Bottom line: The TEAS is 209 minutes, 170 questions, and 4 sections. Most nursing programs want a composite score of 60 to 75. The fastest way to get there is doing real ati teas test practice questions, then reviewing every wrong answer until the concept clicks. This page gives you sample questions from all four sections, plus a roadmap to find more free practice.
You're staring down the ATI TEAS, and you want practice questions that actually look like the test. Fair enough. The official exam isn't released to the public, but well-built practice questions cover the same topics, the same question styles, and the same pacing pressure that you'll feel on test day.
This guide walks you through sample ati teas test practice questions from Reading, Math, Science, and English & Language Usage. You'll see the answer, why it's right, and what most test-takers get wrong. Then we'll point you to the best free and paid sources for more practice.
If you're four to eight weeks out from your test date, this is exactly where you should start. Read carefully, take the sample questions seriously, and bookmark the resources at the end. The whole guide takes about 15 minutes to work through, and it'll save you hours of guesswork on what to study next.
One quick mindset note before you start. The TEAS isn't trying to trick you. It's testing whether you have the foundational reading, math, science, and language skills to handle nursing school coursework. Approach the questions with that lens and you'll see the patterns more clearly than candidates who treat each one as a puzzle.
Before you dive into questions, get the structure straight. The TEAS has four sections, and each one is timed independently. You can't borrow time from Reading to finish Math. That single fact trips up more candidates than any content gap.
Take a quick look at our free online TEAS practice test to see the format in action. Then come back and tackle the section samples below. Knowing the rhythm of each section before you start drilling questions saves you from running out of time on test day.
The sections are always presented in the same order: Reading first, then Math, then Science, and finally English & Language Usage. There's a 10-minute optional break between sections two and three. Use it. A bathroom break and 60 seconds of stretching can reset your focus for the longest content section.
Calculator policy matters too. ATI provides an on-screen four-function calculator for the Math section. You can't bring your own. Practice your math with that same constraint โ no scientific calculator shortcuts. If you're testing in person, the test center provides a basic handheld calculator instead. Either way, simple operations only.
Now for the part you came for. Below is a tab for each section with sample teas test practice questions online free. Read the question, pick your answer, then check the explanation. Don't skip the "Why" line โ that's where the learning happens.
Treat these like a mini-diagnostic. If you nail every question in a section without much thought, that section is probably solid. If you stumble or guess, that's a flag to dig deeper into the topic during your study sessions this week.
Question 1: A passage describes a hospital's switch to electronic charting and notes that medication errors dropped 32% in the first year. The author's main purpose is to:
A) Argue for paper records
B) Show a benefit of electronic health records
C) Compare two hospitals
D) Describe a software vendor
Answer: B
Why: The passage gives a positive outcome (fewer errors) tied to one change (going electronic). That's a benefit-focused main idea, not a comparison or a sales pitch.
Question 2: In the sentence "The clinician's brusque tone alarmed the patient," the word brusque most nearly means:
A) Cheerful
B) Abrupt
C) Quiet
D) Confused
Answer: B
Why: Context tells you the tone alarmed the patient. "Abrupt" fits that negative reaction. Cheerful would soothe, not alarm.
Question 3: A textbook chapter has subheadings like "Cell Wall," "Cytoplasm," and "Nucleus." The structure suggests the chapter is organized by:
A) Cause and effect
B) Chronology
C) Parts of a whole
D) Compare and contrast
Answer: C
Why: Each subheading names a structural component of one larger thing (a cell). That's parts of a whole.
Question 4: Which source is most reliable for current nursing licensure requirements in your state?
A) A nursing student forum
B) Your state board of nursing's official website
C) A YouTube video from 2017
D) A friend who graduated last year
Answer: B
Why: Official primary sources beat secondhand info every time. State boards publish current rules; everything else is delayed or filtered.
Question 1: A patient receives 250 mL of saline over 2 hours. What's the infusion rate in mL per hour?
A) 100
B) 125
C) 150
D) 500
Answer: B
Why: 250 mL divided by 2 hours = 125 mL/hr. Straight division, but watch for unit traps on the real test.
Question 2: Convert 3/8 to a decimal.
A) 0.125
B) 0.250
C) 0.375
D) 0.625
Answer: C
Why: 3 divided by 8 equals 0.375. If fraction-to-decimal trips you up, memorize the eighths: 1/8=0.125, 3/8=0.375, 5/8=0.625, 7/8=0.875.
Question 3: Solve for x: 4x - 7 = 21
A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 14
Answer: C
Why: Add 7 to both sides: 4x = 28. Divide by 4: x = 7. Linear equations show up often โ practice them cold.
Question 4: A nursing class has 24 students. If 75% pass the pharmacology midterm, how many passed?
A) 16
B) 18
C) 20
D) 21
Answer: B
Why: 0.75 times 24 = 18. Percent of a number = decimal times the number. Don't overthink it.
Question 1: Which heart chamber pumps oxygenated blood to the body?
A) Right atrium
B) Right ventricle
C) Left atrium
D) Left ventricle
Answer: D
Why: The left ventricle pushes oxygen-rich blood out through the aorta. Right side handles deoxygenated blood going to the lungs. Memorize this โ it's a TEAS staple.
Question 2: A solution with a pH of 3 is best described as:
A) Strongly basic
B) Weakly basic
C) Neutral
D) Acidic
Answer: D
Why: Anything below 7 on the pH scale is acidic. Below 4 is strongly acidic. Pure water sits at 7 (neutral); above 7 is basic.
Question 3: Which organelle is responsible for producing ATP in eukaryotic cells?
A) Nucleus
B) Mitochondrion
C) Ribosome
D) Golgi apparatus
Answer: B
Why: Mitochondria are the cell's powerhouses โ they make ATP through cellular respiration. Ribosomes build proteins; the nucleus stores DNA.
Question 4: The kidneys' main function is to:
A) Pump blood
B) Produce bile
C) Filter waste from blood
D) Exchange oxygen and CO2
Answer: C
Why: Kidneys filter blood, regulate water and electrolytes, and produce urine. The other answers belong to the heart, liver, and lungs respectively.
Question 1: Which sentence uses correct subject-verb agreement?
A) The team of nurses are meeting at noon.
B) The team of nurses is meeting at noon.
C) The team of nurses were meeting at noon.
D) The team of nurses be meeting at noon.
Answer: B
Why: "Team" is a singular collective noun, so it takes "is." Don't let "of nurses" trick you โ the subject is "team," not "nurses."
Question 2: Choose the sentence with correct comma usage.
A) After the lecture we reviewed our notes.
B) After the lecture, we reviewed our notes.
C) After, the lecture we reviewed our notes.
D) After the lecture we, reviewed our notes.
Answer: B
Why: A comma follows an introductory phrase like "After the lecture." The other options either skip the comma or place it incorrectly.
Question 3: In the sentence "The patient's vitals were stable, so the nurse documented the findings," the word documented most nearly means:
A) Erased
B) Recorded
C) Discussed
D) Forgot
Answer: B
Why: To document means to record in writing. In nursing, it's a daily action โ anything not documented didn't happen, as the saying goes.
Question 4: Which word is spelled correctly?
A) Recieve
B) Receive
C) Recieve
D) Receeve
Answer: B
Why: "I before E except after C." Receive follows that rule. Spelling shows up in conventions questions, so know the common offenders.
How did you do? If you missed two or more in any section, that's your weak area โ and that's where you'll make the biggest gains. The point of these free teas test prep questions isn't a perfect score. It's spotting where your knowledge breaks down so you can fix it before test day.
For deeper section drills, our TEAS practice tests page has full-length practice for each section, scored automatically. Use those when you want timed, exam-mode reps that simulate what you'll face in the testing room.
One pattern worth noticing: the questions you got wrong probably share a theme. Maybe you struggled with vocabulary in context. Maybe ratios threw you. Maybe heart anatomy felt fuzzy. Write down those themes. They become your study list for the next two weeks.
Keep a running miss log throughout your prep. A simple notebook or a notes app works fine. Each entry: question topic, what you picked, what was right, why you missed it. Re-read that log every Sunday. By week four, you'll see the same handful of concepts showing up again and again โ and those are the ones to attack hard.
Let's talk about a phrase you've probably searched: actual teas test questions. Here's the truth. The ATI TEAS is a proctored, secure exam. Real questions are not released to the public, ever. Anyone selling "actual leaked TEAS questions" is either selling reconstructions written from memory or running a scam.
What you can find โ and what works just as well โ is high-quality practice content built to match the exam blueprint. Real tutors, exam veterans, and prep companies write questions in the same format and difficulty. That's what "good practice" means in the TEAS world.
The good news? Practice quality matters way more than question source. A well-explained reconstructed question that teaches you the underlying concept is worth ten leaked items you simply memorize. Concepts transfer to new questions on test day; memorized answers do not, because you'll never see those exact items again.
Now let's map out where to actually find practice. Some of the best resources are completely free, and a few paid options are worth the money if you have the budget. Mix and match based on your timeline and your weak areas.
Most successful TEAS candidates use three to five different sources. Why? Question style varies by provider. Practicing with only one source can leave you flat-footed when the real test phrases something differently. Variety in your practice builds flexibility on test day.
Here's the rough hierarchy: free practice questions for daily drilling, the official ATI study manual for content review, paid practice for full-length scored tests in your final two weeks. That sequence works for most candidates and keeps your spending in check.
A note on the official ATI SmartPrep package. It's the only product written by the same company that writes the test itself, so the question style is the closest match you'll find. It runs around $140, which isn't cheap. But if you can swing one paid resource, that's the one most TEAS coaches recommend over Mometrix or Pocket Prep premium.
The other paid option worth knowing about is private tutoring. Rates vary widely, but a focused tutor session for your weakest section can be more efficient than 10 hours of self-study. If you've taken the TEAS once, scored low in one specific area, and have a tight retake window, tutoring is worth pricing out.
The free options will get most candidates to a passing score if you put in the hours. The paid options exist for people who want extra polish, structure, or that final 10-point bump. Don't feel like you have to pay to pass โ plenty of nursing students hit 80+ using only free material plus the official study manual.
If you're tight on cash, here's the cheapest viable stack: free PracticeTestGeeks tests for daily reps, free Cathy Parkes YouTube for science, library copy of the ATI study manual for content review, and the Pocket Prep free tier for phone-based drilling during the week. That combo costs zero dollars and works.
Whatever stack you pick, commit to it. Bouncing between resources every few days fragments your study time and makes it hard to gauge progress. Pick your three or four sources during week one, then stick with them through test day. You can always swap things in week three if something clearly isn't working.
How many practice questions should you actually do? For serious prep, aim for 500 to 1,000 questions across all four sections combined. That sounds like a lot, but split over six weeks it's roughly 100 to 170 per week. Easily doable in 30 minutes a day.
Quality beats quantity, though. Doing 200 questions and reviewing every wrong answer in detail beats blasting through 1,000 questions on autopilot. The review is the study โ the question is just the diagnostic.
A useful rule: spend at least as much time reviewing wrong answers as you spent answering questions. If a 30-question set took you 25 minutes, plan another 25 minutes for review. Read each explanation slowly. Look up the underlying concept if you're still confused. That's where scores actually move.
Take a full-length practice test under timed conditions. Score each section. Identify your weakest area โ that's where you'll spend the most time.
Hit the books or videos for your two weakest sections. ATI Study Manual + Cathy Parkes for science is a popular combo. Don't skip A&P.
Do 30-50 practice questions per day, focused on your weak areas. Review every wrong answer. Track what concepts keep tripping you up.
Take one full section per day under timed conditions. Build pacing instincts. You should feel the rhythm of each section by week's end.
Take a complete practice test in one sitting (about 3.5 hours). Simulate test-day conditions. Score it and review.
Light review only. Re-watch videos on your top three weak topics. Sleep well. Don't cram the day before.
Pacing is the silent killer on the TEAS. Most candidates know the content well enough but blow past their per-question budget and run out of time on Reading or Science. Build pacing into every practice session from week one, not just week five.
Use a timer. Train yourself to flag and skip a question after about 90 seconds, then circle back. The exam lets you mark and review โ use that feature in practice so it's automatic on test day. Burning two minutes on one Reading question can cost you three easier questions later in the section.
The other pacing trap is over-checking. Some candidates finish a section with 10 minutes left and spend that whole window second-guessing answers they were initially confident about. Research on multiple-choice tests is clear: your first instinct is usually right. Use leftover time for flagged questions, not for re-litigating answers you already locked in.
Speaking of weak areas โ let's talk about the topics that historically eat candidates alive. If you've taken a practice test and bombed any of these, here's where to focus your concept review. These topics show up on nearly every TEAS administration.
The pattern is consistent across years. Students who score below their target almost always missed clusters of questions in the same handful of topics. Fix those clusters and your score jumps. It's not magic; it's just where the high-frequency questions live.
If you're short on study time, prioritize anatomy and physiology. It's the single biggest content category on the test, and it's the area where most candidates lose the most points. Even an extra five hours focused exclusively on A&P this week will likely move your science score more than five hours spread thin across every section.
If you knock out half of these topics over your study window, your score will jump noticeably. Most TEAS prep wins come from fixing recurring mistakes, not from learning new topics. Master the high-frequency stuff first; chase the rare topics only if you have time left over.
Our ATI TEAS test study guide walks through each section's content blueprint with study tips and recommended resources. Pair it with the practice questions on this page for a complete loop: review concept, do practice questions, review what you missed, then move on.
The loop matters more than any single resource. Concept then practice then review then repeat. Skip any step and your score plateaus. Reading textbooks without doing questions builds shallow recognition; doing questions without reviewing builds bad habits. Together, the loop is what actually moves the needle.
Scoring on the TEAS can confuse first-time test-takers, so let's break it down. You get a Total Composite Score and individual section scores. Most schools care about your Adjusted Individual Score โ usually requiring a 60 to 75 minimum, depending on the program.
Some nursing schools weight sections differently. Science gets weighted heavily at many programs (sometimes 50%), so don't sleep on A&P. Check your target school's score requirements before you build your study plan.
Quick context on how scoring works. Each section produces a percent-correct raw score, then ATI applies adjustments and reports both individual and composite results. Schools then compare your numbers to their cutoffs. Two candidates with the same composite can have very different chances at admission depending on which sections their target program weights most heavily.
Score reports also include a proficiency level โ Basic, Proficient, Advanced, or Exemplary. Most competitive programs expect Proficient at minimum, with Advanced or Exemplary preferred. The labels are rough; what really matters is the numeric score your school has set as its cutoff. Always check exact requirements with your target program's admissions office.
You'll also see content category breakdowns within each section. These show which subtopics you nailed and which ones you missed. After test day, those category scores are gold for retake prep โ they tell you exactly where to focus the next round of study without guessing.
One last thing on test logistics. The TEAS comes in two formats: at a Pearson test center, or online proctored from home. The online version requires a quiet room, a working webcam and microphone, and a secure browser. Both formats use the same questions and timing.
For test day, bring a government-issued photo ID that matches your registration name exactly. If you're testing online, log in 15 minutes early โ proctor check-in takes longer than people expect. A printable TEAS practice test PDF can also be helpful for offline study sessions during your final review week, especially when screen fatigue starts to set in after long days of digital practice on a laptop.
If you're testing in person, scout the test center location a few days early if possible. Knowing where to park, which entrance to use, and how long the drive takes removes a major source of test-morning stress. Show up rested, hydrated, and 20 minutes early. That's it.
For online proctored testing, the tech check is non-negotiable. Run ATI's system test 24 hours before your appointment, not 10 minutes before. A failed webcam or browser issue at start time means rescheduling โ and most rescheduling fees are out of pocket. The platform is picky about background noise and visible papers in your room, too.
One overlooked detail: clear your testing surface completely. No notes, no phone, no second monitor, no water bottle within reach unless explicitly allowed. Online proctors will pause your test and ask you to move things, eating into your time. A clean desk and a quiet hour avoids almost all proctor interruptions.
Quick word on TEAS 6 vs. TEAS 7. ATI rolled out TEAS 7 in 2022, and most schools now require it. The format is similar but with more inferential and applied questions, more drag-and-drop items, and slight content shifts in math. If you're using prep books, make sure they're labeled for TEAS 7 โ older TEAS 6 material is increasingly outdated.
The shift wasn't dramatic, but it's real. TEAS 7 leans harder on application โ meaning you might see a chemistry concept embedded in a clinical scenario rather than asked straight. Practice questions written for TEAS 6 still teach you the underlying content, but the question stems can feel dated and some math content is presented differently now.
One concrete TEAS 7 change worth flagging: the math section dropped some of the calculator-disabled items and added more measurement and data interpretation. If you used a TEAS 6 study book three years ago, the math chapters will still help you, but expect more graph-reading and data analysis on the live test than the older book prepares you for.
Need a deeper dive into the test prep side? Our TEAS exam prep hub covers everything from registration through retake policies. Bookmark it for the long haul, and check back as your test date approaches for any policy updates from ATI. Registration windows, retake limits, and accepted score versions all change occasionally, so verify the current rules within a month of your test.
No. The ATI TEAS is a secure, proctored exam. Real questions are not released publicly, and any site claiming to sell "actual TEAS questions" is offering reconstructions or running a scam. What you'll find instead are high-quality practice questions written to match the test format and difficulty โ and those are just as effective for prep.
Aim for 500 to 1,000 practice questions across all four sections combined. Spread that over six to eight weeks of study, focusing more time on your weakest section. Quality matters more than quantity โ reviewing every wrong answer is what actually moves your score.
It's challenging but very passable with prep. Most candidates who study consistently for six to eight weeks pass on the first attempt. Science tends to be the hardest section because of the heavy A&P load. Math is straightforward if you remember high school algebra and basic operations.
Focus on anatomy and physiology โ it's roughly half the section. Cardiovascular flow, kidney function, the digestive system, and the nervous system all show up frequently. Cathy Parkes RN's free YouTube videos are popular for science. After concept review, drill at least 200 practice science questions and review every miss.
Each section is timed independently and there's no penalty for wrong answers, so guess on anything you didn't reach. Bubble in your best guess for unanswered questions in the final 30 seconds โ a lucky guess beats a blank. To prevent the time crunch, practice with a timer from week one and use the flag-and-skip strategy.
Yes. ATI allows up to three attempts in a 12-month period, with a 30-day wait between attempts. Some nursing programs limit how many TEAS scores they'll consider, so check your target school's policy before scheduling a retake. Each attempt requires a separate registration fee.
For most candidates, yes. Combine free practice questions from PracticeTestGeeks, Pocket Prep, and Mometrix with the official ATI study manual (often available at your library) and you have everything you need. Paid prep adds polish and structure but isn't required to hit a passing score.