Preparing for nursing school means tackling two major entrance exams: the HESI A2 (Health Education Systems, Inc. Admission Assessment) and the ATI TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills). Both tests evaluate the foundational academic skills nursing programs require, and both reward candidates who study from real practice material. A printable PDF lets you work through questions anywhere — during a lunch break, on public transit, or away from a screen. Practice with the free HESI (ATI) practice test on PracticeTestGeeks (30 questions with answer explanations).
This page walks you through every subject area covered on these exams, explains how the two tests differ, and gives you a free PDF download packed with practice questions and detailed answer explanations.
Interactive HESI (ATI) resources on PracticeTestGeeks, free to start:
Facts verified Oct 20, 2026 against Elsevier. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
Facts verified Oct 20, 2026 against Elsevier. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Time limit (HESI Admission Assessment (A2) — HESI NG) | Set by the school based on the sections selected | Elsevier |
| Retake policy (HESI Admission Assessment (A2) — HESI NG) | Separate exam version for second-time testers | Elsevier |
| Delivery (HESI Next Generation) | Onsite school proctor or remote proctoring (school proctor or 3rd-party vendor) | Elsevier |
| Eligibility (HESI Next Generation — student-pay exams) | Payment required before testing | Elsevier |
| Score release (HESI Admission Assessment (A2) — Legacy platform) | Within 24 hours after completing test sections | Elsevier |
| Score release (HESI Specialty and Exit exams — Legacy platform) | 24–48 hours after exam closure | Elsevier |
| Registration deadline (HESI Distance Testing — retake registration) | Wait 24 hours before re-registering with the same Department ID | Elsevier |
Facts verified Oct 20, 2026 against Elsevier. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
Both exams test your ability to work with numbers in healthcare-relevant contexts. You'll need to be comfortable with fractions, decimals, ratios, and percentages — the building blocks of medication dosage calculations. Expect basic algebra questions that ask you to solve for an unknown variable, and proportion problems that mirror real nursing unit-conversion tasks. Dosage calculation questions on the HESI A2 go further, requiring you to convert between units (mg to mcg, mL to L) and calculate infusion rates.
Nursing professionals read medical records, research articles, and patient-education materials every day. The reading section evaluates your ability to identify the main idea of a passage, draw inferences from evidence, locate supporting details, recognize the author's purpose, and use context clues to determine the meaning of vocabulary. Passages are drawn from health, science, and social-science topics.
Clear written communication is a patient-safety issue. Questions in this section cover grammar rules (subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb tense consistency), sentence structure (run-ons, fragments, parallel construction), punctuation (commas, semicolons, apostrophes), and spelling of commonly confused medical and general vocabulary words.
The science section is the most content-heavy part of both exams. Biology questions cover cell structure (organelle functions, cell membrane transport — diffusion, osmosis, active transport), genetics (Mendelian inheritance, dominant vs. recessive traits, Punnett squares), and basic biology concepts (photosynthesis, cellular respiration). Chemistry topics include the periodic table (element groups, atomic structure, electronegativity), and chemical equations (balancing equations, types of reactions, stoichiometry basics). Anatomy and Physiology questions provide an overview of major body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, urinary, nervous, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and immune systems. Physics basics appear on the HESI A2 and include concepts such as speed, velocity, acceleration, Newton's laws, and basic optics.
Medical terminology is a language unto itself. Both exams include questions on prefixes (brady-, tachy-, hypo-, hyper-), suffixes (-itis, -ectomy, -plasty, -ology), and root words (cardio, pulmon, hepat, nephro). Knowing how to decode an unfamiliar term by its components is more reliable than memorizing every word individually.
Although both exams serve a similar gatekeeping role, they are distinct products from different companies, and nursing schools typically require one or the other — rarely both. The HESI A2 is published by Elsevier and is modular: schools select which sections they require, so a student applying to one program might only need to take Math, Reading, Vocabulary, Grammar, and A&P, while another program adds Biology and Chemistry. The ATI TEAS 7 is published by Assessment Technologies Institute and has a fixed four-section structure that every candidate sits.
Score scales differ too. HESI A2 section scores are reported as percentages (0–100%). ATI TEAS scores are reported as a composite percentage alongside four category scores and an adjusted individual total score (AITS). Familiarize yourself with the specific score requirements of every program on your application list before you decide which study resources to prioritize.
Many readers pair this guide with the hesi a2 study guide free printable to check their readiness before exam day.
Printing the PDF and working through it by hand mirrors the focus required during the actual exam. Set a timer for each section to build pacing awareness — running out of time on the math section is one of the most common reasons otherwise well-prepared candidates underperform. After completing a section, score it before moving on, and write a brief note next to every question you missed explaining what you got wrong: careless arithmetic, unfamiliar vocabulary, or a concept gap. That annotation habit turns your printed PDF into a personalized study guide you can return to in the final days before your exam.
Combine the PDF with online practice on this site for the most complete preparation. Our interactive quizzes give you immediate feedback and track your progress over time, while the printed test trains the focused, distraction-free stamina you'll need in the testing room.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Validates your knowledge and skills objectively | Study materials can be expensive |
| Increases job market competitiveness | Exam anxiety can affect performance |
| Provides structured learning goals | Requires dedicated preparation time |
| Networking opportunities with other certified professionals | Retake fees apply if you don't pass |
Try these questions from our free HESI (ATI) practice tests. The correct answer and an explanation follow each question.
A nursing team disagrees about the best approach to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Which action best demonstrates critical thinking?
Answer: B. Conduct a review of current evidence and guidelines on infection prevention
Critical thinking involves basing decisions on evidence rather than seniority, popularity, or conflict avoidance.
A passage states: 'Nosocomial infections affect approximately 1.7 million patients annually in the United States, resulting in 99,000 deaths per year.' Based on this information, which conclusion is most accurate?
Answer: B. Nosocomial infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality
The statistics support that nosocomial infections are a significant cause of morbidity (1.7M affected) and mortality (99,000 deaths), without overgeneralizing beyond the data.
In degrees Celsius, a typical human body temperature is
Answer: A. 37 degrees
The typical normal human body temperature is approximately 37 degrees Celsius (or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the average temperature at which the body's metabolic processes function optimally. Slight variations can occur, but 37°C is the widely accepted standard.
Ratio and proportion: 0.5:20:: x:200
Answer: B. x= 5
To solve a ratio and proportion problem like 0.5:20::x:200, you can set it up as a fraction: 0.5/20 = x/200. Cross-multiply to solve for x: 0.5 * 200 = 20 * x. This simplifies to 100 = 20x, and dividing both sides by 20 yields x = 5.