NCLEX drop-down cloze questions

The item reads like a sentence or a short note with missing words. Each missing word is a drop-down menu with its own options.

Some drop-downs stand alone. Others are linked, so that the second choice explains the first.

1. Read the whole sentence before you open any drop-down.
2. Fill the blank you are surest of first; it often narrows the others.
3. Read the finished sentence back. It should be true for this client from start to end.

NCSBN gives partial credit on items that have more than one correct answer, under three rules, and ties each rule to what the instructions ask you to do. Its current pages do not publish a format-by-format table, so read the instructions on each item.

• Zero/one (0/1)

  NCSBN uses it when you are told to choose a specific number of responses. You earn a point for each correct response and nothing for an incorrect one. On an item worth several points, the item score is the sum of the correct responses.

  Each drop-down asks for exactly one choice, so separate drop-downs are scored zero/one and added up.

• Rationale scoring

  NCSBN uses it when you evaluate closely linked information, such as a cause and its effect. The answers come in pairs. Both parts of a pair must be correct to earn its point.

  When the drop-downs form a pair, for instance a finding and the reason for it, rationale scoring applies and both halves must be right.

The example below has two separate drop-downs, so it is worth up to 2 points.

Sources: NCLEX.com, Frequently Asked Questions; NCSBN, 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (PDF); NCLEX.com, Prepare (tutorial and sample items). Checked against NCSBN as of October 29, 2026.

A practice item from our own NCLEX-RN practice exams, written to the published test plan. It is not a real NCLEX question. Try it before you open the answer.

• Bow-tie
• Matrix (grid)
• Select all that apply (multiple response)
• Highlight
• Trend
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