Preparing for the ATI TEAS exam can be an overwhelming process, especially when you’re balancing work, school, and clinical experience. The test covers a wide range of subjects, from math and English to chemistry, biology, and human anatomy. But if you want to make your study time as efficient as possible, you need to focus on the topics that students consistently miss the most. By targeting these high-impact areas, you can not only boost your score but also walk into your exam with more confidence.
Understanding the ATI TEAS Exam: Structure and Format
Before jumping into content review, it’s essential to understand what you’re up against. The ATI TEAS is designed to evaluate whether you’re academically prepared for the rigors of nursing or allied health programs. It assesses foundational knowledge across four main content areas:
- Reading
- Mathematics
- Science
- English and Language Usage
The exam includes 170 questions, but only 150 are scored. The remaining 20 are unscored pretest items used to validate future test questions. The total test time is 209 minutes, with each section timed independently.
Breakdown by Section:
- Reading: 45 questions | 55 minutes
- Mathematics: 38 questions | 57 minutes
- Science: 50 questions | 60 minutes
- English and Language Usage: 37 questions | 37 minutes
There is also an optional 10-minute break after the math section.
Because each section is timed, time management and pacing are critical. You’ll need to keep moving even when questions are difficult, and that’s why focusing on the areas where most students struggle can help you avoid getting stuck during the exam.
Topic 1: Chemistry – Describe Chemical Reactions
Chemical reactions appear on the science portion of the TEAS and are among the most frequently missed areas. That’s not surprising—many students find chemistry abstract, especially if it’s been a while since they took a science course. But mastering the basics of chemical reactions is essential.
What You Need to Know:
- How to identify reactants and products in a chemical equation
- The difference between ionic and covalent bonds
- How to balance chemical equations
- What the mole concept is and how it connects to chemical quantities
- The role of valence electrons in determining reactivity
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
One of the biggest hurdles is the language of chemistry. Terms like “valence electrons,” “stoichiometry,” and “covalent bonds” can seem foreign unless you’ve had recent exposure. Students often forget to review this vocabulary or try to memorize definitions without fully understanding them.
How to Master It:
- Use visuals to understand atomic structure. Diagrams of atoms showing electron shells make it easier to grasp the concept of valence electrons and their role in bonding.
- Practice balancing equations with step-by-step methods. Begin with simple equations and gradually increase complexity.
- Understand bond types by comparing electron behavior. Ionic bonds involve electron transfer; covalent bonds involve sharing. Try drawing Lewis structures to visualize this.
- Apply the mole concept with real-world analogies. For example, one mole of water contains 6.022 x 10²³ molecules—just like a dozen means 12, a mole is simply a larger counting unit.
By focusing on comprehension over memorization, you’ll be better prepared to tackle any chemistry-related question on the TEAS.
Topic 2: Anatomy – Male and Female Reproductive Systems
Human anatomy plays a massive role in the TEAS science section, and the reproductive system is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas. Students often mix up structures or focus only on reproductive organs without understanding their relationship to other systems, like the endocrine system.
What You Need to Know:
- The structures of both male and female reproductive systems
- The functions of each organ and how they relate to fertility and reproduction
- How the reproductive and endocrine systems interact to regulate hormones
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Many students try to memorize long lists of anatomical terms without understanding how the system functions as a whole. Additionally, questions on the TEAS often ask for the purpose of a structure or the relationship between two systems, not just naming organs. This means memorization alone is not enough.
How to Master It:
- Break down each system into subcategories. For the female system, study the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina individually. Do the same with the male system: testicles, vas deferens, prostate gland, and penis.
- Understand hormone feedback loops. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and luteinizing hormone all play crucial roles. Draw diagrams showing how the brain, reproductive organs, and hormones interact.
- Link function with structure. Don’t just learn what an organ is—know what it does and how it contributes to reproduction.
- Compare and contrast. Make charts to see how male and female systems differ and overlap in terms of structure and function.
Many TEAS questions test not just recognition, but application. You might be asked what happens when a hormone is lacking, or how a disruption in one part of the system affects another. That means true understanding is key.
Topic 3: Anatomy – The Nervous System
The nervous system is another high-yield, high-confusion topic that frequently trips up students on the exam. While it overlaps with other organ systems, it stands out for its complexity and its role in communication throughout the body.
What You Need to Know:
- The difference between the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS)
- The structure and function of neurons
- How nerve impulses travel
- The roles of the brain and spinal cord
- How the nervous system interacts with other systems, such as the muscular and endocrine systems
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
The nervous system can be difficult because it involves both anatomy and physiology. It’s not enough to know what the spinal cord is—you have to know how it relays messages to and from the brain. Add in terms like “axon,” “synapse,” and “neurotransmitter,” and it’s easy to see why many students struggle.
How to Master It:
- Understand the two main divisions. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord. The PNS includes all the nerves that branch out to the rest of the body. Know their roles and how they interact.
- Visualize a neuron. Learn to identify parts of a neuron—dendrites, soma, axon, myelin sheath—and what each one does. This helps clarify how electrical impulses are transmitted.
- Study reflex arcs. These are great examples of how the nervous system bypasses the brain for faster responses. Many test questions involve reflex actions.
- Learn neurotransmitters. While you don’t need to memorize them all, knowing how chemical messages are sent across synapses helps explain how the nervous system controls the body.
The key to this topic is integration. The nervous system doesn’t work in isolation. Many TEAS questions involve interactions between systems—for example, how a message from the brain tells muscles to move, or how hormones released from glands are controlled by the nervous system.
Why Focus on These Topics First?
The three subjects outlined above—chemical reactions, reproductive anatomy, and the nervous system—are not only commonly missed but also foundational. If you can understand these topics deeply, you will also improve your ability to reason through related questions, even if they involve unfamiliar terms or scenarios.
These topics also show up in other sections of the test. Chemistry principles might appear in word problems within the math section. Hormonal interactions can appear in reading comprehension passages. Understanding the nervous system can also help with interpreting cause-and-effect scenarios in science or even reading.
By frontloading your study plan with these challenging but essential topics, you create a strong foundation for the rest of your prep.
Cracking the Toughest TEAS Math and Chemistry Topics — A Focused Guide to Boost Your Score
The TEAS exam is a challenge for many test-takers, not because it covers obscure or advanced material, but because it asks you to recall and apply a wide range of foundational skills under time pressure. The key to succeeding is knowing where to direct your energy.
- How to calculate geometric quantities with confidence
- How to convert between standard and metric systems
- How to understand and apply the properties of solutions
These topics come from both the math and science sections of the TEAS, but they are united by one common factor: students tend to overlook them or cram at the last minute. Don’t let that be you. Start early, stay consistent, and use these tips and breakdowns to guide your study sessions.
Topic 4: Math – Calculating Geometric Quantities
Geometry questions on the TEAS often surprise students. While you might expect basic arithmetic and algebra, it’s the geometry portion that tends to trip people up. This part of the test assesses your understanding of area, perimeter, volume, and geometric reasoning.
What You Need to Know:
- Area formulas for basic shapes like rectangles, triangles, circles, and trapezoids
- Perimeter formulas for various shapes
- Volume calculations for 3D shapes such as cubes, cylinders, and spheres
- How to apply these formulas in real-life word problems
- How to work with units consistently, especially when calculating volume and area
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Many students have not practiced geometry since high school, and even those who remember some formulas may struggle to decide when and how to apply them. Another problem is not reading the question carefully—many word problems include unnecessary information, while others hide key data.
How to Master It:
- Start by reviewing and memorizing the basic formulas. Write them on flashcards or post them somewhere visible. For example, area of a rectangle is length times width. Volume of a cube is side cubed. Area of a circle is pi times radius squared.
- Practice unit conversion within geometry problems. If a question gives dimensions in inches but asks for volume in cubic feet, you need to convert all units before using the formula.
- Draw diagrams. Even if one is provided, sketching it yourself helps clarify what the question is asking. Label the sides and identify what you’re solving for.
- Identify keywords in word problems. Phrases like “how much paint is needed” suggest surface area. “How much water it holds” refers to volume. “Border” implies perimeter.
- Review geometric relationships. Know the Pythagorean Theorem and how it applies to right triangles. Understand how angles add up in various shapes.
Real-world TEAS example: A question might describe a cylindrical container and ask how much liquid it holds. You need to identify the radius and height, plug them into the volume formula for a cylinder, and express the answer in the correct unit.
Practice builds confidence in geometry. Make it a part of your regular study rotation, and you’ll be ready when it appears on the test.
Topic 5: Math – Converting Within and Between Standard and Metric Systems
Conversions are another stumbling block for TEAS students. These questions are deceptively simple: convert inches to feet, pounds to kilograms, or milliliters to liters. But under time pressure, even a small error can cost points.
What You Need to Know:
- Common conversions within the same system, such as inches to feet, cups to quarts, or grams to kilograms
- How to convert between metric units using prefixes like milli, centi, and kilo
- How to switch from standard to metric using given conversion factors, such as pounds to kilograms or ounces to milliliters
- How to solve two-step or multi-step conversions in word problems
- How to interpret conversion charts and apply them correctly
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Students often rely on memory or rough estimation, but the TEAS demands precision. You must be familiar with the correct conversion factors and understand how to multiply or divide by them to change units. Errors usually come from switching numerators and denominators or from using the wrong factor entirely.
How to Master It:
- Memorize the most frequently used conversion factors. Start with gallons to quarts, ounces to pounds, inches to feet, and similar everyday measures. Then focus on metric: 1 kilometer is 1000 meters, 1 meter is 100 centimeters, and so on.
- Learn how to use dimensional analysis. This method lets you cancel out units and ensure you’re setting up the problem correctly. Set the units you want to cancel diagonally from each other and multiply across.
- Practice converting both directions. Know how to convert from pounds to kilograms and back. Familiarity with both directions builds flexibility.
- Understand compound conversions. Sometimes, a question might ask you to convert from teaspoons to cups, or from Fahrenheit to Celsius. Break these into smaller, logical steps.
- Watch out for context clues. If a question asks for the amount of medicine in milligrams based on weight in pounds, the key is recognizing that the conversion goes from one system to another. Always check if you need to round to a certain number of decimal places.
Sample conversion scenario: A patient is prescribed 500 milliliters of fluid. How many ounces is that? Use the given conversion factor that 1 ounce equals approximately 29.57 milliliters, and apply dimensional analysis to find the answer.
Don’t just memorize formulas—understand what the numbers mean. Conversions appear frequently on the TEAS and often intersect with dosage calculations, fluid intake, or lab measurements in real-life healthcare settings.
Topic 6: Chemistry – Understanding the Properties of Solutions
This topic bridges chemistry and biology and appears in multiple parts of the science section. Understanding solutions is key to grasping how substances behave in the human body, how medications dissolve, and how cells transport nutrients and waste.
What You Need to Know:
- The difference between solutes and solvents
- What polarity means and why water is called the universal solvent
- The concept of concentration and how dilution affects it
- The definitions of osmosis and diffusion
- The difference between passive and active transport mechanisms in cells
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Students often memorize terminology without understanding the concepts. Terms like hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic can confuse even high-performing students when applied to real biological systems. Others struggle with the visual aspect of solute movement and the direction of flow in diffusion or osmosis scenarios.
How to Master It:
- Use everyday examples. Saltwater is a simple solution where salt is the solute and water is the solvent. Think about how sugar dissolves in tea or how medicine dissolves in blood plasma.
- Visualize concentration. A high concentration means more solute in less solvent. Diluting a solution reduces concentration by increasing the solvent. Practice with visual diagrams or online animations if needed.
- Understand the role of polarity. Water is polar, meaning it has slight charges on opposite ends. This allows it to dissolve many other polar molecules, making it essential for cellular transport.
- Learn osmosis and diffusion through analogies. Diffusion is like perfume spreading in a room—molecules move from high to low concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane.
- Differentiate passive and active transport. Passive transport requires no energy and includes diffusion and osmosis. Active transport requires ATP and moves molecules against their concentration gradient.
TEAS-style scenario: A question may describe a red blood cell placed in a solution and ask what will happen. If the solution is hypotonic, water enters the cell, causing it to swell. If hypertonic, water leaves the cell, and it shrinks. Understanding this concept is more important than memorizing isolated facts.
Properties of solutions are not just academic. In nursing, knowing how fluids move in and out of cells helps you understand dehydration, electrolyte balance, and how IV solutions work. Mastering this topic connects directly to clinical reasoning.
These Topics Build the Foundation for Medical Thinking
Let’s pause to think about why these three topics—geometry, conversions, and solutions—are so important. They are not just isolated test subjects. They form the foundation of how medical professionals think, measure, and act.
Geometry helps you calculate medication dosages, assess room layouts for safety, and understand wound measurements or fluid displacement. Conversion skills help you accurately interpret lab values, administer correct medication volumes, and understand intake and output charts. Solution chemistry helps you understand how the human body functions, how medications are absorbed, and how to spot complications in fluid balance.
Students often underestimate these topics because they seem basic or easy to ignore. But on the TEAS exam, they show up in complex forms, often hidden in word problems or real-life scenarios. By mastering these concepts now, you’re not only boosting your score—you’re laying the groundwork for success in your future clinical practice.
Sharpening Scientific Thinking — Microbiology, Reasoning, and the Endocrine System on the TEAS Exam
Science is the largest and most varied section on the ATI TEAS exam, and it is also where many students feel the most pressure. While questions about anatomy or chemistry may seem manageable with enough memorization, other parts of the science section require much more than simple recall. In fact, some of the most commonly missed questions on the TEAS require interpretation, analysis, and applied understanding.
- Predicting relationships among events, objects, and processes
- Understanding the role of microorganisms in disease
- Describing the anatomy and physiology of the endocrine system
These topics go beyond memorization. They ask you to think like a nurse, technician, or healthcare provider. They ask you to make connections, predict outcomes, and recognize how different parts of the body or the environment affect one another. Developing these skills now will serve you not only on the test but in clinical settings where fast, logical reasoning is essential.
Let’s dive in.
Topic 7: Scientific Reasoning – Predict Relationships Among Events, Objects, and Processes
This is one of the most misunderstood topic areas on the science portion of the TEAS. Instead of focusing on knowledge alone, this set of questions is built around logic, cause and effect, and sequencing. Think of it as the “thinking” section of science.
What You Need to Know:
- How to compare the size, time, or complexity of scientific phenomena
- How to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between two events
- How to predict the logical sequence of events within a biological or scientific process
- How to evaluate scientific evidence and assess its validity
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
This topic is challenging because it is open-ended. You won’t be asked to define a hormone or label a part of a cell. Instead, you may be asked to interpret what happens when a variable changes, or what the next step is in a chain of events. These questions often include diagrams, charts, or descriptions that require close reading.
How to Master It:
- Practice interpreting visual data. Graphs, tables, and illustrations often appear in these questions. Make sure you can identify trends, compare groups, and summarize results from visual sources.
- Understand basic biological processes. If you don’t understand how digestion works or how a nerve impulse travels, it will be harder to predict what comes next. Review these processes and break them into steps.
- Study cause-and-effect relationships. For example, if smoking damages lung tissue, what other effects might occur? Understand how one health behavior or biological action can ripple through systems.
- Apply your understanding of systems. Know how different body systems work together. If the kidneys fail, how does that affect the cardiovascular system? This kind of thinking will help you answer complex questions.
- Be wary of assumptions. TEAS questions often include distractors—answer choices that are tempting but not supported by the information given. Base your answers only on the data provided.
Example of a common question: You are given a diagram of blood glucose levels over time. The question asks what will happen next in the feedback loop. To answer, you need to understand how insulin responds to high blood sugar and what organs are involved.
This section rewards students who read carefully, think critically, and look beyond surface details. It is not about memorizing vocabulary—it is about understanding systems and predicting outcomes based on logic.
Topic 8: Biology – Describe the Role of Microorganisms in Disease
This topic falls under microbiology and often surprises students who focus mostly on anatomy and physiology. The TEAS includes several questions about pathogens, infections, and the role of microorganisms in both causing and preventing disease. These questions test your ability to identify types of microbes and understand their mechanisms of action.
What You Need to Know:
- The definition of a microorganism and examples of common types
- The difference between viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and parasitic animals
- The difference between infectious and non-infectious diseases
- How microbes cause disease and how they are transmitted
- Basic information about the immune system’s response to infection
- The types of microscopes used to view microorganisms
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Microbiology is a huge field, and many nursing students have limited exposure to it before taking the TEAS. The different types of pathogens can blur together, and many test-takers confuse viral and bacterial infections. Also, terms like protozoa or helminths are often unfamiliar and intimidating.
How to Master It:
- Make a chart of microbe types. Include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and parasitic animals. For each one, list its structure, how it reproduces, how it spreads, and what diseases it causes.
- Understand the difference between infectious and non-infectious disease. For example, diabetes is not caused by a pathogen, but influenza is. Practice classifying diseases based on their origin.
- Learn the immune response. Understand how white blood cells respond to an infection and how vaccines work to train the immune system. You don’t need to know all the cell types, but you should understand the overall function.
- Study common diseases and their causes. Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium. HIV is a virus. Athlete’s foot is caused by a fungus. Know the categories.
- Review microscope use. You may be asked about the best way to view a virus or what type of microscope is needed for a certain specimen. Know the difference between light microscopes and electron microscopes.
Scenario-based questions often describe a patient’s symptoms and ask you to determine the likely pathogen or transmission route. For example: A patient presents with diarrhea after drinking untreated water. What type of microorganism is likely responsible? The answer would probably involve protozoa such as Giardia.
Studying microorganisms also helps you understand basic infection control principles, which are essential for nursing and allied health careers. This topic connects deeply with patient safety, disease prevention, and the basics of epidemiology.
Topic 9: Anatomy – Endocrine System
The endocrine system is one of the more abstract areas of anatomy. Unlike the muscular or skeletal system, which deals with physical structures, the endocrine system regulates internal balance and hormonal signals that keep the body functioning. These signals are invisible, chemical, and systemic. That makes this system harder to visualize and harder to memorize.
What You Need to Know:
- The main glands of the endocrine system and what they secrete
- The function of major hormones like insulin, adrenaline, estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol
- The concept of homeostasis and how the endocrine system maintains balance
- The difference between positive and negative feedback loops
- How the endocrine system interacts with the nervous system
- How hormone imbalances affect other body systems
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Many students try to memorize long lists of glands and hormones without understanding what they actually do. Worse, some confuse endocrine functions with nervous system functions or forget how feedback loops work. Because hormone effects are indirect and often take time, it’s harder to grasp them than the immediate effects of nerve impulses.
How to Master It:
- Visualize the body’s command centers. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland work together like a control tower, sending messages to other glands. Understand their role in regulating the entire system.
- Group hormones by function. Instead of memorizing a random list, study them by category. For example, reproductive hormones, metabolism hormones, stress hormones. Learn what each group does.
- Draw and label feedback loops. Negative feedback keeps the body in balance, like how insulin lowers blood sugar. Positive feedback amplifies a response, like during childbirth. Practice drawing examples.
- Know the major glands. Learn the functions of the thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands, and gonads. For each gland, identify what it secretes and what effect that hormone has.
- Understand hormone imbalances. What happens when the thyroid is overactive or underactive? How does that affect metabolism? These are the kinds of logical connections the TEAS may ask you to make.
Endocrine system questions may also appear in applied forms. For example, you may be asked how the body responds to stress and which hormone is responsible. Or you might need to determine how a deficiency in insulin affects blood sugar levels. These are not just memorization questions—they require understanding how the endocrine system connects to health outcomes.
Systems Thinking Is the Key to Science Success
As we move deeper into the science content of the TEAS, one idea becomes clear: science on this exam is not about isolated facts. It’s about systems. You must understand how the body works as a collection of interacting parts—how the endocrine system communicates with the nervous system, how pathogens disrupt healthy function, and how the immune system responds to invasion.
Scientific reasoning questions reinforce this systems mindset. They ask you to look at a process and identify the next step, the underlying cause, or the most likely outcome. These are not just test questions. They mirror the thinking process of real healthcare professionals.
When a patient shows symptoms, a nurse must ask: What system is affected? What chain of events could have caused this? What interventions will help restore balance? These are the same thought patterns the TEAS science section is training you to develop.
By improving your ability to connect ideas, make predictions, and understand how systems function together, you’re not just preparing for the test—you’re becoming a more capable future clinician.
Language, Clarity, and Final Prep — Mastering the TEAS English Section and Creating a Winning Study Plan
In the final leg of your TEAS exam journey, attention shifts to a section that is often underestimated: English and Language Usage. Many students assume this part of the test will be easy, relying on their basic reading and writing background. But for test-takers who are not careful, this section can turn into a source of lost points due to rushed answers, vague understanding of grammar rules, and difficulty identifying the most effective word choices in a sentence.
- Using vocabulary and language effectively in writing
- Applying the writing process for clear communication
- Structuring your study plan for maximum results in your final prep weeks
- Reviewing the TEAS exam format one last time for test-day readiness
Strong language skills are essential not just for the TEAS, but for every part of your nursing or allied health career. From writing patient notes to interpreting instructions and charting observations, clear and precise communication is a must. Let’s ensure you have the tools to master this final section of the test
Topic 10: English – Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in Writing
The English and Language Usage section of the TEAS contains 37 questions, with a time limit of 37 minutes. It is divided into three major areas:
- Conventions of Standard English
- Knowledge of Language
- Vocabulary Acquisition
Of these, the ability to use language and vocabulary effectively in writing is one of the most frequently missed areas. Many students are unfamiliar with the expectations of professional or academic writing and struggle to identify what makes one sentence clearer or more appropriate than another.
What You Need to Know:
- The stages of the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing
- How to choose words that enhance clarity, precision, and tone
- How to identify and revise awkward, vague, or wordy sentences
- When and how to cite sources appropriately in writing
- How to write for a specific audience and purpose
Why It’s Commonly Missed:
Many students assume that their everyday writing habits, such as texting or informal speech, will be enough. However, the TEAS expects a higher level of formality and structure. Wordiness, informal tone, and lack of clarity are common mistakes. In addition, many students don’t realize that writing involves a process of revision—not just putting words on paper.
How to Master It:
- Understand the stages of the writing process. Good writing begins with planning. Before drafting a paragraph or essay, writers identify their purpose and audience. During drafting, ideas are placed on paper. Revision improves organization and clarity, while editing corrects grammar and punctuation. Publishing refers to sharing the final version. On the TEAS, you’ll be asked to identify which stage a sentence or action belongs to.
- Improve your vocabulary for academic and professional communication. Learn to recognize vague or inappropriate word choices. For example, instead of saying the patient felt bad, say the patient experienced discomfort or showed symptoms of nausea. Precision is key.
- Eliminate unnecessary words. Wordiness weakens writing. If a sentence says the exact same thing in fewer words, it is usually the better choice. Practice identifying redundant phrases and rewriting them concisely.
- Match tone and style to the audience. If writing to a medical supervisor, avoid slang or overly casual language. Use formal and respectful language. If writing instructions to a patient, aim for clarity and simplicity without being condescending.
- Recognize when to cite sources. While you may not be required to format citations on the TEAS, you should know when information requires attribution. If you are using facts, statistics, or quotations from another source, you must acknowledge that source.
Practice rewriting sentences to improve clarity. Look for exercises that ask you to choose the best version of a sentence from four options. These will help you sharpen your eye for effective language use.
Building a Study Plan for Your Final Weeks of TEAS Prep
As your exam date approaches, having a structured and realistic study plan becomes more important than ever. Whether you have one week or one month left, you can make significant progress by focusing on the highest-impact areas and following a plan that fits your schedule.
Let’s break down an efficient and focused study schedule you can adapt to your own timeline.
If you have four weeks until your test:
Week 1:
- Focus on anatomy and physiology: reproductive, endocrine, and nervous systems
- Review basic chemical reactions and bonding concepts
- Practice 10–15 math problems each day, especially involving word problems and formulas
- Take a diagnostic test to identify your weakest section
- Begin an error journal to track patterns and revisit concepts
Week 2:
- Focus on solution chemistry, osmosis, and diffusion
- Master geometry formulas and standard-to-metric conversions
- Add 15–20 English questions each day, focusing on grammar and usage
- Drill your weakest science topic using quizzes and explanation review
- Review your error journal and correct past mistakes
Week 3:
- Emphasize scientific reasoning and predicting outcomes
- Practice interpreting charts and data
- Take a full-length TEAS practice test under timed conditions
- Review and analyze each section of the test to identify time management issues
- Complete 2–3 short writing tasks and revise them for clarity and tone
Week 4:
- Focus entirely on review
- Revisit your error journal and flashcards
- Take one or two more full-length practice tests
- Focus on high-yield topics only
- Get plenty of rest and reduce stress by walking or stretching daily
- Prepare your test-day materials and location logistics
If you only have one or two weeks, condense this schedule and prioritize your weakest areas. Do not try to learn everything—focus on the most frequently missed topics and practice time management.
Final Test Day Tips
As the test date approaches, your confidence can make a big difference in how well you perform. Here are a few key things to remember for test day success:
- Get a full night’s sleep before the test. Being well-rested helps with focus, memory, and stamina.
- Eat a nutritious breakfast. Avoid heavy or sugary foods that may cause a crash in the middle of the test. A mix of protein and complex carbs is ideal.
- Arrive early. Whether you are testing online or at a center, give yourself extra time to settle and reduce anxiety.
- Bring everything you need. This includes a photo ID, confirmation of your testing appointment, and allowed materials (such as pencils or a basic calculator if permitted).
- Manage your time carefully. Don’t get stuck on one hard question. Mark it and return later if time allows.
- Stay positive. If you’ve followed a focused study plan and worked on your weaknesses, you are ready. Trust yourself.
Recap of the TEAS Exam Format and Focus
To help you organize your last-minute study strategy, let’s review the structure of the TEAS exam one more time:
Total Questions: 170 (150 scored, 20 unscored)
Total Time: 209 minutes
Sections:
- Reading: 45 questions, 55 minutes
- Math: 38 questions, 57 minutes
- Science: 50 questions, 60 minutes
- English and Language Usage: 37 questions, 37 minutes
Break: 10-minute optional break after the Math section
Scored Topics You Should Prioritize:
- Anatomy and Physiology (especially reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems)
- Chemistry (chemical reactions and solutions)
- Scientific Reasoning and Cause-Effect Analysis
- Math Skills (geometric calculations and unit conversions)
- Writing and Vocabulary Use
By understanding the weight and timing of each section, you can better manage your test-day energy and confidence.
Why This Work Matters
Every section of the TEAS exam is designed not just to test your academic memory, but to measure your readiness for real-life healthcare situations. The writing section measures whether you can chart patient information clearly. The science section checks your ability to understand bodily systems and scientific principles that underlie medical care. The math section evaluates whether you can calculate dosages, convert measurements, and solve patient-related word problems accurately. And the reading section confirms that you can interpret charts, evaluate instructions, and understand vital information quickly.
This exam is not just a hurdle. It is a foundation. The effort you put into preparing for it is also the effort you are putting into preparing for patient care, for teamwork in high-stress environments, and for professional communication.
It may feel like a lot. But when you look back on your study journey, you’ll see more than just facts and formulas. You’ll see persistence. You’ll see growth. And most importantly, you’ll see a beginning.
Your TEAS score is the key to entering the next phase of your career—a future filled with purpose, compassion, and lifelong learning. Whether your path leads to nursing, dental hygiene, radiologic technology, or another allied health field, this exam helps ensure that you’re prepared to meet the challenges ahead.
So take a deep breath. Reflect on what you’ve accomplished. And when test day comes, walk in with your head high and your plan in hand. You’ve earned it.
Final Words:
Preparing for the TEAS exam is more than a study plan. It’s a personal investment in your future. Every chapter you reviewed, every formula you practiced, every mistake you corrected—those are not just steps toward a higher score. They’re proof of your resilience, your discipline, and your determination to serve others in a meaningful way.
You’re not just learning how to pass a test. You’re learning how to think critically under pressure. How to explain complex information simply. How to read a situation, make decisions, and communicate clearly. These are the very skills you’ll carry into your first clinical rotation, your first shift as a nurse or technician, your first interaction with a patient who needs your care and confidence.
This exam is not the end. It’s the gateway.
You will be nervous. That’s normal. You will have moments of doubt. That’s human. But you also have every reason to be proud. You’ve faced the toughest concepts on the TEAS—science, math, reading, and writing—and you’ve pushed through them, one concept at a time.
So on test day, walk in with clarity. With courage. And with calm.
You are ready.
Let this be the first of many moments where you choose growth over fear, preparation over panic, and action over hesitation.
Your future patients are waiting for you.
Now go earn it.