HESI A2 version 1 vs version 2: is there a difference?

Where V1 and V2 come from

Elsevier's HESI A2 remote proctoring faculty guide, dated August 2025, walks schools through scheduling an exam group. One step reads: choose the version, for example V1 for first-time testers, and you will need one exam group per version. That is the only official place the label shows up for most applicants.

So the version is a scheduling choice made by faculty, not something a candidate buys or selects. If your school email mentions V2, the school set up your group on a different version. Elsevier's guide does not say why a school would do that, so ask the testing office.

Is version 2 harder?

There is no official basis for saying one version is harder. Elsevier's public materials do not compare versions, and claims that V2 is easier or harder come from forum anecdotes, not from Elsevier. Two people who took different versions in different subjects, with different preparation, cannot tell you how the versions compare.

What is documented points the other way: the same guide tells faculty to keep A2 exam windows to no more than six months so students get the latest version of the exam. Elsevier updates the content over time, which means a version label alone tells you little about which exact questions you will see.

What actually differs between two sittings

The bigger differences are settings your school controls. According to the faculty guide, the school chooses which A2 modules to include, whether the calculator is on, the timer settings including whether students are force-completed when time runs out, and whether scores appear after each section, after all sections, or not at all.

That means a friend at another program may have taken fewer sections, had a calculator you will not get, or seen scores between sections when you will not. Before test day, ask your program which modules are on your exam and whether the calculator is enabled. That answer matters more than the version number.

Do retakes get a different version?

Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Nursing tells applicants that, generally, people who retake the HESI get an entirely different version and will not see questions they saw before. The final call rests with how your school schedules the retest, and Elsevier's guide does not promise a different version.

Retake limits also come from the school. LSU Health New Orleans, for example, allows two attempts per application period with six weeks between them and requires retesting once a score is more than a year old. East Carolina University's ABSN FAQ says a second attempt means registering and paying for the full exam again, with a three-month wait between attempts.

Sources

Elsevier: HESI A2 and A-la-carte Remote Proctoring Faculty Guide. Faculty choose the version (V1 for first-time testers), one exam group per version, six-month window for the latest version, module, calculator, timer and score display settings (PDF dated August 2025)

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing: HESI A2 FAQs. Retakers generally get a different version (LSU's words); two attempts per application period, six-week wait, one-year score limit at this school

East Carolina University College of Nursing: ABSN HESI A2 exam FAQs. A second attempt requires registering and paying for the full exam again; three-month wait between attempts at ECU (updated August 2023)