Nursing Entrance Exam Practice: TEAS & HESI A2
Practice nursing entrance exams with detailed rationales. Choose between ATI TEAS and HESI A2 practice tests to prepare for your nursing school admission.
Available Practice Exams
Which Nursing Entrance Exam Does My School Require?
Most RN, ADN, and BSN programs require applicants to pass a standardized entrance exam before admission. The two most widely used are the ATI TEAS and the HESI A2. Your nursing program will tell you which one it accepts — some accept either, so it's worth checking your school's admissions page before you start studying.
Both exams test the same general skill areas — reading comprehension, math, science, and English/grammar — but they differ in length, format, and which schools use them.
If your program requires the TEAS, you can go straight to our ATI TEAS practice test. If it requires the HESI A2, start with our HESI A2 practice test instead. Not sure which one applies to you? Keep reading — the comparison below will help.
TEAS vs. HESI A2: What's the Difference?
| ATI TEAS | HESI A2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Test of Essential Academic Skills | Health Education Systems, Inc. Admission Assessment |
| Sections tested | Reading, Math, Science, English & Language Usage | Math, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary & General Knowledge, Grammar, and (at many schools) Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Chemistry |
| Who sets it | ATI (Assessment Technologies Institute) | Elsevier |
| Format | Same 4 sections for every test-taker | Schools choose which sections apply — always confirm with your program |
| Typical length | 170 questions, 209 minutes (~3.5 hours) | Varies by school; typically 4–5 hours when all selected sections are included |
| Retake policy | Varies by school | Varies by school |
| Where it's used | Widely required across ADN/BSN programs nationally | Widely required, especially at programs using Elsevier/HESI curriculum |
Bottom line: if your school hasn't told you which exam to expect, check your program's admissions requirements page first — don't guess based on which one is more popular nationally.
Once you know which exam you need, pair your practice questions with a structured plan — our nursing entrance exam study guides walk through both TEAS and HESI A2 section by section, and our exam bundles combine practice tests with guides at a lower cost than buying separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
The TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) is published by ATI, while the HESI A2 is published by Elsevier. Both test reading, math, science, and English/language skills, but they use different question formats, section structures, and scoring, and different schools require different exams. Neither is a substitute for the other — check which one your program accepts before you start studying.
Neither is universally harder — they test similar skills through different formats. Students who are stronger in vocabulary and grammar sometimes find the HESI A2 more comfortable; students stronger in science sometimes prefer the TEAS. Since most applicants don't get to choose between them, the more useful question is which one your school requires — see the comparison table above.
The HESI A2 is designed to be passable with adequate preparation, not to weed out applicants with a curve. Difficulty depends on your comfort with the sections your program includes (commonly math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, and sometimes anatomy & physiology). Most students who struggle do so on vocabulary and grammar specifically, since those sections test recall rather than reasoning — which makes them very responsive to focused practice.
HESI stands for Health Education Systems, Inc., the company (now part of Elsevier) that develops the exam. "HESI A2" specifically refers to the Admission Assessment version used for nursing school entry — HESI also publishes other exams used later in a nursing program, which is a common source of confusion.
Not quite. "HESI" is the umbrella name for a family of exams published by Elsevier, including exit exams nursing students take later in their program. "HESI A2" (Admission Assessment) is specifically the entrance exam used for nursing school admission. When people say "the HESI" in the context of applying to nursing school, they almost always mean the HESI A2.
No — they're different companies that publish different, competing entrance exams. ATI publishes the TEAS; Elsevier publishes the HESI A2. Schools choose one (occasionally both) to require from applicants, so "ATI vs. HESI" in practice means the same comparison as "TEAS vs. HESI A2."
The "nursing entrance exam" isn't one single test — it's a general term for the standardized admissions test your nursing program requires. For most RN, ADN, and BSN applicants, that means either the ATI TEAS or the HESI A2. Both assess reading, math, science, and English skills to predict readiness for nursing coursework.
Difficulty depends on your baseline in math and science and how much you prepare. Both the TEAS and HESI A2 are designed to be passable with focused study — most programs set a minimum passing score (often in the 60–70% range, though this varies by school), not a curve against other applicants. Consistent practice with exam-format questions is the biggest factor in passing on the first attempt.
Both exams cover four core areas: reading comprehension, mathematics, science, and English/language usage (grammar and vocabulary). The exact question count, section order, and time limits differ between TEAS and HESI A2 — see the comparison table above.
It goes by several names depending on the exam and school: TEAS, ATI TEAS, HESI, HESI A2, or simply "the nursing entrance exam" or "nursing school entrance test." They all refer to the same category of pre-admission assessment. See how real students did in our student reviews.