Most nursing applicants approach the TEAS test the way they’d approach any college exam: read the material, do a few practice questions, show up. That approach produces mediocre scores. The TEAS is a standardized exam with a specific structure, predictable content weighting, and testable weaknesses – and students who prepare systematically consistently outscore those who don’t, regardless of underlying academic ability.
This guide gives you a concrete preparation strategy: how long to study, what to focus on in each section, which resources are worth the money, and what realistic score targets look like by program type. If you want to understand what the TEAS tests and how it’s scored, start with the TEAS test overview first, then come back here.
Quick summary – TEAS prep essentials
- 8 weeks minimum for most students; 12 weeks if math or science is a weak area
- Start with a full diagnostic – take one official practice test before studying anything
- Science and Math are highest-leverage – they carry the most weight and are the most improvable
- Practice questions daily, not review sessions – active retrieval beats passive re-reading
- ATI’s official materials align most closely with the actual exam
- Score targets vary significantly by program type – know your threshold before you start
TEAS section breakdown
The ATI TEAS 7 has four sections. Understanding exactly what each section tests – and how many questions it carries – shapes where you invest your prep time. The figures below come from ATI’s own published exam details rather than from third-party prep sites, which frequently circulate outdated question counts.
| Section | Total questions | Unscored | Scored | Time limit | Key content areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 50 | 6 | 44 | 60 min | A&P (18), biology (9), chemistry (8), scientific reasoning (9) |
| Reading | 45 | 6 | 39 | 55 min | Key ideas and details (15), craft and structure (9), integration of knowledge and ideas (15) |
| Mathematics | 38 | 4 | 34 | 57 min | Numbers and algebra (18), measurement and data (16) |
| English and language usage | 37 | 4 | 33 | 37 min | Conventions of standard English (12), knowledge of language (11), using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing (10) |
| Total | 170 | 20 | 150 | 209 min |
Twenty of the 170 questions are unscored pretest items that ATI uses to evaluate whether a question is good enough to keep for future versions of the exam. They appear indistinguishable from scored questions, so treat every question as if it counts.
The sub-area counts in that table are the most useful planning data on this page. Anatomy and physiology alone accounts for 18 of the 44 scored Science items – roughly 12% of your entire scored exam sitting in a single content area. Nothing else on the TEAS concentrates that much weight in one place.
Score targets by program type
The TEAS doesn’t have a universal passing score. ATI scores and reports the exam but leaves admission decisions entirely to the institution, so what counts as competitive at a community college ADN program differs from what selective BSN programs expect.
The table below is a planning aid assembled from published program requirements, not a measured national dataset. No body collects and publishes TEAS cutoffs across US nursing programs, so any table you find online – including this one – is an orientation tool rather than a finding. Treat it as a way to calibrate roughly where you stand before you check the only numbers that matter, which are the ones your target programs publish.
| Program type | Minimum competitive score | Highly competitive score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community college ADN | 58–65% | 72%+ | Many have lower cutoffs but high competition for seats |
| Hospital-based diploma programs | 60–70% | 74%+ | Varies widely; check directly with program |
| BSN (regional university) | 65–70% | 78%+ | Mid-tier programs frequently use 65% as a floor |
| BSN (selective/flagship) | 75–80% | 85%+ | Top-quartile scores expected at competitive programs |
| Accelerated BSN (ABSN) | 70–75% | 80%+ | Applicant pools skew high; averages matter more than minimums |
These are general benchmarks. Always verify the exact requirement with each program you’re applying to – cutoffs change and are often unpublished. Some programs score by section rather than composite, which changes your prep strategy.
How to build your study timeline
Step 1: take a diagnostic test first
Before studying anything, sit down with a full-length official practice test under timed conditions. ATI sells two official practice assessments through their website – these are the most accurate predictor of your actual exam performance because they come from the same company that writes the real test.
Your diagnostic tells you two things: your baseline score, and which sections have the most room to improve. A student who scores 72% composite with a 58% in Science has a different study plan than one who scores 72% composite with a 68% in Science and 76% everywhere else.
Step 2: choose your timeline based on gap size
- 4–6 weeks: Your diagnostic is already within 5–8 points of your target. You mostly need maintenance and test familiarity.
- 8 weeks: Standard timeline for most students. Solid prep across all sections with extra time on weaknesses.
- 10–12 weeks: Your diagnostic shows significant gaps (Science below 60%, Math below 55%), or you’ve been out of school for several years. More time to rebuild foundational knowledge, not just practice questions.
Shorter timelines are possible but require more daily hours. Most students do better with a longer timeline at a sustainable pace than a compressed timeline that leads to burnout.
Section-by-section prep strategy
Science (highest priority)
Science carries the most questions and is the section where most nursing applicants have the most room to improve. The content breaks into three areas: life science (biology, cell function, genetics), physical science (chemistry basics, atoms, chemical bonding), and human anatomy and physiology.
Anatomy and physiology is the highest-yield area. The TEAS 7 tests body systems – cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, endocrine, nervous, digestive, reproductive – at a level of detail you’d see in a first-semester A&P course. If you haven’t taken A&P recently, review each body system systematically: major structures, key functions, and how systems interact.
For chemistry, you don’t need deep knowledge – the TEAS tests basic concepts like the periodic table, atomic structure, chemical bonding, and pH. Khan Academy covers all of this at the right level for free.
Passive re-reading of A&P textbooks is the weakest use of your Science prep hours. When Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed ten common study techniques for Psychological Science in the Public Interest in 2013, they rated only two as high utility across the evidence base: practice testing and distributed practice. Rereading and highlighting – the two techniques most students default to – were both rated low utility. Roediger and Karpicke’s earlier work on the testing effect found the same pattern, with retrieval practice producing better long-term retention than repeated study of the same material.
Applied to TEAS Science, that means drawing body-system diagrams from memory before checking them, answering practice questions and reading the rationale for every option rather than only the ones you missed, and spacing your review of each body system across weeks instead of blocking it into one session.
Mathematics (high priority if rusty)
The Math section tests arithmetic, algebra, measurement, and data interpretation. Most of the content is pre-calculus – fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, basic equations, unit conversion, and reading graphs.
If you haven’t done math recently, the concepts themselves are the issue, not test strategy. Khan Academy’s pre-algebra and algebra sections are thorough and free. Work through them systematically, then shift to timed practice questions once the concepts feel solid.
The specific math concepts that appear most frequently: converting fractions to decimals to percentages and back, solving single-variable equations, dimensional analysis (unit conversion), and interpreting data from tables and charts. Nursing schools care about medication dosing and metric conversions, and the TEAS reflects that.
Reading (moderate priority)
The Reading section tests your ability to understand written passages – main idea, supporting details, author’s purpose, inference, and context clues. If you’re a strong reader in everyday life, this section often requires the least preparation.
The most common mistake is not answering the question being asked. Many wrong answers are technically true statements from the passage but don’t answer the specific question. Practice reading the question before the passage so you know what you’re looking for.
For students who struggle with reading comprehension, practicing with longer academic passages – medical journal abstracts, NIH health information pages, nursing education articles – builds the stamina and skill the test requires.
English & language usage (lower time investment)
Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and vocabulary in context. For native English speakers with a college writing background, this section often takes the least prep time. Focus on the specific areas the TEAS tests: subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, comma rules, parallel structure, and commonly confused words.
If English is your second language or you’re weaker in formal grammar, allocate more time here. Grammar errors in this section are very correctable with targeted practice.
Study resources worth using
ATI’s official study materials are the most aligned with the actual exam and worth the cost. The ATI TEAS Study Manual (available at atitesting.com) provides section-by-section content review and includes practice questions. The two official practice assessments are the closest approximation to real exam conditions.
Mometrix TEAS 7 Study Guide is a strong second option with thorough content coverage and multiple practice tests. Many students use both ATI and Mometrix – ATI for alignment with the real test, Mometrix for additional practice volume and content explanations.
Khan Academy covers Math and Science content at exactly the right level for the TEAS, and it’s free. It’s especially useful for filling specific knowledge gaps rather than as a primary prep tool.
UWorld for TEAS offers high-quality practice questions with detailed rationale explanations. The explanation quality is particularly good for Science questions where understanding the “why” matters more than memorizing the answer.
What’s not worth buying: generic test-prep books from bookstores that aren’t TEAS-specific, or courses that are primarily passive video content without interactive practice.
What to do if you score low
A score below your target program’s minimum isn’t the end – it’s information.
Review your section scores before deciding anything. A low composite driven by one weak section is a different problem than uniformly low performance. If your Science score is pulling down a decent composite, targeted Science prep and a retake is a reasonable path.
Understand retake policies before you sign up again. The waiting period depends on who administers your exam, and a single flat number is wrong in both directions. At an ATI-proctored testing center, ATI sets a 14-day wait between attempts. When your nursing school administers the TEAS itself, the school’s own interval governs – 30 days is a common institutional rule, but it varies. ATI sets no cap on how many times you can sit the exam; individual programs do, commonly two or three attempts per application cycle.
Programs also differ on which score they use. Some take your highest attempt, some average all attempts, and some count only the first. That single policy detail changes whether a retake is worth attempting at all, so confirm it with the program before you register rather than after.
Consider whether foundational gaps are the issue. If you scored below 55% in Science or Math, cramming more practice questions may not help much. What helps is rebuilding the underlying knowledge: complete an online A&P or algebra course before your next attempt. A gap of a few months with real content review often produces a larger score jump than a few weeks of pure test prep.
Explore whether alternative admissions paths exist. Some programs accept the HESI A2 or NLN PAX in addition to the TEAS – see the nursing entrance exam comparison for how they stack up. A program that uses a different exam may be a better fit if the TEAS consistently works against you.
For students whose TEAS scores reflect a GPA pattern rather than a single test issue, the nursing school admissions with low GPA guide covers what programs weigh beyond test scores.
For a complete picture of what nursing school admissions requires, see the nursing school prerequisites guide.
Building a realistic weekly study schedule
An 8-week plan for a student starting around 68% composite and targeting 78%:
Weeks 1–2: Diagnostic assessment + content review for weakest section (typically Science). Two hours daily, five days per week. Emphasis on understanding, not practice questions yet.
Weeks 3–5: Systematic content review across all sections. Shift to 60% practice questions, 40% content review. Timed mini-sessions by section. Track weak topics by reviewing rationales carefully.
Weeks 6–7: Full-length timed practice tests. Two complete tests per week, with thorough rationale review afterward. Identify persistent weak areas and drill those specifically.
Week 8: Light review only. No new content. Focus on maintaining confidence and managing test anxiety. Take the second official ATI practice assessment as a final benchmark.
The most common mistake in week 8 is cramming. Fatigue and anxiety at that point don’t respond well to more content exposure – they respond to familiarity and rest.
Test day logistics
- Bring a valid government-issued photo ID – many testing centers require it
- The TEAS is administered at ATI-approved testing centers and many nursing schools; check your program’s preferred testing site
- A 10-minute optional break is offered between sections – use it
- You cannot bring notes, phones, or personal calculators; a calculator is provided on-screen for the Math section
- Results are available immediately after the test via your ATI account and can be sent directly to programs
Arriving 15–20 minutes early, having eaten a real meal, and getting 7–8 hours of sleep the night before are not clichés – they affect cognitive performance on timed exams in measurable ways.
For next steps after the TEAS, see the TEAS test overview for score interpretation detail, or the nursing entrance exam comparison if you’re deciding which exam to take.
References
- Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI), “TEAS Exam Details: section question counts, content sub-areas, and time limits,” atitesting.com, accessed July 2026.
- Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI), “What is on the ATI TEAS, Version 7?” ATI Help Center, accessed July 2026. (170 total items; 150 scored, 20 unscored pretest; 209 minutes.)
- Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI), “How soon can I retake the ATI TEAS exam?” ATI Help Center, accessed July 2026. (14-day interval at ATI testing centers; school-administered intervals set by the institution.)
- Assessment Technologies Institute, Technical Manual for the RN Comprehensive Predictor 2019, ATI, 2020. (Institutions, not ATI, set score-based decision thresholds.)
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., and Willingham, D. T., “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2013, pp. 4–58.
- Roediger, H. L., and Karpicke, J. D., “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention,” Psychological Science, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2006, pp. 249–255.
- Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., and Rohrer, D., “Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 132, No. 3, 2006, pp. 354–380.
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing, “2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics,” NCSBN Research Brief, Vol. 96, June 2026.
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2025-2026 Annual Survey of Institutions with Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing Programs, AACN, published 7 May 2026. (93,176 qualified applications turned away in 2025 – evidence that entrance-exam scores are rationing devices for limited seats.)