Studying for the TEAS exam can be stressful. We put together this list of 12 TEAS tips to help you succeed when preparing for the exam.
Summary of 12 TEAS Tips:
- Understand the TEAS Exam
- Get a Baseline
- Narrow Down Struggle Areas
- Choose Your Prep
- Review TEAS Math Concepts
- Review TEAS Science Concepts
- Review TEAS English Concepts
- Review TEAS Reading Concepts
- Practice Time Management
- Test Your Knowledge
- Fine-Tune Specific Knowledge Areas
- Prepare for Test Day
If you want to begin preparing, head over to our TEAS practice questions home to begin.
1. Understand the TEAS Exam
Understanding the basics of the exam will help you get a better idea of what you are getting into. By knowing what to expect, you can better prepare, which will help you score better on the exam.
Here are some basics:
- There are 4 sections on the exam (math, reading, science, and English).
- Each section is timed.
- There are 170 total questions.
- You will have 209 minutes to complete the exam.
- Most schools require a minimum score of 75%.
For more details on the exam, review our TEAS exam overview guide.
2. Get a Baseline Score
Getting a baseline scoring is extremely important. 3 major benefits from getting a baseline score are:
- You will get a better feel for how the exam is formatted, the types of questions on the exam, and how the questions are asked.
- You will quickly figure out which areas of the test give you trouble.
- You will have a baseline score to track your progress as you study and learn more. This can be used as motivation throughout the study process.
You can get a baseline score by taking one of our free TEAS practice tests.
3. Narrow Down Struggle Areas
Narrowing down your struggle areas will help you study more efficiently. If you find that you really struggle with science, but are strong in math, you can focus your studies on science and save yourself some time.
It is important to be honest with yourself when narrowing down your struggle areas. It can be hard to focus on the areas we are not good at. However, this will help you in the long-run and save you a ton of time when studying for the TEAS exam.
4. Choose Your Prep
Choosing your prep is a very important step and one of the most important TEAS tips on this list.
Everyone studies and prepares in different ways. Some things to keep in mind when choosing your prep are:
- Learning style
- Amount of time you have to study
- Budget
All of those factors should be taken into account when choosing a prep resource. Our team put together a list of the best TEAS prep courses for you to review. We went into these courses and gave an honest review of them. You can use that to help you make a decision.
Once you choose your prep resource, you can dive into TEAS tips 5 through 8 below.
5. Review TEAS Math Concepts
If you are unable to narrow down one specific struggle area, we recommend starting with math. It is one of the most challenging portions of the exam for many students.
Some specific topics to make sure you know are:
- Order of Operations
- Decimals
- Fractions
- Rational Numbers
- Ratios and Proportions
- Conversions
- Percentages
- Time
- Algebra
- Word Problems
6. Review TEAS Science Concepts
Science is a close second when it comes to the most challenging portions of the TEAS exam. Some specific topics to make sure you know are:
- Life and Physical Sciences
- Scientific Reasoning
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Basics
- Tissues
- Respiratory System
- Circulatory System
- Digestive System
- Nervous System
- Muscular System
- Reproductive System
- Endocrine System
- Urinary System
- Skeletal System
7. Review TEAS Reading Concepts
After you have math and science mastered, move onto reading. This section can be a bit tricky as it involves reading passages and comprehending the information.
Some key topics to make sure you know are:
- Details
- Summarizing
- Logical Inferences
- Structure
8. Review TEAS English Concepts
Lastly, make sure you review English concepts that will be tested on the exam. Some key concepts include:
- Parts of Speech
- Parts of a Sentence
- Punctuation
9. Practice Time Management
Time management is an important skill to master before heading into exam day. Each section of the exam is timed, so you want to make sure you are comfortable with the timing aspect of the exam.
You can practice time management by taking practice exams. We recommend taking all exams with a timer. This will help you get a better feel for how long you can spend on each question.
Here is a breakdown of how long you can spend on each question of the exam for each portion of the exam:
- Math: 90 Seconds Per Question
- Science: 72 Seconds Per Question
- Reading: 73 Seconds Per Question
- English: 60 Seconds Per Question
Reading is one subject that many students find timing to be an issue on.
10. Test Your Knowledge
We recommend implementing this TEAS study tip when you are at the tail end of your studies.
For this step, we recommend sitting down and taking a full simulated exam. Taking a full exam will be a great indicator of where you stand and what you would score.
You can evaluate where you are at after you take the exam. You may be all set and ready for the actual exam. If you do not score as well as you would have liked, you can assess which areas you struggled with and continue studying.
Our #1 recommended provider, BoostPrep, offers a great TEAS prep course if you are looking for full-length exams and study resources.
11. Fine-Tune Specific Knowledge Areas
Use the information you gained from tip #10 above and focus on the areas you want to improve. This could be as simple as reviewing a simple topic like PEMDAS, or as complex as reviewing all the math topics again.
You need to be honest with yourself and figure out which areas need to be fine-tuned. It is best to take the time to study before the exam versus taking the exam, failing, and having to take it again.
12. Prepare for Test Day
After all of your studying is completed, you need to prepare for test day. This is the easy part! Here is a link to the ATI TEAS registration page.
To make sure you are prepared, you can do some things like:
- Finalize date and time of your exam
- Finalize your test site and location
- Ensure you are well rested and ready for test day
- Do any last minute review the day before the test
- Give yourself plenty of time to get to the testing site on test day
The main thing you want to do is eliminate any stress you can. This may mean getting to the testing site an hour early or eating a good meal beforehand.
