TEAS Exam Just taken-A man's view

opradiva · Jan 23, 2007

I completed the TEAS Exam within the last three hours and this is my story:
I bought two books. The first book is called "Master the Nursing School and Allied Health Entrance Exams"...which has absolutely nothing to do with the TEAS so there's $20 down the drain-I became the sucker that pays for their children's education. The book says that it prepares you for the TEAS and many other tests, but the questions on the Science and Math are different from the TEAS exam I just took. This book's Qs are of a much higher level and are meant to scare the *&^% of you.
The other book I bought is the mandated "Pre-Test Study Manual for the TEAS" from ATI ($35)...which is a MUST HAVE !
The whole test is based on being able to read instructions well. The ATI-Study Manual allows you to get prepared for the format of the exam and the odd way that some of the questions are structured. I have two bachelor's degrees,an 'A' in Calculus, done chemistry, physics, A&P1,...and I might have failed this if I didn't get the study manual.
When I was writing it, I noticed that some of the questions do have two answers. NO...don't give me the saying that you have to pick the most right...because that's a crock. Maybe 3% to 1% of the Qs in the Exam I could have argued easily. But I passed and now you (reader) can deal with them.
When you study, try really hard to notice that most Qs in the Math section have short cuts. Many Qs are very very similar to the one in the book...just change the numbers. Redo the Practice exams maybe five times each so you are well prepared for the format and you'll understand how some Qs are structured to trick you. Between half to 3/4 of the math exam is very similar to the practice Qs in the ATI manual.
I took the Exam at Norwalk Community College. My grade was a 85%. The class as a whole got a 87%. I read over the Science portion of the study manual and did all the exams in the book to get used to the way the Qs are asked and I timed myself. When you time yourself in the practice test try to give yourself a minute-per-question. This will help you get faster through the exams and relax you for the exam.
When I finished each section I would have maybe 10 minutes in each setion to spare, thus I went back and noticed I had answered some simple things incorrectly. I was surprised at what I found.
The words in the English section where I had to identify the correct spelling were: indefinitely, luxury, guaranteed, preferably, and accommodate. They might seem simple to you as you read this but I couldn't distinguish between luxary, luxery, nor luxury which was correct on the exam. As I tried to say them to myself, they all sound the same...and I noticed that about 60% of everyone was saying the words to themselves.
For the Science section, all you should know is: What is density...know formula and definition. Know inches-cm, cup-gallon (how many cups are in 2 gallons...I answered 24, since I didn't study that I gussed, still don't know if that's right.
I actually prepared myself to fail it since I had no idea what I was going to be taking. I have applied to both NCC in CT and Gateway CC in CT. Gateway doesn't require any pre-requisits...NCC wants you to do a ton of them. I was reading through the forums and noticed that some BSN schools ask for 3.6 GPAs and a whole bunch of pre-requisits. Not these schools. I thought about doing an accelerated BSN but I decided CC is better. At the end wer'e all nurses.

Well, your post came just in time for me. I'm taking the TEAS test in February. I have about three weeks before test day. I am VERY afraid.

Unfortunately, I am unable to purchase the practice book from ATI. All my school expenses are coming out of my pocket, so there's no money left over for the study guide. I've been going to the TEAS website, and there are some practice modules there that I have been doing off and on for the past two weeks. Do these help?? Thanks for posting your experience. It makes me feel a little bit better. I just wish I could get that study guide.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2007

Thanks for the post I am taking this test Feb 9th . I have taken it before but do not remember much about it....

Jared Mazzies · Jan 23, 2007

By the way, the exam I took and that you'll take is on-line. You do get scrap paper though. There is a little timer on top of the screen counting down the minutes & seconds for you so you won't need a stopwatch.

The breakdown of the Exam is roughly:

Reading..............................40 Qs - 45 minutes

Math..................................45 Qs - 50 minutes

Science..............................30 Qs - 35 minutes

English and Language Usage...55 Qs - 70 minutes

I also printed every single page from the www.testpreview.com website that concerned itself with the TEAS. Don't bother with the Science part of the website that they give you...it's ridiculously hard, the Science stuff on the TEAS is much easier.

I wrote the messages above because this forum has very limited info on this exam. I was bewildered and felt like a deer staring into headlights (TEAS Exam) due to the lack of knowledge available to struggling student and pre-students

Hey, OPRADIVA, I went to the ATI website but didn't do the practice modules-no advise there, however, you're the lucky winner today of wonderfully used "Pre-Test Study Manual for the TEAS" from ATI worth a whopping ($35). Yeah, but that's not all folks, "tell OPRADIVA what else she's won". You've won all my English and Math printed material from the "testpreview" website...Yahoo...

I can mail all the stuff I have to you tomorrow (e-mail me an address)...since I passed it, all these papers and the book are only good as toilet paper to me.

Jared Mazzies · Jan 23, 2007

To: txspadequeen921, there's nothing wrong with repeating the exam. Hell, I was prepared to repeat it. The reason why I passed is because I practiced maths alot and I read the Qs many times over during the test.

If you end up not passing it the second time, ok, just go to another school a few hours away that has a different entrance exam. There are some people that live in Boston and drive to work to NY City every day. I knew a women that would drive 3 hours just one way for her job..that's six hours every day. Crazy...maybe...depends on how much you want it.

WickedRedRN, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2007

Thanks for the info...I am testing next week for the LPN to RN program entry. Since I just did my NCLEX today, my brain is understandably fried. I will start test prep maybe tomorrow, Thurs at the latest. I do have the Study book you used, glad to know it helped!

natrgrrl · Jan 24, 2007

This is MUCH appreciated info. I'm also taking the TEAS in early Feb. The school library is supposed to have a copy of the study guide but it is never available. I'm on the waiting list for it but probably won't get it until day of or day after my test.

I would love to hear how everyone did on their test. By the way, is the score given to you automatically or do you have to wait for it.

opradiva · Jan 24, 2007

By the way, the exam I took and that you'll take is on-line. You do get scrap paper though. There is a little timer on top of the screen counting down the minutes & seconds for you so you won't need a stopwatch.
The breakdown of the Exam is roughly:
Reading..............................40 Qs - 45 minutes
Math..................................45 Qs - 50 minutes
Science..............................30 Qs - 35 minutes
English and Language Usage...55 Qs - 70 minutes
I also printed every single page from the www.testpreview.com website that concerned itself with the TEAS. Don't bother with the Science part of the website that they give you...it's ridiculously hard, the Science stuff on the TEAS is much easier.
I wrote the messages above because this forum has very limited info on this exam. I was bewildered and felt like a deer staring into headlights (TEAS Exam) due to the lack of knowledge available to struggling student and pre-students
Hey, OPRADIVA, I went to the ATI website but didn't do the practice modules-no advise there, however, you're the lucky winner today of wonderfully used "Pre-Test Study Manual for the TEAS" from ATI worth a whopping ($35). Yeah, but that's not all folks, "tell OPRADIVA what else she's won". You've won all my English and Math printed material from the "testpreview" website...Yahoo...
I can mail all the stuff I have to you tomorrow (e-mail me an address)...since I passed it, all these papers and the book are only good as toilet paper to me.

Jared Mazzies, I sent you an email. I can't thank you enough!

Jared Mazzies · Jan 24, 2007

The score is given to you at the end of the total exam. There you'll get the score of the separate sections as a percentage and a total score as a percentage too.

Galore · Jan 25, 2007

If you have taken any of the other nursing entrance exams, the TEAS isn't that bad. I thought the reading section was a little weird, not really what I was expecting. I'm used to SAT style reading passages and responding to analytical questions and this was more like literally testing your ability to read and find the right answer. There is no room for interepretation, the answers are pretty black and white, right there in front of you.

I reviewed my A&P and chemistry notes for the science section but that wasn't much help. The material was so random and I vaguely recalled going over some of the questions they asked in 7th grade Bio/Life science! At the end of your test, you get your results immediately and it breaks it down by section.

Jules A, MSN · Jan 26, 2007

Hey, OPRADIVA, I went to the ATI website but didn't do the practice modules-no advise there, however, you're the lucky winner today of wonderfully used "Pre-Test Study Manual for the TEAS" from ATI worth a whopping ($35). Yeah, but that's not all folks, "tell OPRADIVA what else she's won". You've won all my English and Math printed material from the "testpreview" website...Yahoo...
I can mail all the stuff I have to you tomorrow (e-mail me an address)...since I passed it, all these papers and the book are only good as toilet paper to me.

Very cool! I was going to add that often times the older versions of this stuff can be purchased from Amazon really cheaply. I know the last couple of versions of the CLEP study guide that I used had the exact same questions. Also check the library for study guides in a pinch. Good luck to everyone taking them.

krenee · Jan 26, 2007

I would love to hear how everyone did on their test. By the way, is the score given to you automatically or do you have to wait for it.

I took this about two weeks ago and was very relieved! I scored 98th percentile!

Some things I could've done better on - the genetics stuff, and metrics conversions.

Some things I studied a lot and didn't need - these obnoxious word problems having to do with percentages and "work" problems, like 3 people working on whatever, how long will it take for them to do it together. I agonized over those when studying and none of those on there! Now, I imagine all the tests aren't identical so I hope I'm not giving out bad advice, but overall, the math problems on the exam were MUCH easier than the math (word problems in particular).

There wasn't much anatomy either.

I also wish I had taken the time to go over the English/spelling portion of the exam. Those are really strengths of mine but I didn't score 100 in all areas, so I should've taken a second look.

Hope this helps someone!

Kelly