The ATI TEAS test is a 170-question, 209-minute admissions exam for nursing and allied health programs. See its four sections, scoring, cost, and retakes.
Dr. Russell T. WarneChief Scientist
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The ATI TEAS test (Test of Essential Academic Skills) is a standardized admissions exam that nursing schools and allied health programs use to judge whether applicants are academically ready for their coursework. Published by ATI Nursing Education and currently in its seventh version, the TEAS runs 170 questions in 209 minutes across four sections: reading, math, science, and English and language usage. It is an achievement test of learned academic skills, not an intelligence test. This article covers what is on the exam, how scoring works, what it costs, and what preparation actually accomplishes.
What is on the ATI TEAS
ATI's help center describes the current exam, ATI TEAS Version 7, as 170 total questions, of which 150 are scored and 20 are unscored "pretest" items (trial questions being evaluated for future forms). The total time limit is 209 minutes, split across four separately timed sections.
• Reading: 45 questions in 55 minutes, covering key ideas, craft and structure, and integrating information from passages.
• Math: 38 questions in 57 minutes, centered on numbers, algebra, measurement, and data.
• Science: 50 questions in 60 minutes, with a heavy emphasis on human anatomy and physiology alongside biology, chemistry, and scientific reasoning.
• English and language usage: 37 questions in 37 minutes on conventions of standard English, language knowledge, and vocabulary.
Within an active section you can move back and forth and change answers, but once a section closes you cannot reopen it. Every question is scored right or wrong with no partial credit, and ATI states there is no penalty for guessing, so a blank answer is the only guaranteed zero. Version 7 also added what ATI calls "alternate item-type" questions, formats beyond the conventional single-answer multiple choice item.
How the TEAS is scored
A TEAS score report contains a Total score, four Content Area scores, and a set of Sub-Content Area scores, all on a 0 to 100 percent scale. The Total and Content Area scores are "equated," meaning the percentage of items you answered correctly is adjusted to account for small difficulty differences between exam forms, so those scores can be fairly compared across test dates. Sub-content scores are not equated, and ATI cautions that they should not be compared across forms.
There is no universal passing score. ATI reports the numbers; each nursing or allied health program decides its own minimum, how sections are weighted, and how TEAS results are combined with grades and other criteria. Before you schedule anything, read your target program's admissions page, because the cutoff that matters is theirs.
Cost, delivery, retakes, and score validity
ATI says the exam fee typically ranges from $65 to $125, depending on where you test. You can sit the TEAS on campus at a school or a testing center such as PSI, or from home through an online remote proctor; ATI describes it as one exam offered through four different proctoring options.
• Retakes: For exams run directly by ATI, the retake policy is 14 days between attempts. Schools and testing centers set their own rules, and programs often cap how many attempts they will accept per application cycle.
• Score validity: TEAS scores are typically valid for 2 years, though some schools set different windows.
• Preparation runway: ATI recommends allowing at least 6 weeks of preparation before test day.
Two figures from ATI's own marketing pages are worth reading as vendor claims rather than independent research: ATI states that 30 percent of qualified applicants are turned away from ADN, Diploma, and BSN programs, and that 40 percent of test takers must retake the TEAS. The competitive picture they sketch is plausible, but no cited study stands behind the numbers.
Is the TEAS an IQ test?
No. The TEAS is an "achievement test," an exam that measures what you have already learned, in this case reading comprehension, arithmetic and algebra, science content, and grammar. An intelligence test instead targets underlying reasoning abilities that do not depend on a recent curriculum. The distinction matters for the same reason it matters when people ask whether the SAT is an IQ test: a strong TEAS score mostly tells a program you have the specific academic skills its coursework assumes, and a weak one often means the material has faded since you last studied it, not that your ability is low.
The two kinds of tests are related, of course. General cognitive ability is among the best-documented predictors of training and job performance, and it contributes to how quickly academic skills are acquired, though a 2022 reanalysis by Sackett and colleagues trimmed the classic validity estimates noticeably. If what you actually want is a normed measure of your cognitive abilities rather than a nursing-school readiness check, an ability battery like the RIOT IQ test measures six indices (Verbal Reasoning, Fluid Reasoning, Spatial Ability, Working Memory, Processing Speed, and Reaction Time); the RIOT IQ assessments page shows how that profile is put together.
How to prepare (and why it genuinely works)
Because the TEAS tests learned content, studying for it produces real score gains, not just familiarity tricks. That contrasts with pure cognitive tests, where a meta-analysis of 107 samples found retesting and coaching raise scores by only about a quarter of a standard deviation on average. Reviewing anatomy and physiology, drilling fraction and ratio problems, and refreshing grammar rules directly rebuilds the knowledge the TEAS samples.
• Start with a diagnostic: A timed practice test shows which of the four sections needs the most work before you spend six weeks studying evenly.
• Weight science and math: The science section is the longest at 50 questions, and its anatomy and physiology content is the most memory-dependent material on the exam.
• Answer everything: With no guessing penalty, an unanswered question is the only sure way to lose a point.
ATI sells its own prep and reports that SmartPrep users raised their average score by 7.5 percentage points, while disclaiming that prep guarantees no particular score; treat that figure as a vendor claim. And if the process leaves you curious about your abilities rather than your content knowledge, the RIOT IQ test at riotiq.com is normed on adults 18 and older and publishes a margin of error for every version.
Frequently asked questions
What score do you need to pass the TEAS?
There is no official passing score. Each program sets its own minimum and decides how to weight sections, so the only cutoff that matters is the one on your target program's admissions page.
Can you go back to questions on the TEAS?
Yes, within a section. You can move back and forth and change answers while a section is active, but once a section is closed you cannot return to it.
How soon can you retake the TEAS?
For administrations run by ATI, the wait is 14 days between attempts. Schools and testing centers set their own retake rules, and many programs limit attempts per admissions cycle.
Is the TEAS the same as the HESI A2?
No. They are competing nursing admissions exams from different publishers: the TEAS is one fixed exam from ATI, while the HESI A2 is a modular Elsevier assessment whose subtests each school chooses. Your program's admissions page says which one it accepts.
References
1. ATI Nursing Education. (n.d.). How is the ATI TEAS test scored? help.atitesting.com
2. ATI Nursing Education. (n.d.). What is on the ATI TEAS, Version 7? help.atitesting.com
3. ATI Nursing Education. (n.d.). What is the ATI TEAS exam? And other frequently asked questions. help.atitesting.com
4. ATI Nursing Education. (n.d.). TEAS exam: Test of Essential Academic Skills. atitesting.com
5. ATI Nursing Education. (n.d.). Register for the TEAS exam. atitesting.com
6. Hausknecht, J. P., Halpert, J. A., Di Paolo, N. T., & Moriarty Gerrard, M. O. (2007). Retesting in selection: A meta-analysis of coaching and practice effects for tests of cognitive ability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 373-385. doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.373
7. Sackett, P. R., Zhang, C., Berry, C. M., & Lievens, F. (2022). Revisiting meta-analytic estimates of validity in personnel selection: Addressing systematic overcorrection for restriction of range. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(11), 2040-2068. doi.org/10.1037/apl0000994
8. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262
Photo: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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