The ATI TEAS 7 presents 170 questions in 209 minutes and scores 150 of them across twelve sub-areas of very different sizes. Most study time is spent badly because nobody says what those sizes are. This page is the whole blueprint, what to study first, the facts worth memorizing, and how to plan from your test date.
What you are actually being tested on
Four sections, timed separately. The last column — the share of your total score each sub-area controls — is what should decide your week.
| Section | Sub-area | Scored items | Share of the 150 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Key ideas and details | 15 | 10.0% |
| Reading | Craft and structure | 9 | 6.0% |
| Reading | Integration of knowledge and ideas | 15 | 10.0% |
| Reading | 45 presented · 55 minutes | 39 | 26.0% |
| Mathematics | Numbers and algebra | 18 | 12.0% |
| Mathematics | Measurement and data | 16 | 10.7% |
| Mathematics | 38 presented · 57 minutes | 34 | 22.7% |
| Science | Human anatomy and physiology | 18 | 12.0% |
| Science | Biology | 9 | 6.0% |
| Science | Chemistry | 8 | 5.3% |
| Science | Scientific reasoning | 9 | 6.0% |
| Science | 50 presented · 60 minutes | 44 | 29.3% |
| English and language usage | Conventions of standard English | 12 | 8.0% |
| English and language usage | Knowledge of language | 11 | 7.3% |
| English and language usage | Using language and vocabulary | 10 | 6.7% |
| English and language usage | 37 presented · 37 minutes | 33 | 22.0% |
| Whole exam | 170 presented · 209 minutes | 150 | 100% |
Four things the table does not say out loud:
- Twenty of the 170 do not count. They are unscored pretest items, spread proportionally and unmarked, so treat all 170 as if they count.
- Sections are timed individually, and the pace differs: Mathematics gives 90 seconds a presented question, Reading 73, Science 72, English 60. Minutes saved in one do not carry.
- A four-function calculator is provided on screen for Mathematics, or by the proctor on paper forms. No personal calculator of any kind, phones included.
These are Version 7 weights, worth re-checking against ATI's current content outline.
What to study first, and why it is not what you think
Almost everyone studies in the order of what they fear. The useful order is points per hour:
points per hour = share of the 150 × your gap on it × how fast it responds to drilling
One scored question is 100 ÷ 150 = 0.67 points, so a sub-area's question count is also the ceiling on what studying it can return.
| Scored items | Most it can ever return | |
|---|---|---|
| Human anatomy and physiology | 18 | 12.0 points |
| Chemistry | 8 | 5.3 points |
That ceiling assumes you miss every question in the sub-area, which nobody does. Say a practice test puts you at half right on each: anatomy has 9 missed questions in play, worth 6.0 points, and chemistry has 4, worth 2.7. A week on chemistry plays for less than half of what the same week in anatomy plays for.
The third term settles ties, and most plans ignore it. Facts and rules convert study hours into correct answers quickly. Comprehension does not, at any dose.
| Responds to drilling | Sub-areas |
|---|---|
| Fast | Human anatomy and physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Conventions of standard English |
| Medium | Numbers and algebra, Measurement and data, Knowledge of language, Using language and vocabulary, Scientific reasoning |
| Slow | Key ideas and details, Craft and structure, Integration of knowledge and ideas |
The slow row is 26% of the exam, which is awkward. Reading earns a floor rather than a push: a short timed set most days to hold pace, not whole days of it.
So the default order is anatomy and physiology, the two mathematics sub-areas, conventions of standard English, biology, then chemistry and scientific reasoning, with Reading underneath. Your own results move that order, which is the point, and what moves it is a practice test reporting sub-areas. The free 30-question diagnostic reports them.
Section by section
Reading — 39 scored, 26.0% of your score
45 questions in 55 minutes, 73 seconds each. Key ideas and details 15 scored items, integration of knowledge and ideas 15, craft and structure 9. Highest yield: main idea and supporting detail, what a text states versus what must be inferred, author's purpose, fact versus opinion, word meaning from context, whether evidence supports a claim, and reading graphics — tables, schedules, nutrition and medication labels. Every answer is in the text, so what separates scores is pace. What the Reading section asks.
Mathematics — 34 scored, 22.7%
38 questions in 57 minutes, 90 seconds each — the slowest pace on the exam, and it still runs out, because a multi-step conversion eats the time a percent question saved. Numbers and algebra 18 scored items, measurement and data 16. Highest yield: percent problems and percent change, ratios and proportions, one-variable equations and the translation step before them, unit conversion within and across measurement systems, mean, median, mode and range, perimeter, area and volume, and reading data off graphs. Most lost marks are setup errors rather than arithmetic errors. Ten math questions, worked.
Science — 44 scored, 29.3%
50 questions in 60 minutes, 72 seconds each. The largest section, and lopsided: anatomy and physiology 18 scored items, biology 9, scientific reasoning 9, chemistry 8. Highest yield: directional terms and planes; the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, nervous and endocrine systems; homeostasis; cell structure and transport; macromolecules; DNA to protein; mitosis versus meiosis; Punnett squares; atomic structure, bonding and pH; and independent versus dependent variables, control groups and what a data set supports. The Science section in detail.
English and language usage — 33 scored, 22.0%
37 questions in 37 minutes. One minute each is the fastest pace on the exam, and the content is a short list of rules you either apply without thinking or you do not. Conventions of standard English 12 scored items, knowledge of language 11, using language and vocabulary 10. Highest yield: confused words and homophones, commas and apostrophes, semicolons and colons, fragments and run-ons, subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement, wordiness, register, transitions, context clues, and word parts — hyper-, hypo-, brady-, tachy-, -itis, -ectomy. The rules are finite, which makes this the most efficient section to drill. The English section, rule by rule.
The facts worth memorizing
Everything below either arrives in the first two seconds of a question or costs you thirty. Cover the answers and recite; recognition feels like knowing and is not.
Percent is three questions wearing one hat. part = whole × percent, percent = part ÷ whole,
whole = part ÷ percent. Percent change is (new − old) ÷ old, always over the original value:
250 down to 200 is 20%, and the 25% from dividing by 200 will be on the screen as an option. To
divide by a fraction, multiply by the reciprocal — 3/4 ÷ 1/8 = 6.
| Metric | 1 m = 100 cm = 1,000 mm · 1 L = 1,000 mL · 1 kg = 1,000 g · 1 g = 1,000 mg |
| Customary | 1 ft = 12 in · 1 lb = 16 oz · 1 qt = 2 pt · 1 gal = 4 qt |
| Across systems | 1 in = 2.54 cm · 1 kg = 2.2 lb · 1 L ≈ 1.06 qt · 1 mi ≈ 1.61 km |
| Temperature | °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32 · °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9 · anchors 0/32, 37/98.6, 100/212 |
| Geometry | rectangle l × w and 2(l + w) · triangle ½ base × height · circle πr² and C = πd · prism lwh · cylinder πr²h |
| Statistics | mean = sum ÷ count · median = middle after sorting · mode = most frequent · range = max − min |
The radius is half the diameter; using the diameter in πr² is wrong by a factor of four. Sort before taking a median, and round once, at the end.
Two pathways, traced out loud until automatic. Three or four of your 18 anatomy questions come straight off them. A third sequence is worth knowing in order: the glomerulus filters, the proximal tubule reabsorbs the bulk, the loop of Henle concentrates, and the distal tubule and collecting duct fine-tune under ADH.
Blood: body → vena cavae → RIGHT ATRIUM → tricuspid → RIGHT VENTRICLE → pulmonary valve
→ pulmonary arteries → LUNGS → pulmonary veins → LEFT ATRIUM → mitral
→ LEFT VENTRICLE → aortic valve → aorta → body
Air: nose/mouth → pharynx → larynx → trachea → bronchi → bronchioles → alveoli
Right side deoxygenated, left side oxygenated; atria receive, ventricles pump, and the left ventricle has the thickest wall. Arteries are defined by direction, away from the heart, not by oxygen — hence the deoxygenated pulmonary artery. Inhalation is active: the diaphragm contracts, volume rises, pressure falls. The medulla sets breathing rate and responds to rising carbon dioxide, not falling oxygen.
Digestion, by where it happens. Salivary amylase starts on carbohydrates in the mouth, HCl and pepsin on protein in the stomach; the small intestine does most digestion and nearly all absorption; the large intestine absorbs water. The liver makes bile, the gallbladder only stores it, and the pancreas handles both digestive enzymes and blood-sugar hormones.
The hormones, learned as opposites. Insulin lowers blood glucose and is the only hormone that does; glucagon raises it. Calcitonin lowers blood calcium, parathyroid hormone raises it. ADH retains water, aldosterone retains sodium and water follows.
The confusion pairs questions are built from. Ligament joins bone to bone, tendon joins muscle to bone. Osteoblasts build, osteoclasts carve away. Cardiac muscle is striated and involuntary. Sympathetic is fight-or-flight, parasympathetic rest-and-digest. Negative feedback reverses a change and runs nearly everything; positive feedback amplifies — childbirth, clotting, lactation.
Chemistry is eight questions and a short list. Atomic number is the proton count and defines the element; mass number is protons plus neutrons; isotopes differ in neutrons alone. Columns of the periodic table share valence electrons and therefore behavior. Ionic bonds transfer electrons, covalent bonds share them. Below pH 7 is acidic, above is basic, each whole number a tenfold change in hydrogen ion concentration. A physical change alters form, a chemical change makes a new substance. Balance with coefficients, never subscripts. Catalysts and enzymes lower activation energy and are not used up.
How to build a schedule from your test date
Days remaining should change a plan before ability does and before available hours do. A short plan is not a compressed long one: it covers less on purpose.
| Days until your test | Plan | Hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| Under 14 | Two-week cram: most of the blueprint cut, two simulations | 10–12 |
| 15 to 30 | Four-week sprint: every sub-area that pays, worked once | 7 |
| 31 to 56 | Six-week standard: every sub-area drilled twice, a week to consolidate | 5–6 |
| 57 or more | Eight-week foundation: the same content met repeatedly | 4–5 |
Four rules hold whichever calendar you are on. Interleave sub-areas inside a session rather than blocking whole days on one: it feels worse and tests better. Take a short timed checkpoint every seventh day, while there is still time to move hours. Sit a full-length simulation at the midpoint and another four days out, for pacing rather than content. Spend the last three days reviewing only; little learned in the final 72 hours survives to test day.
Missed days are what actually end study plans. Your test date does not move, so the plan cannot slide either: re-enter at the day matching the days you have left. The full method and the four calendars.
What your score means
Scores are reported as percentages from 0 to 100 over the 150 scored questions, so one question moves your total by about 0.67 points. Ten points is roughly fifteen questions across the whole exam; five points is seven or eight. The report also gives section and sub-area scores, national and program means, percentile ranks, and a list of objectives to review.
| Preparedness level | Total score |
|---|---|
| Exemplary | 92.0 – 100 |
| Advanced | 80.0 – 91.3 |
| Proficient | 58.7 – 79.3 |
| Basic | 40.7 – 58.0 |
| Developmental | 0 – 40.0 |
Those are the Version 7 bands. Pages quoting 90.7, 78.0, 77.3 and 41.3 are quoting Version 6 cuts, and a surprising number of them call themselves TEAS 7 guides.
There is no national passing score. Each program sets its own, and the published requirement is what matters, not the level name. Typical requirements run 55–65 for LPN and PN programs, 60–70 for an ADN, 70–80 for a BSN, and 80 or higher where admission is competitive — check your own program's page, because these vary. The national average composite sits in the 60–70 range, which means the average test-taker is short of most BSN requirements. What programs require, and how the report reads.
The printable version
Everything above stays on this page with no email address attached to it. There is also an 18-page PDF laid out to print and write on: the blueprint, the scoring bands, what programs require, registration and retake rules, the study calendars, a 12-question self-check with full reasoning, and a test-day checklist. The form on this page sends it, with a short email series about preparing for the exam.
Common questions
How long should I study for the ATI TEAS 7?
Between two and eight weeks, depending on the distance between your current practice score and what your program asks for. A common shape is five to six hours a week for six weeks, 30 to 40 hours in total; a two-week plan needs 10 to 12 hours a week and has to cut content to fit. Longer plans ask fewer hours a week and still cover more, because material met four times sticks better than material met once.
What is a good score on the ATI TEAS 7?
There is no national passing score on the ATI TEAS 7. Each nursing program sets its own cut, and the only number that matters is the one on your program's admissions page. Typical requirements are 55–65 for LPN and PN programs, 60–70 for an ADN, 70–80 for a BSN, and 80 or above where admission is competitive, against a national average composite in the 60–70 range. ATI also labels the total Developmental through Exemplary, but programs admit on the number rather than the label.
What should I study first for the TEAS?
Whichever sub-area has the most points in play for you, which for most people is human anatomy and physiology: 18 of the 150 scored questions, 12% of the exam, and memorizable, so hours convert into correct answers quickly. Chemistry is 8 questions, 5.3%, and cannot return more than 5.3 points however long you spend there. The rule is points per hour — share of the 150, times your gap, times how fast it responds to drilling — which is why Reading, at 26% of the exam but slow to improve, earns a short daily set rather than whole days.
How many questions are on the ATI TEAS 7, and how long does it take?
The ATI TEAS 7 presents 170 questions across four sections and takes 209 minutes, just under three and a half hours: Reading 45 questions in 55 minutes, Mathematics 38 in 57, Science 50 in 60, English and language usage 37 in 37. Sections are timed individually, so time left in one does not carry into the next. Only 150 questions are scored; the other 20 are unmarked pretest items, so treat every question as if it counts.
Can I use a calculator on the ATI TEAS 7?
Yes, on the Mathematics section only. A four-function calculator is provided on screen, and on paper forms the proctor issues one. Personal calculators are not permitted — not graphing, not scientific, not the one on your phone. Prepare for what it lacks: no parentheses, no memory, no order of operations, so you supply the order and write intermediate values down.
Is the ATI TEAS 7 hard?
It is not conceptually difficult — the content is high-school level — but it is broad and tightly timed. The difficulty is that 150 scored questions are spread over twelve sub-areas, so weakness anywhere shows up in the total. That shape is also what makes it preparable: the blueprint is published, the weights are fixed, and a score report names where the next week goes.
How many times can I take the TEAS, and how long are scores valid?
ATI commonly allows three attempts in a 12-month period with a minimum of 14 days between them, but programs set their own limits and many are stricter. Each attempt costs full price, roughly $70 to $120 depending on whether you test at an institution or online through ATI. Scores are typically valid for one to two years from the application deadline, and the program decides that window and which attempt it reads.