HESI A2 guideExam format
How Many Questions Are on the HESI A2?
HESI A2 question counts depend on which academic exams your program assigns. Elsevier published scored-item figures per exam; your live total is not one national number.
Short answer
There is no single HESI A2 question count that applies to every candidate. Elsevier describes seven academic exams and published scored-item counts for each exam when that exam is administered. Programs may assign all seven exams or a subset. Your total is the sum of the exams you were assigned, and live forms can also include unidentified unscored or pilot items. Confirm the assigned exams with the program you are applying to.
There is not one official “full HESI” item total
Commercial pages that add every academic exam into a single 300-plus number are describing a maximum-style stack, not your appointment. Elsevier states that programs can administer all seven A2 exams or customize which ones are given. Practice the HESI A2 exams your school actually assigned in Passy instead of training for a stack nobody required.
Elsevier’s published scored-item figures (when that exam is given)
Elsevier’s 2022 A2 scientific-evidence paper lists these scored item counts and estimated minutes:
| Academic exam | Scored items | Estimated time |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar | 50 | 50 minutes |
| Reading Comprehension | 50 | 60 minutes |
| Vocabulary and General Knowledge | 50 | 50 minutes |
| Basic Math Skills | 50 | 50 minutes |
| Anatomy and Physiology | 25 | 25 minutes |
| Biology | 25 | 25 minutes |
| Chemistry | 25 | 25 minutes |
Read the table as per assigned exam, not as a promise you will sit 275 scored items. If a program assigns only Math, Reading, Vocabulary, Grammar, and A&P, the scored-item arithmetic is those five rows—not the science exams you were not given.
These figures are from Elsevier’s 2022 paper. They remain the clearest publisher-authored item counts Passy can cite. They are not a 2026 live-form screenshot, and they do not include extra modules a school might add.
Why a school PDF might show a higher number than the scored table
Elsevier notes that items are pilot tested before they are used as scored components, and that performance scores are calculated from items randomized within each exam. Some institutional information sheets therefore publish totals that include unscored or pilot items. Those sheets describe that institution’s published form. They are not a second national official total.
You usually cannot tell which items are unscored while you are testing. Prepare as if the item in front of you counts.
How to compute your working total
- Copy the academic exams from the current admissions page.
- Add Elsevier’s scored-item row for each assigned exam.
- Ask the testing office whether additional unidentified items or diagnostic modules are included.
- Ignore forum screenshots from a different school.
What is on the HESI A2? is the content map. This page is the count. Timing is separate: How long is the HESI A2?.
After you have the assigned list, check pacing with a mixed HESI A2 preview in Passy rather than trying to memorize a 326-question rumor.
What a small practice set is not
Ten original Passy items are a skill preview. They are not a miniature of your live item count and they do not predict a percentage Elsevier or a school will report.
When the assigned exams are confirmed, shape HESI A2 study time around that shorter, real list in Passy.
If counts still look contradictory, email admissions and keep the reply.
Then repair the academic exam that would change the application result in Passy.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.