small class, one result changes the percentage dramatically. If 6 of 12 first-time test-takers pass, the rate is 50%. If one more had passed, it would be about 58%. Each candidate in a 12-person cohort moves the rate by roughly 8 percentage points. For small programs, weigh three years of results together.
How to judge the number
There is no official pass-rate cutoff. Compare a school against the state and national first-time NCLEX-PN averages, and look at three years of data with candidate counts. The Florida Board of Nursing publishes program pass-rate reports that list first-attempt and all-attempt rates alongside the number of candidates tested, so you can see whether a percentage is stable or driven by a small group. Check those state reports directly rather than relying on a program's marketing materials.
Why Pass Rates Differ so Much Between Florida LPN Programs
Why do two Florida LPN programs with similar tuition and class sizes post very different NCLEX-PN pass rates? Most of the gap traces back to who gets admitted, who is teaching, where students train, and how the program prepares them for the exam.
Admissions and entrance testing
Programs that require strong reading and math placement, TEAS or HESI entrance exam scores, and health science prerequisites tend to start with students closer to licensure readiness. Open-access programs can succeed, but they usually need stronger remediation from day one.
Faculty capacity and clinical access
The Florida Center for Nursing's State of Nursing Education in Florida: 2026 Report ties faculty shortages directly to limits on how many nurses can enter the workforce. When instructors leave or vacancies stay open, class sizes shrink, remediation hours get cut, and LPN clinicals can lose consistent supervision. Programs with secure hospital and long-term care partnerships place students earlier and more consistently; thin clinical slots leave students with less hands-on context for NCLEX questions.
NCLEX remediation and predictor exams
Strong programs treat the NCLEX as a curriculum target. Look for required remediation, benchmark exams, and a policy that keeps borderline students from testing until they are likely to pass. A program's ownership type does not guarantee those supports, and the latest public data does not cleanly separate public technical or state college programs from private for-profit and nonprofit programs, so judge each school individually. Florida's 2025 first-time NCLEX-PN pass rate was 78.56%, ranking 50th of 50 states, compared with a national average of 86.59% across 54 jurisdictions, according to the Florida Center for Nursing.
Related Articles
Probation and Approval Status: How to Check a Florida LPN Program
Probation status is the closest thing Florida has to a public warning label for an LPN program. It tells you the program has missed the Board of Nursing's licensure-exam benchmark and is operating under a corrective plan.
Where to check a program's status
Start with the Florida Board of Nursing's online education program listings for LPN programs in Jacksonville and other cities. The Board is required to publish approved programs and graduate pass rates for the most recent two calendar years, including current status such as probation or termination. You can also use the Florida Department of Health MQA portal to verify individual license or credential status, but program approval decisions sit with the Board. Search by school or program name and note the most recent two calendar years of first-time NCLEX-PN results.
What the Board's rules set
Under Florida Statutes section 464.019, a PN program must keep its first-time pass rate within 10 percentage points of the same-year national average for U.S.-educated first-time graduates of comparable programs. That benchmark is comparative, so it moves each year.1 If a program misses it for two consecutive calendar years, the Board places it on probation. The program director must appear with a remediation plan that includes specific benchmarks. The program can usually keep enrolling students while on probation, so ask what corrective steps are in place and how long the plan runs. After one calendar year at or above the required rate, probation is removed at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. While on probation, the institution also cannot receive approval for a new prelicensure nursing program.
Board approval is not the same as accreditation
Board approval is what allows graduates to take the NCLEX-PN. Accreditation is a separate review of institutional or programmatic quality, and it often matters more for transfer and admission to LPN to RN Bridge Programs. Check both before you enroll.
Florida Board of Nursing: Where Program Approval Is Decided
A pass rate tells you who sat the exam. A completion rate tells you who made it there.
Questions to Ask Any LPN Program About NCLEX-PN Outcomes
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