My two cents on the TEAS test (loooong post)

[KristinaT]

I took the TEAS test yesterday after two extremely intense weeks of studying and I got a 90.7%. Hurray! I was super excited and I felt that my hard work had paid off, so I thought I would share a few tips and some general thoughts on the test and hopefully they will help someone else who is about to take the test.....

I bought and studied the ATI Study Guide, but I also bought the McGraw study guide but barely cracked it open. I am also fresh off of taking Microbiology and Organic Chemistry so science is super fresh on my brain. That said, I still struggled with the science portion the most (as most of you have/will). I studied that section backwards and forwards but with every practice test I still missed about 8 of the questions, especially in the chemistry and life science portion so that is where I focused my time.

How I studied:

About two weeks out from the test I started going through the study guide, doing the math and science questions first because those are my weakest areas. Twice that week I got together with some girls to study and that was really helpful with math/science. I would not say that the math sections were hard but it had been so long since I had done any math. If math is your weak area then I think that the study guide really gives you everything you need for the test and there won't be anything crazy thrown in, but really know and understand the concepts because there are many two step questions where you will have to do a first step to get one answer and then use that answer in a second step.

About one week out I started doing the practice tests in the book. I did one or two sections of each practice test and when I was taking the test I starred questions I felt that I needed to brush up on, even if I got the answer right. Starting this early made it easier to really understand the concept and make sure I didn't feel weak in any areas. I did the practice tests over the course of a few days and just generally took my time doing them. Anything I felt weak on or that I thought I needed to go over I put down on a "cheat sheet". I would carry that paper with me in my purse and to work and when I had 10mins I would look it over or ask someone to quiz me on what I had written down. I think this was really important in how I retained the info because I didn't try to cram it in at the last minute.

My thoughts on the online practice test:

Now here's where I got really stressed: I paid for and took the online practice test the night before my actual test. When I started the test and I completed question one the ATI site locked up and I couldn't click on anything! It was so frustrating! I eventually had to switch to my husbands laptop and finish the test that way but it took over an hour of trying to get it to work before I started it again.

And I read it here before I took the test and I will say it again.....THE ONLINE PRACTICE TEST WAS EXPONENTIALLY HARDER THAN THE ACTUAL TEST. I mean, crazy harder. I knowt that's just my opinion but I got a 76% on the practice test and I was so upset! I felt that all of the work that I had been doing for the prior two weeks wasn't paying off. I was really discouraged and went to bed early, feeling like crap. I even woke up and thought about rescheduling the test because I felt like maybe I needed time to study. But you know what? I knew I had studied hard and I was tired of studying, honestly. So I took it, sweaty palms and all, and got a score I'm happy with (even though I keep going over all of the questions I know I got wrong and thinking, "What if?!?").

So my advice would be to buy and take an online practice test so you can get a feel for what it will be like but do not psyche yourself out over it. There were some questions on there that helped me in the long run on the actual test so I think it's worth it.

Here are the main subjects I would suggest studying:

Reading

Math

Science

Grammar

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Ok--that was a novel for you, but I hope that this helps someone else because I would have loved to know all of this info before I went into it. Good luck and if you have questions then you can message me--happy studying!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

That is correct. We ask that per the terms of service to which everyone agrees when they join, that they NOT post specifics of tests as this can be considered academic dishonesty. Thanks.

[stewartfamily2010]

Thanks so much for posting this! I am definitely going to go with the ATI study guide. I'm just wondering if should I get the study manual which has two written practice or the study package that also comes with two online practice assessments? Is the TEAS exam given on a computer?

[KristinaT]

Yes, I guess my full explanations of what was on my test wasn't allowed--sorry! Rules understood now.

As far as the questions regarding the test booklets--I think that the ATI is absolute necessary for you to know what will be on the test, don't get me wrong. It has 97% of what you need to know and the only section I thought was lacking was the science section. I have the McGraw "Nursing School Entrance Exams", which is not specific to the TEAS but has the same science section as the other TEAS specific book (my friend has one of those and we compared). I thought that after going over the science in the ATI book that then supplementing with the extra info in the McGraw was best. I think if you know those sections backwards and forwards then you're golden. I thought there was more chemistry related questions that just straight biology or anatomy.

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't have notifications set up for my posts. I've changed that now so if you have questions then let me know.

[tom harris]

My two cents.

For those who come on and claim that they scored above an 87 on the Teas and did so with just studying in two weeks, I rather doubt it. Microbiology and Organic Chemistry are not even on the Teas. To score in the upper 80's or low 90's is to be in the top 1 percent.

Not saying that it isn't possible but you aren't the person to be giving advise to most of the per-nursing students that are having a difficult time passing the exam. It is a very difficult exam to pass and the average amount of time for those who did not just take the another standardized achievement test, it will take at least a month of constant study or three months to really do well on the test.

Best advice, if any community college is offering a Teas Prep course, I would suggest taking it. Sadly, not enough of these courses are being offered. There are a lot of companies out there who will charge 1000$ or more to help with the Teas. These places wouldn't do so well if this test was easy to prepare to take. Other than that, be careful for the ATI teas prep is expensive but it is well worth the money to prepare before you take the exam. The ATI book is a waste of time and money. I purchased it and all I found were a lot of mistakes.

Take a good two or three months to really review grammar,punctuation, vocabulary, reading comprehension, anatomy and physiology, basic chemistry, general science, general math, algebra and statistics. This is a very hard test and there simply isn't a way to magically get a good score. It takes time and effort to succeed.

[dreamnursing2]

Thank you Tom. You seem to understand what the majority of us who struggle with TEAS. Almost everyone who shares their experience have scored high 80s and 90s. I have yet to come across someone here who said "look i did bad on my first try, I failed but this is what i did to bring my score back up." I seem to search the threads here but everyone's posts is about how well they did on their first try.

I failed the first try and i am placed on remediation for one full year to study and re take the exam. although one year is a bit too much i feel that the more time the better.