The CNA Skills Test: What You'll Actually Perform
The written exam isn't the whole test — here is the hands-on half, straight from the official NNAAP skill list.
How the skills evaluation works. At a test center, you perform five skills for a Nurse Aide Evaluator, one of which is hand hygiene. You are scored on each critical step — missing a critical step fails that skill, so practice the order exactly. The full evaluation takes about 25–40 minutes.
The official NNAAP skill list (23 skills — five are chosen for your evaluation):
- Hand Hygiene (Hand Washing)
- Applies One Knee-High Elastic Stocking
- Assists to Ambulate Using Transfer Belt
- Assists With Use of Bedpan
- Cleans Upper or Lower Denture
- Counts and Records Radial Pulse
- Counts and Records Respirations
- Donning and Removing PPE (Gown and Gloves)
- Dresses Client with Affected (Weak) Arm
- Feeds Client Who Cannot Feed Self
- Gives Modified Bed Bath (Face and One Arm, Hand and Underarm)
- Measures and Records Electronic Blood Pressure
- Measures and Records Urinary Output
- Measures and Records Weight of Ambulatory Client
- Performs Modified Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for One Knee and One Ankle
- Performs Modified Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for One Shoulder
- Positions On Side
- Provides Catheter Care
- Provides Foot Care on One Foot
- Provides Mouth Care
- Provides Perineal Care (Peri-Care)
- Transfers from Bed to Wheelchair Using Transfer Belt
- Measures and Records Manual Blood Pressure
Know your state's list. Some states drop or add skills (for example, bedpan assistance is not tested in Pennsylvania, and manual vs electronic blood pressure varies). Your candidate handbook has the exact list for your state. Some vendors, like Headmaster/D&S, let you state a correction if you forget a step — check your handbook.
How to practice. Read the numbered steps in your handbook and perform them in order — evaluators score sequence. Pair skills practice with our written practice exam to cover both halves of the test.
The critical steps that fail people. Every skill has "key steps" — miss one and that skill scores zero, no matter how well the rest went. The universal ones, in nearly every skill:
- Knock and pull the curtain. Privacy before you touch the client, every time.
- Hand hygiene at the right moments. Before and after gloving, before and after client contact. Washing when the card says "wash" — sanitizer doesn't substitute on hand-hygiene skills.
- Gloves on before, off after. Any contact with body fluids: gloves on first, gloves off before hand hygiene, never touching clean surfaces with soiled gloves.
- Call light within reach. Before you step away — the most-skipped single step in the whole evaluation.
- Gait belt secured, not on bare skin, not over clothing-optional. Snug and flat for any transfer or ambulation skill.
- Say it out loud. Verbalize what you're checking: "I'm counting your pulse for one full minute." Evaluator can't score what you didn't show or say.
Common automatic fails: skipping hand hygiene, raising the bed without locking it, leaving the side rail down during care, pointing a resident's feet at the floor during a transfer before the belt is set, and forgetting to raise the call light. Slow and correct beats fast and sloppy — there is no speed score.
How many skills are on the CNA skills test?
You perform five skills in front of a Nurse Aide Evaluator. Hand hygiene is always included, and your state draws the rest from the official skill list — the commonly tested list has 23 skills, but your state handbook has the exact set.
What is a critical step on the CNA skills test?
Each skill has certain steps that must be performed for the skill to pass — miss one and the skill scores zero regardless of the rest. Privacy, hand hygiene, gloves, the call light and the gait belt are the most common critical steps.
How long is the CNA skills test?
Typically 25–40 minutes for the five-skill evaluation, done at a test center on a live model or mannequin. It's usually scheduled on the same day as, or close to, the written exam.
What happens if I fail one skill?
If a skill fails, the evaluation usually must be retaken — most states let you retake the skills portion, and many let you retake only the skills you missed. Check your state's retest policy in the candidate handbook.
Does the CNA skills test have a time limit per skill?
There's no stopwatch on individual skills, but the whole evaluation runs about 25–40 minutes. Practice the sequence until it's automatic — rushing is how critical steps get skipped.