What Is a Good TEAS Score? Score Ranges and What Nursing Programs Expect

There is no single passing score on the ATI TEAS, Version 7, because ATI does not set one. Instead, ATI reports a total score (an equated composite on a 0 to 100 percent scale, built from your 150 scored items), separate scores for each of the four sections, and an Academic Preparedness Level (Developmental, Basic, Proficient, Advanced, or Exemplary) that summarizes where your total score falls. Whether a given score is “good” depends entirely on the nursing or allied health program you are applying to: each program sets its own minimum TEAS score for admission, and that minimum can vary widely from one school to the next. ATI’s own guidance describes a competitive score as typically landing around 70 to 75 percent, roughly the Proficient preparedness band, though individual programs can and do set the bar higher or lower. This guide walks through how the score works and what “good” actually means in context.

Based on ATI’s published TEAS Version 7 score reporting structure.

How Your TEAS Score Is Calculated

Your raw score, the number of the 150 scored items you answered correctly, is not what gets reported. ATI runs it through a process called equating, which adjusts for small difficulty differences between different forms of the exam, so a given percentage reflects a consistent level of performance no matter which version of the test you sat for. This produces your total score, on a 0 to 100 percent scale. You also receive four separate, similarly adjusted section scores, one each for Reading, Mathematics, Science, and English and Language Usage. Those section scores do not simply average into the total score, since the equating is applied at each level independently, so do not expect the math to add up exactly if you try to reconstruct your composite from your section scores by hand.

The Five Academic Preparedness Levels

Alongside the numeric score, ATI sorts every result into one of five Academic Preparedness Levels, from lowest to highest: Developmental, Basic, Proficient, Advanced, and Exemplary. These bands were built through a formal standard setting process with a panel of nurse educators, and they are meant to give programs a quick, criterion referenced read on how prepared a candidate is for health sciences coursework, rather than a raw percentile ranking against other test takers. ATI does not publish the numeric cut score for each band on its public pages; your official score report states the level your score earned, and that report is the authoritative source. What ATI does publish is guidance on where a competitive score typically lands, shown below.

ATI describes a competitive score as typically around 70 to 75 percent, or a Proficient level of preparedness. Individual programs set their own minimums above or below this.

Most nursing programs that publish a minimum TEAS requirement set it somewhere in or above the Proficient band, which matches ATI’s own guidance that a competitive score typically lands around 70 to 75 percent. More selective programs can and do set the bar higher, so the published requirement for your specific program is the number that matters.

What Counts as a “Good” TEAS Score?

The honest answer is that “good” is defined by the program reading your score, not by ATI. Every nursing school, allied health program, or institution that uses the TEAS as an admissions criterion sets its own minimum score, and those minimums differ by program type, by how competitive the applicant pool is that cycle, and by whether the school treats the TEAS as a hard cutoff or as one factor weighed alongside GPA, prerequisite grades, and interviews. Some programs publish an exact minimum composite score, some set separate minimums per section, and some use the Academic Preparedness Level label directly rather than a raw percentage. Because of that variation, there is no universal number that qualifies as a good TEAS score across every program, and any source that claims otherwise is guessing.

That said, a few things are broadly true across most programs. A Proficient level score is generally treated as the floor for a genuinely competitive application, since ATI’s own guidance places a typical competitive score around 70 to 75 percent, a Proficient level of preparedness. An Advanced or Exemplary score strengthens an application further and can help offset a weaker area elsewhere in your file, such as a lower prerequisite GPA. Some programs also limit how recent a TEAS attempt must be to count, so check whether your target program has a recency requirement alongside its minimum score. The single most reliable step you can take is to check your target program’s published TEAS requirements directly, since that is the only number that actually determines whether your score is “good enough” for that application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a passing score on the TEAS exam?

ATI does not set a universal passing score. Each nursing or allied health program sets its own minimum TEAS score for admission, so “passing” depends entirely on the program you are applying to.

How is the TEAS total score calculated?

It is your overall TEAS composite score, expressed as a percentage from 0 to 100, calculated from your 150 scored items and adjusted (equated) to account for minor difficulty differences between exam forms.

What does a Proficient score mean on the TEAS?

Proficient is the middle of ATI’s five Academic Preparedness Levels, and it is the band most programs treat as a competitive baseline: ATI describes a competitive score as typically around 70 to 75 percent, or a Proficient level of preparedness.

Is a higher TEAS score always better?

Generally yes, since a higher score and preparedness level strengthen your application and can help offset weaker areas of your file, but once you clear your target program’s stated minimum, other admissions factors like GPA and prerequisite coursework typically carry significant weight too.

Ready to see where your own score would land? Try a TEAS practice test, or start with a free TEAS practice test to get a feel for your current level before test day.

Sources

• ATI, What Is the ATI TEAS Exam and Other FAQs
• ATI Research, How Do the ATI TEAS Version 7 Preparedness Levels Predict RN CMS Fundamentals Performance?
• ATI, TEAS Overview

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For educational and exam preparation purposes only. Not a substitute for formal clinical training.