Key takeaways
- Part A of the NMC CBT is 15 typed-answer drug calculations in 30 minutes. The pass mark is 13 out of 15.
- On simple arithmetic, a student who gets 9 out of 10 right in class will still fail about one test in five. Aim for 19 out of 20.
- The NMC test specification fixes the mix: 2 dose, 2 metric units, 4 oral medicines, 3 injections, 3 IV infusions, 1 fluid balance.
- Practice with typed answers, not options. A wrong unit or an extra word costs the mark.
- In Vacademy: Numerical Response questions, a 30-minute mock each week, AI drafts from your own notes, and a teacher checks every answer.
A nurse educator in Kottayam sets her batch twenty multiple-choice drug calculations. (She is an example, not a customer.) The class average is 80%, and she is pleased. But the real numeracy part of the NMC CBT has no options to choose from, and 80% is a fail.
The NMC’s test specification sets the pass mark for Part A at 87%: 13 correct answers out of 15. Between January and March 2026, 76% of first attempts at Part A passed (all fields of practice). So about one candidate in four fails the numeracy part the first time. This guide turns the NMC’s own blueprint into a practice-test plan an institute can run every week.
Why 13 out of 15 changes how you practice
Thirteen out of fifteen leaves room for two mistakes. That sounds generous until you do the arithmetic. Say a student gets each calculation right 9 times out of 10. Over fifteen questions, the chance of making three or more mistakes is still about one in five.
Illustration
Accuracy in class vs chance of passing Part A
For an institute, this changes two things. The target in practice is not “above the pass mark”. It is close to 19 out of 20. And the batch average hides the problem. Watch each student’s score against 13, every week.
The numeracy areas from the NMC test specification
The NMC publishes exactly which areas Part A covers and how many questions each one gets. The questions are set in a nursing context. The practice tests are run by Pearson Professional Assessments (formerly Pearson VUE), the NMC’s test provider, and Pearson says the nursing papers mix general questions with ones set in an adult, child, mental health or learning disabilities setting.
| Area | Questions in each test |
|---|---|
| Measuring the correct dose | 2 |
| Metric units | 2 |
| Oral medications | 4 |
| Injections | 3 |
| Intravenous infusions | 3 |
| Fluid balance | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
Oral medicines, injections and IV infusions together make up ten of the fifteen marks. That is where most teaching hours should go.
Typed answers, not options: what that means for practice
Part A uses what the specification calls “constructed one-number answers”. The student types the answer, and some questions need the unit as well. With options on screen, a student who slips a decimal point can still spot the right answer. With a blank box, the slip goes straight in.
The format itself can cost the mark. Pearson VUE’s NMC practice-test page spells out the rules:
Two more facts from the NMC booklet: students work on an erasable note board and have an on-screen calculator, and the NMC advises no more than 2 minutes per numeracy question. Practice should feel the same: workings on paper, the answer typed, the clock running.
See a typed-answer numeracy test built in minutes
Bring one page of your drug-calculation notes. We will turn it into a timed 15-question test in a demo.
A practice-test blueprint: one 15-question test a week
Here is a plan that copies the real part as closely as a weekly routine can: same length, same mix, same clock.
Blueprint
Numeracy practice, week by week
- 1
Weeks 1–2
One area at a time
Untimed drills, one area per session. Start with oral medicines, which carries four of the fifteen marks.
- 2
Week 3 onward
One full test a week
15 questions in the exact 2/2/4/3/3/1 mix, timed at 30 minutes. The pass line is 13.
- 3
After each test
Fix the area, not the score
Below 13? Drill the area the report shows as weak, then sit next week's test. New questions every week.
- 4
Last two weeks
The real screen
The Pearson numeracy practice papers, to get used to the exam screen and its answer box.
Write new questions for every weekly test. A student who has seen a question before is measuring memory, not calculation. That is also why the Pearson practice papers are best kept for the end: there are three numeracy papers for adult nursing and only one for each other field.
Building it in Vacademy
Vacademy runs these tests on its standard test screen. It is not a copy of the Pearson VUE screen, so the real papers stay part of the plan. What Vacademy adds is the weekly routine and the reports.
The AI saves the first draft, not the checking. Fifteen questions a week is sixty a month. A nurse educator who checks each one by hand still saves the hours spent writing them. More on this in how Vacademy helps create quizzes and assessments and turning a medical textbook into question banks.
After each test, open the report before the next class. If half the batch spent four minutes on the IV question and got it wrong, that is next week’s lesson. See how to spot learning gaps early. For the clinical part and the resit plan, read running NMC CBT coaching online.
Honest limits
- Vacademy’s test screen is its own, not the Pearson VUE exam screen.
- AI-drafted calculations must be checked by a qualified nurse educator before use.
- Do not copy the NMC’s practice questions into your own tests. Write your own, in the same areas.
Self-check
5 signs your numeracy practice will not get students to 13/15
- Practice questions give options to pick from, instead of a blank box to type into.
- Practice tests are not timed at 30 minutes for 15 questions.
- Your mocks do not follow the 2/2/4/3/3/1 mix of the real part.
- You track the batch average, not each student's score against 13.
- Students see the same questions again from one test to the next.
Two or more of these? Typed answers, a fixed 30-minute clock and new questions each week will help.
NMC CBT numeracy: questions institutes ask
What is the pass mark for the NMC CBT numeracy test?
87%, which means 13 correct answers out of 15. The NMC's test specification gives this as the current pass mark for Part A. Part A is passed or failed separately from Part B.
How many questions are in NMC CBT numeracy, and how long is it?
15 questions in 30 minutes. The NMC booklet advises spending no more than 2 minutes on each numeracy question. Every answer is typed, not picked from options. Most questions need one number, sometimes with its unit; a fluid-balance question can need more than one box.
What topics come in the NMC CBT numeracy test?
Six areas, per the NMC test specification: measuring the correct dose (2 questions), metric units (2), oral medications (4), injections (3), intravenous infusions (3) and fluid balance (1).
Do students lose the mark if the unit is written wrongly?
Yes. The NMC practice-test page from Pearson Professional Assessments (formerly Pearson VUE) says answers must use standard abbreviations such as mg or mL, with no added 's', no full unit names and no extra words. It gives '5 mls' and '5 milliliters' as answers that would be marked incorrect.
Can AI write NMC numeracy practice questions?
It can draft them from your own notes or a topic, which saves time. But a nurse educator must work out and check every answer before the question goes to students. A wrong answer key in a drug calculation teaches the wrong habit.
Where can students find free NMC CBT numeracy practice tests?
On the NMC practice tests page of Pearson (formerly Pearson VUE), which the NMC links to. The NMC says they are accessible to all and do not need to be booked, and students can take them as often as they like. There are three numeracy papers for adult nursing and one each for the other fields.
Try Vacademy for NMC numeracy practice
Send us your drug-calculation notes. We will build your first weekly 15-question test and show you the report it produces.