How partial credit works on Next Generation items
Written and reviewed by Dana Whitfield, RN, MSN · 6 min read · Updated September 2026
Short answer
Next Generation items are polytomous — you can score part of the marks. Three schemes are used: plus/minus, where wrong selections cancel right ones; zero/one, where you need the whole grouping correct to score; and rationale scoring, where a linked pair only counts if both halves agree. Knowing which is running changes how aggressively you should select.
Plus/minus, and why over-selecting costs you
In a plus/minus item — the usual scheme for select-all-that-apply and many matrix rows — each correct selection earns a point and each incorrect one takes one away, with the item floored at zero. Ticking everything therefore scores zero rather than full marks, which is exactly what it is designed to prevent.
The practical rule: select what you can defend, and leave what you cannot. A fifth tick you are unsure about is not free — it can erase a mark you had already earned.
Zero/one, where it is all or nothing
Some groupings are scored zero/one: get the whole set right and score, get any part wrong and score nothing. Nothing is subtracted, so within that grouping there is no penalty for an extra considered answer, and leaving a blank cannot help you.
You are not told which scheme an item uses. That is why the general advice is to answer everything but never to tick indiscriminately — the first protects you under zero/one, the second protects you under plus/minus.
Rationale scoring, and the pairs that must agree
Rationale scoring appears where an item asks you to link a judgement to its evidence — a cloze pair, or a condition and the finding that supports it. Both halves must be right together. A correct condition with the wrong supporting evidence scores nothing, because the item is testing the connection rather than either fact.
This is the clearest signal that the Next Generation format cares about reasoning rather than recall. You can know both facts and still score zero if you cannot say why one follows from the other.
What to actually do on the day
Answer every box, row, and blank — a blank scores nothing under all three schemes. Do not tick options you cannot defend, because under plus/minus they cost you. And on any item that links a judgement to evidence, check the pair reads as one true sentence before moving on.
That is the whole strategy. It does not require knowing which scheme is running, which is fortunate, because you never will.
Whatever you take from this, the next step is the same: answer questions and read the rationales. Our reduction of risk potential practice questions are the closest set to what this guide covers, there are ten more on the practice questions hub, and the pricing page spells out what the free tier includes.
One question from the reduction of risk potential set
Four hours after a cardiac catheterization via the right femoral artery, the nurse notes the client's right dorsalis pedis pulse is now faint and the foot is cool and pale. What is the nurse's priority action?
Rationale
A pulse that was present and is now faint, with a cool, pale extremity distal to the puncture site, is arterial occlusion until proven otherwise — a limb-threatening complication that needs the provider now. Documenting and rechecking wastes the window, warming treats the symptom and masks the change, and asking the client to move the ankle neither restores flow nor gives you new information.
Answer: C
Common questions
Does the NCLEX give partial credit?
Yes, on Next Generation item types. Three schemes are used — plus/minus, zero/one, and rationale scoring — and which one applies to a given item is not shown to you.
Is it bad to select every option on a select-all?
Yes. Under plus/minus scoring, incorrect selections cancel correct ones, so ticking everything scores zero rather than full marks.
Should I ever leave part of a Next Generation item blank?
No. A blank scores nothing under every scheme. Answer what you can defend, and leave out only the options you actively believe are wrong.