How many questions are on the CNA exam

The content outline states that the written examination is made up of seventy multiple-choice items, of which ten are pretest items on which statistical information is being collected. Pretest items are questions being trialled for future examinations. They are not marked.

They are also not identified. There is no marking on the paper, no separate section, and no way to tell one from a scored question — which means there is nothing to be gained from trying, and a candidate who spends the paper hunting for them is spending attention they need elsewhere. Answer all seventy as though all seventy counted.

Two hours across seventy questions is a little over a minute and a half each, and the handbook says you are told when fifteen minutes remain. For most candidates that is comfortable — unlike an aptitude test, this examination is not designed so that where you stop is the measurement.

What that means practically is that there is no reason to rush and every reason to read the whole question. A large share of the marks people lose are lost to answering the question they expected rather than the one in front of them: what the aide should do FIRST, what should be reported IMMEDIATELY, which action is NOT appropriate.

Candidates who read English with difficulty may take an oral examination instead. It has sixty multiple-choice questions plus a ten-item reading comprehension section, in the same two hours, and both sections must be passed.

The subject matter is the same, so preparation does not change. The free practice packet includes a short reading exercise to help a candidate judge whether the oral version would suit them better.