The exam is machine scored, so on the computer-delivered forms most people see a result on screen as soon as they finish, and the official score report follows in their ATI account. How long that second step takes depends on how and where you tested, and it is the step that matters for a deadline. Confirm the current timing with ATI or with the program, because it is not a single published number that applies to everybody.
What "results" means, and which version counts
There are three different things people mean by results, and they arrive at three different times.
| What it is | When | |
|---|---|---|
| The on-screen result | Your score at the end of the sitting | Usually immediately, on computer-delivered forms |
| The score report | The full document in your ATI account, which ATI calls the Individual Performance Profile | After the sitting, and it may post as preliminary before it is final |
| The official record at the program | What the admissions office actually reads | Later still, and the process varies by program |
Two things follow. If you sat a paper form, there is no on-screen result to see, and the answer sheets have to be scored before anything appears. And an application deadline is met by the third row, not the first: the date to plan against is when the program has your result, which is a question for that program's admissions office rather than for anyone else.
Do not book a test date on the assumption of a same-day result reaching a school. Ask what the program needs, and by when.
What the report actually contains
This is the useful part, and it is where most people stop reading too early. The report is not one number: it is twenty-one numbers and a list, and they do different jobs.
| Line | What it is | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Total score | Your result across the 150 scored questions, adjusted so that scores from different forms of the exam mean the same thing | The number a program compares with its cut, and usually the only one it reads |
| Content-area scores (4) | Reading, Mathematics, Science, English and language usage | Where the points went |
| Sub-area scores (12) | The plain percentage correct inside each sub-area, such as Human anatomy and physiology or Chemistry | The most useful lines on the page: they convert back into missed questions |
| National mean | The average of ATI's national group of examinees | A reference line, not a passing score |
| Program mean | The average within your program type, such as BSN or ADN | Context, not a requirement |
| National and program percentile ranks | The share of each comparison group scoring at or below you | A rank, not a score |
| Topics to review | The topics behind the questions you missed | A content list, deliberately unweighted |
How to read it in ten minutes
Start with the total, because that is what is being judged. One scored question is worth about 0.67 points, so subtract your total from the score your program requires and divide by 0.67. That converts an abstract gap into a count of questions. Six points is nine questions. What programs typically require.
Then find which content area cost the most, not which looks worst. The four areas are different sizes, so the same shortfall costs different amounts:
| Content area | Scored questions | Share of the total | A score of 60.0 costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 44 | 29.3% | 11.7 points |
| Reading | 39 | 26.0% | 10.4 points |
| Mathematics | 34 | 22.7% | 9.1 points |
| English and language usage | 33 | 22.0% | 8.8 points |
Multiply the share by the difference between 100 and your area score. Reading at 70 has cost you more than English at 65, which is not what the percentages look like.
Then turn the sub-area percentages into missed questions. These are raw percentages, so they run backward cleanly: items in the sub-area, times 100 minus the score, divided by 100. Because the sub-areas hold very different numbers of questions, the same single miss moves them by wildly different amounts:
| Sub-area | Scored questions | One missed question moves the score by |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | 8 | 12.5 |
| Biology, Craft and structure, Scientific reasoning | 9 | 11.1 |
| Using language and vocabulary | 10 | 10.0 |
| Knowledge of language | 11 | 9.1 |
| Conventions of standard English | 12 | 8.3 |
| Key ideas and details, Integration of knowledge and ideas | 15 | 6.7 |
| Measurement and data | 16 | 6.2 |
| Numbers and algebra, Human anatomy and physiology | 18 | 5.6 |
So the lowest percentage on your report is usually the smallest sub-area rather than your biggest loss. A chemistry score of 37.5 is 5 missed questions out of 8. A score of 66.7 in human anatomy and physiology looks far healthier and is 6 missed questions out of 18. The second one is both the bigger loss and, being memorizable content, the faster to fix.
Read the topics list last, and read it as content rather than as priorities. It tells you which objectives the missed questions came from. It does not tell you what each was worth, which is what the arithmetic above is for. Sort the entries by sub-area, then work the sub-areas in the order the numbers give you rather than in the order the list prints them. How to turn that order into a study plan.
If the number is short
A gap of a few points is a small number of questions and a short, specific piece of work. A gap of ten or more is 15 questions and a different size of project, and the date you book next should follow from the hours rather than from the earliest slot the rules allow. How many times you can sit the exam, and what to change.
Common questions
How long does it take to get TEAS results?
On computer-delivered forms a result is normally on screen when you finish, and the full report posts to your ATI account afterward. The exact turnaround for that report depends on how and where you tested, and paper forms take longer because the answer sheets have to be scored first. Confirm the current timing with ATI or with your program rather than relying on a figure from a forum.
Do I see my TEAS score immediately after the test?
Usually yes, if you tested on a computer: the exam is machine scored and a result appears at the end of the sitting. That on-screen number is not the whole report, which carries the sub-area scores, means, percentile ranks and topics list. If you sat a paper form, there is no immediate result.
What is on the ATI TEAS score report?
A total score, four content-area scores, twelve sub-area scores, a national mean and a program mean, national and program percentile ranks, and a list of the topics behind the questions you missed. The total is what programs compare with their cut. The sub-area scores are the most useful lines for you, because each one converts back into a number of missed questions.
Why does my total score not match the average of my four content-area scores?
Two reasons. The four areas are different sizes, so they do not contribute equally: Science carries 44 of the 150 scored questions and English and language usage 33. And the total and the content area scores are adjusted so that results from different forms of the exam are comparable, which means the printed total cannot be rebuilt exactly from the other figures. Where an estimate disagrees with the printed total, the printed total is your score.
Which number on the report should I plan my studying from?
The sub-area scores, converted into missed questions, and then ranked by how many points each sub-area can give back per hour of work. The content-area scores tell you where the damage is but they are too coarse to study from, and the topics list is unweighted, so it will happily send you to an eight-question sub-area ahead of an eighteen-question one.