RN Content Mastery Series 2013

Proficiency Levels

ATI Recommended Cut Scores

RN CMS 2013 Proctored Assessments

Level 1 cut score

Level 2 cut score

Level 3 Cut Score

Adult Medical Surgical (90 items)

56.7% 67.8%

68.9% 80.0%

81.1% 100.0%

Community Health (50 items)

58.0% 72.0%

74.0% 82.0%

84.0% 100.0%

Fundamentals (60 items)

51.7% 61.7%

63.3% 76.7%

78.3% 100.0%

Leadership (60 items)

61.7% 75.0%

76.7% 86.7%

88.3% 100.0%

Maternal Newborn (60 items)

55.0% 65.0%

66.7% 78.3%

80.0% 100.0%

Mental Health (60 items)

56.7% 65.0%

66.7% 83.3%

85.0% 100.0%

Nursing Care of Children (60 items)

53.3% 61.7%

63.3% 76.7%

78.3% 100.0%

Nutrition (60 items)

46.7% 65.0%

66.7% 80.0%

81.7% 100.0%

Pharmacology (60 items)

56.7% 70.0%

71.7% 83.3%

85.0% 100.0%

*The gaps in percentage values between the Level 1 and Level 2 cut scores and between the Level 2 and Level 3 cut scores
reflect a one-item difference in the total number of correct items. Values between the percentages listed for each cut score are
not possible.

RN Content Mastery Series 2013 Proficiency Level Definitions*

Level 1
A student meeting the criterion for Proficiency Level 1:
is expected to just meet NCLEX-RN standards in this content area.
should demonstrate the minimum level of knowledge in this content area required to support
academic readiness for subsequent curricular content.
should meet the absolute minimum expectations for performance in this content area.

Level 2
A student meeting the criterion for Proficiency Level 2:
is expected to readily meet NCLEX-RN standards in this content area.
should demonstrate a level of knowledge in this content area that more than adequately supports
academic readiness for subsequent curricular content.
should exceed minimum expectations for performance in this content area.

Level 3
A student meeting the criterion for Proficiency Level 3:
is expected to exceed NCLEX-RN standards in this content area.
should demonstrate a high level of knowledge in this content area that confidently supports academic
readiness for subsequent curricular content.
should exceed most expectations for performance in this content area.
*Note that these definitions were based on expertise of the nurse educators who participated in the cut score study. No
empirical study was conducted relating NCLEX-RN performance to performance on the Content Mastery Series, nor was
any study conducted demonstrating a statistical relationship between Content Mastery Series performance and actual job
performance. These Proficiency Level definitions were used by cut score study participants for the purpose of making their
empirical ratings of item difficulty.

2014 Assessment Technologies Institute , Inc.