How many questions are on the TEAS, and how the four sections are timed
Written and reviewed by Rebecca Moore, MSN, RN, CEN · 3 min read · Updated October 2026
Short answer
The ATI TEAS has 170 questions in four timed sections: Reading, Math, Science, and English and Language Usage. 150 questions are scored and 20 are unscored pretest items you cannot tell apart, so treat every question as if it counts. The whole test runs 209 minutes of testing time, and each section has its own clock.
The four sections, in numbers
Reading is 45 questions in 55 minutes. Math is 38 questions in 57 minutes. Science is 50 questions in 60 minutes. English and Language Usage is 37 questions in 37 minutes. Those four add up to the 170 questions and 209 minutes.
These figures are for TEAS Version 7, which ATI released in June 2022. Plenty of older study material still quotes the previous version's split, which used different section lengths, so check the date on anything you study from.
What each section actually asks
Reading is about key ideas and details, craft and structure, and integrating knowledge and ideas: finding the main point, telling fact from opinion, reading a chart or a set of directions. Math is numbers and algebra plus measurement and data, which in practice means fractions, percentages, ratios, unit conversions, and reading graphs.
Science covers human anatomy and physiology, life and physical sciences, and scientific reasoning. English and Language Usage covers conventions of standard English, knowledge of language, and vocabulary: grammar, punctuation, spelling, and word meaning in context.
Pacing, section by section
The clocks are not equally generous. English gives you about a minute per question, Reading and Science a little over a minute, and Math about a minute and a half. Math gets the most time because it involves working, not because it is meant to feel relaxed.
Time you save in one section does not carry into the next, so there is no benefit to rushing. Answer every question before a section closes.
The fastest way to learn the format is to sit a timed set. Our free TEAS practice questions are split by section, so you can feel the Math clock and the English clock separately before test day.
Common questions
How many questions on the TEAS are scored?
150 of the 170. The other 20 are pretest items ATI is trying out for future forms. They look exactly like scored questions, so there is no way to spot and skip them.
How long does the TEAS take?
209 minutes of testing time across the four sections. Check-in, the tutorial, and any break your testing site gives come on top of that, so plan for a longer day than the testing time alone.
Which TEAS section is the hardest?
It depends on what you have studied most recently. A diagnostic across all four sections shows which one is hardest for you.