How I studied for the TEAS V Exam

[Haleyyy]

Hello! I recently took the proctored TEAS V exam and I wanted to share how I prepared for the exam in hopes that it can possibly help those who are currently preparing to take it! I found many of the forums on this website very helpful, so I thought I'd put in my two cents too  just an FYI before I begin, this post will NOT contain any questions/answers on the proctored exam...Anyways, I took the paper/pencil exam two days ago and found out that I scored a 90.7%, putting me in the 99th percentile for the nation! The only study material I purchased was the ATI Study Manual package that comes with two written practice tests and two online practice tests that you take on the ATI website. I HIGHLY recommend spending the money to buy the ATI study material because it covers exactly what you need to know! I suggest giving yourself plenty of time to study prior to your exam because there is a lot of information to process and remember. I spent a total of 4 weeks studying for my exam, and I studied about 3-4 hours per day. So here is a layout of how I organized those 4 weeks.

WEEK 1

During the first week, I focused on reading through the entire manual and highlighting important information. I worked on all of the practice problems, but I did not take any of the practice exams nor did I take any notes. I mainly focused on familiarizing myself with the topics covered.

WEEK 2

The second week, I went through the manual and took detailed notes for each of the four sections (reading, math, science, and english). This really helped me to organize the information in ways that better helped me to understand it. Writing stuff down really helps me to learn the info more quickly and retain it better. I spent one day each for reading, math and english, and four days on the science as that section is a lot larger. After taking notes for a particular section, I took the coinciding section on the first written practice exam in the back of the manual. (For example, after taking notes for the reading section, I took only the reading section on the first practice exam.) I also timed myself for each portion the exam to practice staying within the time limit given for each section on the proctored exam. After taking each practice exam, I reviewed the material that I got wrong.

WEEK 3

During the third week, I continued to review my notes for each section. After reviewing a section, I took the respective portion of the second written practice exam in the back of the manual and then reviewed the material I struggled with and got wrong. (Similar the the previous week.) At the end of the week, I took Form A of the online practice exam on the ATI website. The online exams do not have a time limit, but there is a timer that shows you how long you are taking. Because each form of the online practice exams can be taken twice, the first time I took them I did not time myself. I focused mainly on taking notes for the questions I got wrong, especially for the science section because the questions asked on the science are vastly different from the information studied in the manual (more on this at the end of my post...). The neat thing about these exams is that after you answer a question it immediately tells you if you got the answer correct or wrong, and gives you reasons as to why each answer option was wrong/correct. Take notes during this time because you cannot go back after finishing the exam to review the questions!

WEEK 4

To begin the fourth week, I took Form B of the online practice exams, taking notes in the process. A majority of the fourth week, I just reviewed, reviewed, reviewed and practiced a ton! The weekend before my exam I took each of the online practice exams a second time, and this time I timed myself.

*A note on the online practice exams vs the manual practice exams: The practice exams in the back of the manual are very consistent with the material in the manual. On the other hand, while I found the reading, math and english portions of the online exams to be consistent with the manual, the science was not! It asked many questions about material that is not covered in the manual, which is why I highly recommend purchasing the online practice exams!

Anyways, hopefully this post can help give you some structure as to how to approach studying. Sorry it is a bit lengthy..haha . My biggest advice is to just practice a ton and become familiar with the format and time limits of the exam! Best of luck!

[funsizedprenurse]

Thank you! This is something I've been looking for. I didn't receive the TEAS score that I wanted. I'm taking it the second time but I don't know if I should plan ahead two months or a month from now.

[Haleyyy]

Sure! Hopefully it helps! I'm sorry you didn't recieve the score you wanted, but at least the second time you take it you will know what to expect! :) not knowing what the exam would be like made me so nervous and that can really effect performance! I think it just all depends on how comfortable you are with the material. I think a month would be enough time to focus on the material that you struggled with on the proctored exam, as well as reviewing the other material so that you don't forget the easier stuff. For me personally, I know that if I had spent more time studying than I did, I'd feel pretty burnt out and the material gets pretty redundant after a while. Best of luck preparing for your next exam! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help :)