A learner doubts that she will ever place an IV. By Bandura, which experience builds her self-efficacy most effectively?Wikipedia, "Self-efficacy", Sources of self-efficacy, Mastery experiences. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.I Model attributes that facilitate learning
A learner's grades fall after she loses her housing and takes a night job. Under the CNE blueprint, which set of factors is the educator being asked to consider?National League for Nursing, CNE 2026 Candidate Handbook, NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, Domain 1, C.2. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.C.2 Social determinants of learning
A slide shows a drug table in small type while the educator talks about a different drug. Learners cannot follow either. Which kind of cognitive load has the educator raised?Wikipedia, "Cognitive load", lead section; types. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.B.2 Use teaching and learning strategies based on evidence-based practices related to education
Show all 50 questions (47 more)
Facilitate learning, continued
A unit on diuretics is split into four drug classes. Each member of a home group studies one class, meets with others who have the same class, then goes back to teach the home group. What is this technique?Wikipedia, "Jigsaw (teaching technique)", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.A Implement a variety of active teaching and learning strategies
After a simulated cardiac arrest, learners sit down and think back over what they did and how it felt. In Kolb's cycle, which stage are they in?Wikipedia, "Kolb's experiential learning", The experiential learning cycle. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.G Create opportunities for learners to develop clinical judgment
An educator offers each unit as a reading, a narrated video and a diagram, and lets learners show mastery by a paper, a talk or a poster. Which framework is this?Wikipedia, "Universal Design for Learning", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.C.1 Modify teaching strategies based on learners' diversity
An educator records short lectures for learners to watch at home. Class time is then spent on case problems, with the educator moving among the groups. Which strategy is this?Wikipedia, "Flipped classroom", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.A Implement a variety of active teaching and learning strategies
An educator wants to see whether learners grasp how heart failure, fluid overload, crackles and furosemide relate to one another. Which assignment shows that best?Wikipedia, "Concept map", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.G Create opportunities for learners to develop clinical judgment
An objective reads: "The learner shows respect for a patient's choice to refuse treatment." Which domain of learning does it address?Wikipedia, "Bloom's taxonomy", lead section, affective domain. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.B.1 Use teaching and learning strategies based on educational theories
In a lecture hall of 90, an educator poses a case question, gives everyone a minute alone with it, has neighbors compare answers, then calls on a few pairs. Which strategy is this?Wikipedia, "Think-pair-share", Process. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.A.2 Implement active teaching and learning strategies appropriate to setting
In the middle of a lecture an educator notices blank faces, stops, and switches to a worked example. Which of Schön's terms describes this?Wikipedia, "Reflective practice", Schön 1983. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.F Model reflective thinking practices
In week 1 an educator gives learners a care-plan template with prompts in every box. By week 6 the prompts are gone and learners build the plan alone. What is this approach?Wikipedia, "Instructional scaffolding", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.B.1 Use teaching and learning strategies based on educational theories
Learners in a skills lab stop asking questions after a peer is mocked for a mistake. What has the learning environment lost?Wikipedia, "Psychological safety", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.H Ensure a positive and safe learning environment
Learners write a clinical question: "In adults after surgery, does chewing gum, compared with usual care, shorten the time to first bowel movement?" Which part of PICO is "usual care"?Wikipedia, "PICO process", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.K Apply concepts of evidence-based practice in nursing to guide teaching
Second-degree learners, most of them working adults, complain that a course is "busywork". Which change follows Knowles's principles of adult learning?Wikipedia, "Andragogy", Knowles's assumptions. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.C.3 Modify teaching strategies based on learners' past clinical, educational, and life experiences
Small groups receive a patient story with no single right answer. They decide what they need to learn, look it up and return to work on it. Which method is this?Wikipedia, "Problem-based learning", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.A Implement a variety of active teaching and learning strategies
Which feature marks an effective debriefing after a simulation?Wikipedia, "Debriefing", lead section, essential elements. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.F Model reflective thinking practices
Which list gives Benner's levels of clinical competency in order?Wikipedia, "Patricia Benner", From Novice to Expert. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.C.3 Modify teaching strategies based on learners' past clinical, educational, and life experiences
Which statement about clinical hours fits experiential learning as it is defined?Wikipedia, "Experiential learning", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 1.G Create opportunities for learners to develop clinical judgment
Learner development and socialization 7
A learner who was sure that "addiction is a choice" cares for a new mother in withdrawal and comes away shaken, questioning that belief. In Mezirow's theory, what was the clinical day?Wikipedia, "Transformative learning", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.D Facilitate learners' self-reflection, goal setting, and socialization to the role of the nurse
A learner with a documented disability asks for extra time on exams and also asks to be excused from the medication-calculation competency. How does the Section 504 rule on academic adjustments apply?34 CFR 104.44, Academic adjustments (Section 504 regulations, eCFR), paragraph (a). Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.B Facilitate access to various resources to support diverse learners
A reflective journal follows Gibbs's model. After describing what happened, what does the learner write about next?Wikipedia, "Reflective practice", Gibbs 1988. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.D Facilitate learners' self-reflection, goal setting, and socialization to the role of the nurse
After failing a skills check, a learner says, "I'm just not a hands-on person. Practice won't change that." Which belief does this show?Wikipedia, "Mindset", Fixed and growth mindsets. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.A Identify learner attributes and needs
An educator asks learners to predict their score before each quiz, then compare it with the result and say what they will study differently. Which skill is being built?Wikipedia, "Metacognition", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.E Engage learners in thoughtful and constructive self and peer evaluation
The mother of a 20-year-old nursing student phones the course lead to ask about an exam grade. The student is not claimed as a tax dependent by her parents and has signed no release. What does FERPA call for?34 CFR 99.5, What are the rights of students? (FERPA regulations, eCFR), paragraph (a)(1), with 34 CFR 99.30(a). Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.B Facilitate access to various resources to support diverse learners
Which idea sets cultural humility apart from a one-time cultural competence training?Wikipedia, "Cultural humility", lead section; origin. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 2.A.1 Identify learner attributes and needs: diversity
Assessment and evaluation strategies 7
A dosage calculation exam must be passed at 90% before learners give medications. Every learner who reaches 90% passes, however many do. Which kind of test is this?Wikipedia, "Criterion-referenced test", lead section; Definition of criterion. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.C Evaluate available methods for learner assessment and evaluation
A final exam gives nearly the same scores on a retest, yet its items cover only half of the course outcomes. How is the exam best described?Wikipedia, "Validity (statistics)", Test validity. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.F Analyze assessment and evaluation data
An educator plans to give As to the top 10% of the class, whatever their scores. What is this approach called?Wikipedia, "Norm-referenced test", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.C Evaluate available methods for learner assessment and evaluation
Before a new exam is used, three experienced faculty check each item against the course outcomes to see that every outcome is covered. Which property of the exam are they checking?Wikipedia, "Content validity", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.D Create assessment methods to evaluate outcomes
Midway through a unit an educator gives an ungraded quiz and uses the results to re-teach acid-base balance. Which kind of assessment is this?Wikipedia, "Formative assessment", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.A Design and apply formative and summative evaluation strategies
Which method fits an outcome in the psychomotor domain, such as inserting a urinary catheter with sterile technique?Wikipedia, "Bloom's taxonomy", lead section, psychomotor domain. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.B.2 Implement assessment and evaluation strategies in the psychomotor domain
Why does an educator hand out the scoring rubric together with the assignment?Wikipedia, "Rubric (academic)", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 3.H Inform learners about assessment and evaluation criteria
Curriculum design and program outcomes 5
A program surveys employers one year after graduation to ask whether graduates use bedside handoff as they were taught. Which level of Kirkpatrick's model is this?Wikipedia, "Donald Kirkpatrick", The four levels of Kirkpatrick's evaluation model. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 4.G Implement the program evaluation plan
A team redesigning a course uses backward design. What does the team settle first?Wikipedia, "Backward design", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 4.E Lead the development of course design
Faculty enter what each course really teaches into one shared database and then review it together. What is this procedure called?Wikipedia, "Curriculum mapping", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 4.B Demonstrate knowledge of curriculum development
In the CIPP model of program evaluation, what do the letters stand for?Wikipedia, "CIPP evaluation model", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 4.K Evaluate the program evaluation plan
Which statement about accreditation of higher education in the United States is correct?Wikipedia, "Higher education accreditation in the United States", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 4.F Design program evaluation that promotes continuous quality improvement
Change agent and leader 3
Faculty resist a new exam platform. The lead lets two courses try it for one term before the rest must decide. Which quality of an innovation does this raise?Wikipedia, "Diffusion of innovations", characteristics of innovations. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 5.D Design, implement, and evaluate strategies for change
Two course leads want the same simulation lab slot. The chair has them state their needs and build a schedule that meets both in full. In the Thomas-Kilmann model, which mode is this?Wikipedia, "Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument", the five modes. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 5.I Manage conflict effectively
Which activity is interprofessional education?Wikipedia, "Interprofessional education", lead section; Overview. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 5.G Facilitate interprofessional education and collaboration
Continuous quality improvement in the educator role 3
A learner reports that a clinical instructor in the program has sexually harassed her. Which federal rule bars sex discrimination in the education program?34 CFR 106.31, Education programs or activities (Title IX regulations, eCFR), paragraph (a). Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 6.D Stay current with legal practices and ethical codes relevant to nursing and educational settings
An educator wants to post a whole chapter of a current textbook on the course site so learners need not buy the book. Which fair use factor weighs most plainly against this?U.S. Copyright Office, Fair Use Index: About Fair Use, About Fair Use, the four factors. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 6.D Stay current with legal practices and ethical codes relevant to nursing and educational settings
To improve her teaching, an educator reviews her own experience, learner evaluations and a peer's observation. By Brookfield's four lenses, which source is still missing?Wikipedia, "Stephen Brookfield", Four Lenses of Critical Reflection. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 6.C Use feedback gained from self, peer, learner, and administrative evaluation to improve role effectiveness
Scholarship 3
A faculty member pulls together findings from nursing, pharmacy and psychology into a review of medication adherence. In Boyer's model, which kind of scholarship is this?Wikipedia, "Boyer's model of scholarship", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 7.C Design and implement scholarly activities
An educator plans a study in her own course. She arranges for a colleague to recruit, so that no learner feels pressed to take part. Which Belmont principle is she protecting?Wikipedia, "Belmont Report", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 7.B Demonstrate qualities of a scholar: integrity
Before data are collected from learners for a study meant for publication, which body reviews the research?45 CFR 46.109, IRB review of research (eCFR), paragraph (a). Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 7.C Design and implement scholarly activities
Organizational environment and academic community 3
A colleague who does not teach or advise a certain learner asks to look at her transcript "out of curiosity". Under FERPA, may the record be shared without the learner's consent?34 CFR 99.31, Under what conditions is prior consent not required to disclose information? (FERPA, eCFR), paragraph (a)(1)(i)(A). Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 8.L Participate in the development of policies and procedures related to learners
A learner posts a photo from clinical with no name on it, but the patient's face shows. What should program policy say about this?National Council of State Boards of Nursing, A Nurse's Guide to the Use of Social Media, Confidentiality and Privacy. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 8.H Use social media in a manner consistent with professional and institutional guidelines
In faculty meetings one member sighs, rolls her eyes and checks her phone whenever a junior colleague speaks. What is this behavior called?Wikipedia, "Workplace incivility", lead section. Outline: NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint, 8.C Integrate the values of civility, collegiality, professionalism, and caring
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the eight content areas of the NLN CNE 2023 Detailed Test Blueprint in the CNE 2026 Candidate Handbook of the National League for Nursing (https://www.nln.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cne-handbook-2026_march.pdf?sfvrsn=8ceaa43e_1, linked from https://www.nln.org/certification/Certification-for-Nurse-Educators/cne; read 2026-10-14): 1 Facilitate Learning 47, 2 Facilitate Learner Development and Socialization 18, 3 Use Assessment and Evaluation Strategies 18, 4 Participate in Curriculum Design and Evaluation of Program Outcomes 13, 5 Function as a Change Agent and Leader 9, 6 Pursue Continuous Quality Improvement in the Academic Nurse Educator Role 9, 7 Engage in Scholarship 7, 8 Function within the Organizational Environment and the Academic Community 9; 130 scored items. The bank holds 19, 7, 7, 5, 3, 3, 3 and 3. Each question has three choices, as the handbook says the real ones do. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the public text named under the question: the blueprint itself, the FERPA, Section 504, Title IX and human-subjects rules at ecfr.gov, the US Copyright Office's fair use page, NCSBN's guide to social media, and the Wikipedia articles named for the learning theories, assessment terms and models. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
These CNE practice test questions, 50 of our own, follow the blueprint of the Certified Nurse Educator exam. The page is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the National League for Nursing (NLN).
Read the full guide
What the CNE exam questions cover
The 2023 blueprint in the NLN handbook for 2026, read October 14, 2026, has 130 scored items in eight areas: facilitate learning 47, learner development 18, assessment 18, curriculum 13, change and leadership 9, quality improvement 9, scholarship 7, the academic community 9. This bank holds 19, 7, 7, 5, 3, 3, 3 and 3.
A CNE practice exam at the real pace
The timed test asks all 50 questions in 60 minutes: a third of the real exam's questions in a third of its time.
A CNE study guide with its sources
Each answer names where to check it: the blueprint, the federal rules on student records, disability, sex discrimination and research, the US Copyright Office, or a named Wikipedia article for a learning theory.
The handbook says the exam leans on application and analysis, so most questions here set a scene in a classroom, lab or clinical unit.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the CNE exam?
150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours, by the NLN candidate handbook for 2026. 130 count toward the score, and 20 are pretest items.
Why do these CNE exam practice questions have three choices?
Because the real ones do. The handbook says the examination consists of three-option, multiple-choice questions at three levels: recall, application and analysis.
What is the passing score on the CNE certification exam?
The handbook prints no number. A panel of nurse educators set the standard with a modified Angoff method, and the count of right answers needed may vary with the form of the exam.
Is there a CNE exam study guide from the NLN?
The handbook prints the detailed blueprint and a reference list, and the NLN offers a 65-item Self-Assessment Examination. Neither that examination nor the handbook's sample questions were used to write this page.