HESI A2 guideComparisons
HESI A2 vs ATI TEAS: What's the Difference?
HESI A2 is Elsevier’s modular Admission Assessment. ATI TEAS is ATI’s fixed four-section exam. Schools choose which one they require. Scores do not convert.
Short answer
HESI A2 is Elsevier’s Admission Assessment: up to seven academic exams that a program can customize. ATI TEAS is ATI’s Test of Essential Academic Skills, currently Version 7, with four fixed sections, 170 items, and 209 minutes. A school tells you which exam it requires. The scores are not interchangeable, and neither publisher ranks the other as universally easier. Confirm each program in writing before you register or study.
Different publishers. Different forms. Same admissions job.
If even one program on your list names HESI A2, study HESI. If it names TEAS, study TEAS. If the list splits, you may need both sittings. If HESI is on the list, build a study calendar in the Passy HESI A2 prep app around the exams that application requires. Passy’s ATI facts below come from ATI. Passy’s HESI facts come from Elsevier. This page will not declare a winner.
Passy also publishes a TEAS-side companion, TEAS vs HESI, for candidates who already know they must sit ATI TEAS.
Side-by-side without fake “easiness”
| HESI A2 | ATI TEAS Version 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Elsevier | ATI |
| Job | Admissions assessment for nursing and other healthcare programs | Admissions assessment for nursing and allied-health programs |
| Structure | Up to seven academic exams; programs customize the set | Four sections: Reading, Mathematics, Science, English & Language Usage |
| Official public totals | Per-exam scored items and estimated minutes when that exam is assigned | 170 items (150 scored + 20 pretest) in 209 minutes |
| Score use | A score for each assigned exam plus a composite that averages the exams completed; schools set cutoffs | An adjusted total score plus content-area scores; schools set cutoffs |
| Typical registration | Evolve / school / Prometric or another vendor the program names | ATI and school-specific administration methods |
HESI science can appear as separate Biology, Chemistry, and A&P exams. TEAS Science is one section that includes A&P, biology, chemistry, and scientific reasoning on ATI’s Version 7 outline. That is a structural difference, not a difficulty medal.
What “which is harder?” cannot use as evidence
Neither Elsevier nor ATI publishes a head-to-head pass-rate table that Passy can treat as official. Anecdotes mix different assigned HESI exams, different TEAS administrations, and different school cutoffs. Ignore the poll.
What is on the HESI A2? and ATI’s current outline are the maps to compare.
How to decide in one afternoon
- List every program you might still apply to.
- Copy the exam name, minimum score, score age, and remote/center rule from each current page.
- If every row says HESI, stop buying TEAS books. If every row says TEAS, use the ATI TEAS hub.
- If the rows split, budget two fees and two study maps.
HESI registration remains how to register for the HESI A2. HESI floors remain passing score.
When HESI is confirmed, practice your assigned academic exams in the Passy HESI A2 prep app—not a four-section TEAS mix.
If you already studied the wrong publisher, stop. Transfer only habits that are actually shared (timed reading, showing work), and do not let leftover TEAS pacing set your HESI baseline.
When the requirement is HESI, review the assigned exams first, then the sections your results mark for more work. Review missed questions on an assigned exam in the Passy HESI A2 prep app after you know which exams the program requires.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.