I want to share some resources for those of you struggling to study for the TEAS or do not know where to begin. I will preface this with saying I did buy the $200 prep course from ATI and I will review it here as well. The prep course also gives you the 2 practice exams and the study manual. I also finished Anatomy and Physiology 1, Chemistry 1, and Microbiology prior to taking the ATI TEAS exam. I studied arduously for about 2 weeks. First, I'll give you a breakdown of my scores.
Overall: 96%
Reading: 89.4%
Math: 100%
Science: 100%
English: 95.8%
READING:
On the ATI TEAS exam, you will have 64 minutes to complete 54 reading questions, containing 6 pretest questions.
Obviously, reading was my worst section. I was really nervous when I was taking the test in the beginning and this is the first section you take on the exam. I think this is what tripped me up. I was focusing a lot on the time as well, and this caused me to have to reread the passages over and over. However, it was not excessively hard and I know I could've scored better had I calmed my nerves. So do not fret!
I will highlight some major things to focus on;
✔️ be able to read a passage and summarize it quickly
✔️ be able to read a passage and identify what the main ideas
✔️ be able to look at a set of directions and evaluate it (ex:which comes first?)
✔️ be able to interpret charts and graphics
✔️ be able to distinguish fact from opinion
✔️ be able to read a passage and determine what an appropriate title may be
✔️ be able to read a passage and infer conclusions
✔️ know the different types of writings; expository, informative, analytical and be able to tell which form a passage employs
✔️ be able to use context to understanding a words meaning
✔️ understand what a primary source is VS a secondary, tertiary, etc
Something to note is the passages you will be reading on the ATI TEAS exam are longer than what is given in the study manual. If you purchased the practice exams and did them, they are about the same as what is on there. They are about 3-5 paragraphs and you may be asked up to 5 or more questions about a particular passage. Managing your time here is key - I know many people struggle with it because simply reading the passage can take a lot of time and having to reread it multiple times starts eating away at the time you have to answer questions.
Practice, practice, practice. You need to become skilled at reading a passage the first time and understanding it. I did have a few minutes left over at the end to review my answers, but this section definitely took me the most time to complete. There were definitely some easy questions and some that really stumped me!
The format of the reading section on the practice exams were very similar to the actual exam.
MATHEMATICS:
On the ATI TEAS exam, you will have 54 minutes to complete 36 math questions, containing 4 pretest questions.
I personally do not like math and do not claim to be good at it whatsoever; yet, I made a perfect score! If I can do it, you definitely can. Honestly, you just need to become familiar with what is in the manual especially in regards to the practice problems. If you solve every problem and understand why you missed the ones you did, you will be good to go for the exam. I found the actual exam to be way easier than both the practice tests and the practice test in the manual! The greatest part of the math section? You get a four function calculator. You can use the calculator at any time throughout the math section. I used it on almost every question just to make sure I didn't slip up and make any silly errors.
I was not given any formulas on the exam. I was however given conversion factors, such as how many ounces were in a pound. They do not give you conversion factors between the metric system, so be sure to study and understand how to convert between one and the other. For example, there are 1,000 milliliters in a liter.
I will highlight some major things to focus on;
✔️ be able to round
✔️ be able to solve multiple variable equations
✔️ be able to set up and calculate proportions
✔️ understand percentages and percent increase/decrease
✔️ be able to rank numbers from greatest to least
✔️ understand units of the metric system
✔️ be able to read a graph and chart and interpret data from it
✔️ know the equations for the circumference and area of a circle
Here is a helpful mnemonic;
Cherry pie? Delicious! C=πD
Apples pies are, too! (too for squared!)A=πr^2
So, to reiterate, do all the practice problems in the manual and understand the steps to every single one. You will do fine! It's nothing more than basic algebra and maybe a little geometry!
SCIENCE:
On the ATI TEAS exam, you will have 63 minutes to complete 53 science questions, containing 6 pretest questions.
The dreaded science section...this is typically the lowest scoring section. It's just over so much material! I personally took Anatomy and Physiology 1, General Chemistry 1, and Microbiology before taking the ATI TEAS and I believe it helped me immensely. If you can, take at least Anatomy and Physiology before taking the exam. It helps a lot, especially if you don't have weeks and weeks to study. This section for me was easy because I studied it the most (and maybe I had a little dumb luck).
The manual clearly states the objectives you need for the science section, and trust me; you want to learn them ALL! I personally scoured through each section, over and over, until I felt decently confident. Then, I took a practice exam and realized where my weaknesses still lied. Then, I scoured those sections even more. It was hard, but given my score, it's worth it!
I will highlight some major things to focus on;
✔️ know basic anatomy terminology and directional terminology
✔️ know the 11 body systems to the best of your ability
✔️ know the 4 macromolecules and the types of bonds they form
✔️ understand chromosomes, genes and DNA
✔️ understand Mendel's Laws of heredity (independent assortment, equal segregation)
✔️ understand non-mendelian inheritance (codominance, epistasis, and incomplete dominance)
✔️ understand atomic structure (protons, neutrons, electrons...what makes up the atomic number? The atomic mass?)
✔️ properties of substances (solid, liquid, gas)
✔️ understand the types of chemical reactions and be able tobalance a chemical equation
✔️ understand basic measurements and measuring tools (graduated cylinder, balance)
✔️ understand hypotheses and conclusions
Personally, I found the practice exams science sections to be much harder than what I was given on the actual ATI TEAS exam.
RESOURCES FOR THE SCIENCE SECTION:
YouTube: I watched lots and lots of videos. There are a few channels I really recommend...especially for the body systems!
Bozeman Science: I've been watching this guy since I was in high school biology. He is great at explaining and I've found his videos to coincide very well with the ATI TEAS manual for the body systems! Seriously, I prefer him to KhanAcademy sometimes, which I know lots of people swear by. Give him a look!
KhanAcademy: Of course, I've still found KhanAcademy helpful as well. These videos contain extra information, I've noticed. I like to learn a system pretty well and then watch KhanAcademy to solidify what I know, and learn a few new things. KhanAcademy also has a website I highly recommend making an account on. They have a few lessons for a few of the body systems, with tons of videos and practice questions. It's free, might as well give it a shot!
PRACTICE EXAMS : If you can afford to buy them, just do it. It gives you a feel for the real exam and if you can do well on them, you will do well on the actual exam.
ENGLISH:
On the ATI TEAS exam, you will have 28 minutes to complete 28 English questions, containing 4 pretest questions.
Personally, this was the section I was most worried about. I don't know why. I've spoken English my whole life but a lot of it was terminology I hadn't remembered from grade school. For this section, it is best to read over the manual and learn the terms especially well. Then you can use those terms to determine how words function in sentences. Then, practice, practice, practice. Seriously, do as many practice questions as you can, especially if it isn't your strong suit. I contribute my perfect score to a lot of studying and again, dumb luck. The manual explains the objectives you need to know for this section. Just go over all of them. You'll need to understand spelling, sentence structure, the types of sentences, how word parts function within sentences, grammar, the difference between formal and informal language, steps of the writing process and using context clues to determine a words meaning!
RESOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH SECTION:
-Someone on this site actually gave me a link to a great website with practice questions. When you miss a question, it gives rationales and explains why. It was awesome and exposed me to different types of questions you may be asked.
Question 1 of the English and Language Usage Practice Test for the TEAS
-Others suggested an ATI TEAS app. There are so many on the app store, but I cannot guarantee all of them are good. There are some free and some you have to pay for. I personally did not use apps, but I can see how itwould be beneficial for someone on the go. You could answer questions as you had time throughout the day for those with busy schedules!
The ATI TEAS Prep Course
I had hardly found any information about the prep course before deciding to buy it. I was skeptical because it was so expensive, but I was worried I wouldn't do well without it especially with my limited time to study. This prep course is available through ATI's website.
Here were my experiences with the prep course.
#1 Some information was in the prep course online modules that was not in the manual and vice versa. You do get the manual with the prep course. I personally did not like this because I wanted to have all the information in one place which I thought I would get with the prep course. Saying that, it was inconvenient but not too much. I was fine because I scoured the manual just as much as the online modules.
#2 The prep course divides into 4 modules; one for each section of the exam. It starts you off by taking a pre-test for each section of the exam. Then, it tells you areas you may want to focus on more than others based on your score. After that, it breaks down each objective and supplies you with information and videos. At the end of each objective, you have a 5 question quiz. After completing all the objective quizzes for the first time, it allows you to take the post-test. The post-test contains a few less questions than what the actual exam has, so I found it helpful for me to practice my timing. After you do this post-test, it tells you again the areas you should focus on. You can then go back through whichever modules you want and complete another set of 5 questions for each objective. After that, you can complete the post-test again. I should tell you though, it is the same post-test you already took. The quizzes are different questions, but the post-test is the same. Be warned, the prep course only lasts 3 months! But, you can go through the modules as many times as you want during that time!
#3 Here was my biggest problem with the prep-course; I found errors in some of the questions. I would answer a question correctly, but it would tell me I was wrong and they would highlight the "correct" answer (which was not correct). I emailed ATI about 2 that I noticed and they said it would be remedied. Still, I was upset because I paid so much for the prep-course and yet there were errors. It made me wonder what other errors I might've missed!
Despite that, I found the prep course helpful. It condensed information for me to cram, cram, and cram some more. The price is a bit steep for what you're given so it's really up to the individual to decide what's best for them. Let me know your experiences with it!
There is so much more I could say, so I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. Feel free to comment, I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. I know I was extremely nervous to take this exam, so I want to help others if I can.
