HESI A2 vs TEAS (4 Key Differences You Should Be Aware Of)

The main difference between the HESI and TEAS exam is the knowledge required to take the exam. TEAS focuses more on the general knowledge required to take the exam.

TEAS focuses more on the general knowledge, while the HESI exam focuses on subjects required to practice medical professions with a license and professional certificate.

1. Content

While both of these exams are designed to measure the same core components, they have different sections and methods for testing.

HESI

The HESI A2 has at least 9 sections. The HESI exam could have more sections depending on your specialty program.

The HESI A2 exam tests your ability in reading, grammar, use of the English language, life, and physical sciences, math, anatomy, and physiology.

The anatomy and physiology section of the HESI A2 test will test your knowledge of human anatomy and basic physiology functions.

The basic math portion will test your knowledge of arithmetic and some algebra.

The biology questions will require you to understand basic biological processes. The chemistry questions will revolve around basic and stoichiometric chemistry.

For the grammar, reading comprehension, and vocabulary questions, you will be expected to exhibit your English and language usage skills effectively.

The learning and personality style sections do not require studying.

TEAS

The TEAS exam only has four sections. When it comes to the HESI and TEAS test, the TEAS is much shorter and is often considered easier.

The TEAS exam has reading and science sections, which are designed to test your ability to succeed in nursing school.

The reading section will test your comprehension of key ideas and details. It will also test your knowledge of sentence and reading passage structure.

The math section will test your knowledge of algebra, data interpretation, and arithmetic.

The science section will test you on anatomy, physiology, life, physical, and basic sciences. You should have a thorough understanding of scientific reasoning. The language section will test vocabulary and standard English usage.

2. Length

The HESI test is much longer than the TEAS. When taking the HESI A2, you should be prepared to sit for about 4 hours.

The TEAS exam takes about 209 minutes or 3.5 hours to complete.

3. Difficulty

Most students argue the HESI is harder than the TEAS. This might be due to the increased length of the HESI test.

The TEAS vs HESI exam is known to be a bit less specialized. You will likely need to study more when you take the HESI due to its increased specialization.

When you take the TEAS, you can rely on some of the general knowledge that you learned in math and science.

To do well on the HESI, you need to understand more specialized information pertaining to anatomy and other life sciences.

Many students study for the HESI before the TEAS since it is more difficult.

If you study for the HESI, then you will likely be prepared if you need to take the TEAS. You should practice for both exams if you need to take both.

4. Scoring

They will base your scores on the average of all the applicant’s scores. The average minimum that most schools expect is more than 60%.

The ATI TEAS and HESI are scored similarly. They are both scored on a scale of 0 to 100%.

You will receive a composite score and an individual score for each section.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ― W.B. Yeats

In this guide, we will provide you with the essential study tips for the HESI and the TEAS tests.

Make sure you plan to study for a couple of weeks before you take the exam.

1. Practice Tests

One essential component of studying for any standardized test is to utilize practice exams that are similar to the real thing.

You should time yourself exactly like you will be timed when you take the real test. You should also get your score by marking all of the answers you got wrong.

We recommend taking practice exams at the beginning of your studying journey to see your baseline score and how much you need to improve.

2. Practice Questions

Another great way for students to study is to answer as many practice questions as they can.

You do not have to complete these under timed conditions, but we recommend going through the answer explanation for every question you get wrong.

3. Targeted Section Studying

You should have a thorough understanding of your strengths and weaknesses before you take the tests.

It is critical you focus on the areas that will improve your score the most.

If you struggle with the science section of the HESI or TEAS, then you should spend your time studying physical and life sciences.

The TEAS exam requires fewer practice tests related to the “hard sciences.”