TEAS scores, and what you actually need

There is no passing score on the TEAS. That is not a technicality — it is ATI’s own position, and it changes how you should read every number you see quoted online.

ATI’s answer to "what score do I need?"

ATI states it plainly: each school sets its own cut score for the TEAS exam. There is no national pass mark, no minimum ATI enforces, and no score that guarantees admission anywhere.

What ATI adds is directional rather than numeric — that your school will most likely want you at the proficient preparedness level or above. Which is useful, and is still not a number you can apply to your own application without checking your program.

This is why this site does not print "you need X to pass". Any site that does has either invented the figure or taken one school’s requirement and generalized it.

What the score report contains

The report is called the Individual Performance Profile. It gives a total score, a score for each of the four content areas, and sub-content scores inside those — all expressed as percentages from 0 to 100.

Total and content-area scores are equated, meaning they are adjusted for differences between exam forms so that two people who sat different versions can be compared fairly. Your total is therefore not simply the raw fraction of items you got right.

The three numbers to find before you sit it

Those three answers change what a good result looks like for you. A program that takes your highest total makes a retake a low-risk move; one that averages your attempts makes it an expensive one.

  • The cut score at each program you are applying to — the number that matters, and the only one that does.
  • Whether the program looks at the total score, individual section scores, or both. Some set a floor on science specifically.
  • How many attempts the program accepts, and which attempt it uses if you sit it more than once — highest, most recent, or an average.

Reading a practice score honestly

A practice test measures what you currently recall under no real pressure. It is a study instrument, not a prediction, and treating it as a prediction is how people talk themselves out of preparing.

The useful signal is not the percentage — it is which content areas keep producing the wrong answers. Two sessions on the same bank with the same three topics missed is a study plan writing itself.

The practice tests here report against a 75% line by default. That is a study target chosen because programs commonly look for the mid-70s and above — it is not a pass mark, and it is not a prediction of your exam result.

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Frequently asked

What is a passing score on the TEAS?
There is not one. ATI states that each school sets its own cut score, so the only meaningful number is the one your program publishes.
Is a 70 a good TEAS score?
It depends entirely on the program. Many programs look for the proficient preparedness level or above, but the requirement is set school by school and competitive programs set it higher than the minimum.
How is the TEAS total score calculated?
From the 150 scored items, adjusted (equated) for differences between exam forms so that scores from different versions are comparable. It is reported as a percentage from 0 to 100.
Do schools see every attempt?
That is a program policy rather than an ATI rule. Ask the program which attempt it uses before you decide whether to retake.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read. Requirements change; if a source has moved on since that date, the source is right and this page is out of date.

Page facts last verified August 22, 2026.

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Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by ATI (Assessment Technologies Institute), Elsevier, or any nursing program. TEAS® and HESI® are trademarks of their respective owners. Practice questions here are original study material, not the official exams.