Passed TEAS (Finally)!!!

No two students will have the same study habits, as they truly ebb and flow. This is a story of a young lady who realized her challenges, sought help, and received more than tutoring to reach her goals.

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Passed TEAS (Finally)!!!

Kenoi (name changed), is a young, bubbly 22 y/o who has set upon the path of becoming a nurse. She performed fairly well in her prerequisite classes; strong in math and science, and fair in reading and comprehension. She has reached out to me, her future mother in law, to help her pass her TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) exam. Now, I truly adore Kenoi, because she reminds me of myself at her age. Lots of passion and driven to succeed. So of course I accept and we set up a date to review material. What I did not know at this point was...

Kenoi has taken, and failed the TEAS twice already...

She doesn't really like reading...

She lets gloom and doom invade her mental space, crowding out processes and retained information.

Shocked and a tad perturbed at this revelation, I ask Kenoi what made her wait so long to seek help, knowing this is her last attempt at passing this test, and preparing for the nursing program. Remember what I said about gloom and doom, when she spoke, she had bags and buckets of negativity, feelings of failure, defeat, and self loathing. I could clearly see challenges forming.

I examined her scores for the recently taken second TEAS exam. Small mistakes had big consequences. Kenoi had problems understanding what she was reading. Not only that, in some cases i discovered she wasn't reading at all as evidenced by a passage that I had her read aloud. At the end of the passage there were three questions that were related to the last sentence. Kenoi got them all wrong, as she did not read to the end of the paragraph.

Kenoi admitted skimming often as she read, even less if she did not find the topic interesting. I helped her see that those three questions she missed were 33.3% each, and she just failed the whole section. This could have easily played a hand in her failed attempts. Gently getting her attention, I let her know that if you want a different result, changes have to be made. If the same behavior is repeated, you will have the same result.

I could tell Kenoi was getting a bit flustered and apprehensive. We had a lot of ground to cover, but clearly she wasn't feeling it. I stopped her, and told her that her energy was off. I got some Lavender essential oil and put a dab on her bilateral wrist pulse points, both ears, and temples. I also placed Ylang Ylang to her heart, throat, and third eye chakras. I urged her to push out negative feelings of angst, failure and despair. and replace them with sun, damp earth, and rainbows. As she sat, I felt the energy around her, it was dense and hot, almost oppressive. I continued this action of swatting and replacing energy until it felt lighter, and she more relaxed. We were far from finished.

After reviewing more material, we mapped out her strengths and weaknesses, and came up with a study plan. Kenoi was told to pace herself as she read. Take note of the content being asked, especially percentages and comparisons and ask herself, could this be a question? She was told that all the material is important to read, and the questions answered. Just answer the question, don't ponder "what if", "I think it's asking", or "I thought that meant"...just answer the question. Pick the answer that addresses all elements of the question. I urged her to tell the Negative Nellie to "kick rocks", as she is no longer welcome. Lastly, I instructed her to see me the night before testing for a full body massage. She thanked me for the insight, and set off to prepare for this final round, differently.

The night before testing came a week later. During the massage session I applied Lavender infused oils and performed a full Reiki session. Afterwards, as we sipped coconut water I asked her how she felt, and did she feel prepared after making the changes in her review process. Her eyes were bright, and she exclaimed "Yes!" with the biggest smile. She did appear more focused, and much calmer. I hugged her and sent her home with solid words of encouragement.

Testing was at 09:00 the next morning. I sent Kenoi a message of love and encouragement, and told her "You got this, get it done". She replied and thanked me for the sweet words and the awesome massage. She said she felt ready, and would call me after the test.

And so I waited, seeing sun, wet earth, and rainbows...

Kenoi passed with marked improvement compared to the previous test. No errors on the math, and reading scores were exceptional. She was later accepted into the Spring 2016 nursing class. I told her to see me often as needed for tutoring, pow wow sessions with a study group, or pretest prep. I am sure she will do well.

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MSNMBA

About MSNMBA

am a board certified massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. I believe in the benefits of massage, and encourage the flow of positive energy everyday.

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I took my test Nov. 9th as well. I passed with a 70%. Unfortunately, this score is 15% lower than what I was going for. I studied the material (ATI manual/online practice test A and B) thoroughly. Once I began the reading section, I began to feel nervous about my answer choices while reading the passages. I scored 63% in the passage area and 93% in the other half. Math was okay but still a bit nerve wrecking. My anxiety really kicked in with the science section. The questions were presented in a different way from what I expected. I really had to think critically in this section. I spent too much time re-reading the question and ran out of time. I scored 68% in the science portion. Then came English. I was born and raised in America and I would have thought my score would be great. Not at all. I scored lowest in that area with a 66%. I want to retake the teas but I will need to take the new version coming out in August 2016. :( Over all, I wish I would have been able to focus more in order to make better answer choices. I knew I could have done a better but my nerves got the best of me.

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I know I am worried plan to take it at the end of the summer. Study during the summer and take it late August/September...then study my weak area's over again and take it in October. If need be take it again January/February.

My fiancé struggled at it scores were a 58 and 76. Never was required to take a college algebra class for nursing school so struggled in the algebra section.

Math is kind of my weakness trouble with stays, Calc., and graphing/quadrants.

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It is understandable to be worried. I held off on taking the teas for a long time because I was worried. Honestly, there are some areas where the exam was easy but due to my anxiety, I was not making logical decisions. I would highly suggest relaxing and do not get overwhelmed or too stressed. If I listened to my own advise, I would have done better on my exam. I am not so hot in math either but the math section was not bad at all. There were problems like multiplying/dividing percent, roman numeral questions, etc. You will do great. Stay focus but aware of your time and stay positive. :)

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moana contreras said:
I took my test Nov. 9th as well. I passed with a 70%. Unfortunately, this score is 15% lower than what I was going for. I studied the material (ATI manual/online practice test A and B) thoroughly. Once I began the reading section, I began to feel nervous about my answer choices while reading the passages. I scored 63% in the passage area and 93% in the other half. Math was okay but still a bit nerve wrecking. My anxiety really kicked in with the science section. The questions were presented in a different way from what I expected. I really had to think critically in this section. I spent too much time re-reading the question and ran out of time. I scored 68% in the science portion. Then came English. I was born and raised in America and I would have thought my score would be great. Not at all. I scored lowest in that area with a 66%. I want to retake the teas but I will need to take the new version coming out in August 2016. :( Over all, I wish I would have been able to focus more in order to make better answer choices. I knew I could have done a better but my nerves got the best of me.

May I ask where are you located and August 2016 will it be the TEAS V5 ?.

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I am located in Mission Viejo, CA. The nursing administration office informed us the day of the exam for TEAS V that a new version will be coming out in August 2016. I assume it will be TEAS VI.

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I have taken the teas test twice and for some reason my grammar score does not seem to be improving!! My other subjects are decent. I have studied from the ati manual book and the score for grammar just has no improvement. What are some of your suggestions for grammar??

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Specializes in LTAC,.

I'm taking the TEAS V again in Jan., I have yet to pass this test. I've almost given up. suggestions please.

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Hi All,

I have heard about how hard the TEAS V exams are compared to others.

I just want to send some encouragement; study, pray, go in with faith and give it your best, and you will succeed. Never give up trying.

Good luck to all

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Taking TEAS V in the spring. I love my ATI study guide for it. I rather study it during my school breaks when I don't have classes or homework to commit to. Good luck to all yet to take TEAS!

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Finally passed my TEAS last Wednesday. I really struggled with science and english.

The first time I took the english section i scored a 54%. I studied the english section in the ATI TEAS book day in and day out. I visited my schools writing lab and the instructor suggested I try a book called 'The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation'. I read through the entire thing, took about four hours, and passed the english section with an 86%. I 100% would not have passed had it not been for the blue book. It is written SO much more clear than the TEAS study guide.

Grammar and Punctuation | The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Good luck!

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Specializes in Nursing Program Applicant.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to create such an informative, and thoroughly descriptive study and TEAS test-prep strategy. This is actually what I wished I had (and now I do!). Again, much gratitude.

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