What is a good TEAS score?

What counts as a good TEAS score?

A good TEAS score is one that meets your program’s minimum, and a better one beats it by enough to stand out when applicants are ranked. There is no ATI passing score: ATI’s help center says each school sets its own requirement (ATI Help, 2026).

What ATI does publish is a set of academic preparedness levels. A 2023 ATI research brief lists these cut points for the ATI TEAS 7 total score:

Preparedness level	TEAS 7 total score
Developmental	below 40.7%
Basic	40.7% to 58.0%
Proficient	58.7% to 79.3%
Advanced	80.0% to 91.3%
Exemplary	92.0% and above

The same brief notes that some programs adopt one of these levels as their admission minimum; as the examples below show, others set their own number. In ATI’s study sample of admitted nursing students, most scored in the Proficient range.

So a practical target is a total that clears the highest cutoff on your list. If your programs rank applicants, a higher score above that line can still earn you more points.

How is the TEAS scored?

The TEAS gives you three kinds of scores, all on a 0 to 100% scale (ATI Help, 2026):

• A total score
• Four content area scores: Reading, Math, Science, and English and Language Usage
• Smaller sub-content area scores

The total and the four content area scores are equated. That means ATI starts with the percent of questions you answered correctly. Then it adjusts that number for how hard your test form was. This way, scores from different versions of the exam can be compared.

One result surprises many test takers: you can’t get your total by adding or averaging your section scores. Because each score is adjusted on its own, ATI notes that neither your total nor your section scores can be worked out from the smaller scores below them.

Sub-content area scores work differently. They are plain percent correct with no adjustment, so ATI advises against comparing them from one test form to another. Use them to spot weak topics, not to track progress between attempts.

What TEAS score do nursing schools require?

Minimums at the five programs we checked in October 2026 run from 58.7% to 75%, and each program uses the score in its own way. Some treat it as a pass-or-fail line, and others turn it into ranking points.

School and program (cycle)	TEAS minimum	How the score is used	Score validity
Minnesota State Moorhead, BSN (Summer/Fall 2027)	58.7% composite and 41.3% science	TEAS is 33% of the holistic admission review	Taken Jan. 1, 2026 to Feb. 1, 2027
Bluefield State University, AD Nursing (2026–2027)	Proficient or higher overall (58.7 on the sheet)	Points from 1 to 6 for the overall score and each section; composite breaks ties	Two academic years
Moorpark College, ADN (checked Oct. 2026)	62% recommended by the California Community Colleges Chancellor	Scores below 62% require remediation; sub-scores are also reviewed	12 months
CSU San Marcos, Traditional BSN transfer applicants (2027–2028)	71.0% composite	1 to 12 ranking points, about 18% of the total	Not stated in the criteria
University of Arizona, MS-MEPN (checked Oct. 2026)	75% combined score of all four sections	Minimum to apply	One year

A few patterns stand out. Minnesota State Moorhead adds a science floor, so a strong composite alone isn’t enough there. To see where your own total lands against ATI’s levels and real program minimums, try our TEAS score calculator.

CSU San Marcos shows how ranking works: 71.0 to 73.5 earns 1 point, while 98.6 to 100 earns the full 12. Bluefield State uses a similar ladder, starting at 1 point for 58.7 overall and reaching 6 points at 90.7.

Labels on school forms don’t always match ATI’s TEAS 7 table. Bluefield State’s points ladder labels its 78 step “Advanced” and its 90.7 step “Exemplary.” ATI’s 2023 brief starts those levels at 80.0 and 92.0. (Bluefield’s 58.7 Proficient step does match.) When a form and ATI disagree, the number your program prints is what earns its points.

For more examples, our post on whether the TEAS is hard covers three other programs, including one that asks for a 78 composite.

How long are TEAS scores valid?

Score validity is set by each program, and the windows we found range from about one year to two academic years. Check the date rule before you test, not after.

At the University of Arizona, scores expire after one year and must still be valid on the application deadline. Moorpark College accepts a TEAS taken within the 12 months before you apply.

Bluefield State’s 2026–2027 sheet says scores stay valid for two academic years. Minnesota State Moorhead counts back from its deadline: for the 2027 cycle, your TEAS must fall between Jan. 1, 2026 and Feb. 1, 2027.

How do you read your TEAS score report?

ATI calls your score report the Individual Performance Profile (IPP). It shows your adjusted total score, your preparedness level, your four content area scores and how you compare nationally (ATI Help, 2026). It appears on the Results tab of your ATI account after a proctored exam.

Read it in this order:

1. Adjusted total score and level. This is the composite number that programs like those above compare with their minimums.
2. Content area scores. Each comes with a national mean and your national percentile rank, so you can see which sections pulled you down.
3. Topics to Review. This lists the objectives you missed and drives ATI’s Focused Review.

If you took TEAS at ATI, the report appears as soon as you finish. It stays marked Preliminary for about four business days while ATI checks it (weekends and major holidays don’t count). A transcript you send during that time goes out once the score is final. If you tested through PSI, your score can take up to 48 hours to appear.

Your score report is not your transcript. Schools receive the official transcript, and with TEAS at ATI or TEAS at PSI you get one transcript credit that you must send yourself.

Does a higher TEAS score help in nursing school?

ATI’s own data link higher TEAS levels with better early results, but a score is not a guarantee. The 2023 brief matched TEAS 7 scores with ATI’s Fundamentals test, usually taken in the first year, for 5,733 RN students at 454 schools.

ATI counted a student as successful if they reached Level 2 on that Fundamentals test, a cut chosen for the study. Here is the share who did, by TEAS level:

TEAS 7 level	RN students reaching Level 2
Developmental	3% (33 students)
Basic	28.3%
Proficient	49%
Advanced	69.2%
Exemplary	100% (56 students)

The brief adds two cautions. The TEAS may predict less accurately for students in the Proficient range, where most students score, and ATI says no single test should decide who gets admitted.

What should you do if your TEAS score is below the cutoff?

Check your program’s retake rules first, then focus your study on what your report says you missed. Retake limits differ a lot from one program to the next.

At the programs above, the University of Arizona allows two attempts per cycle and counts your highest score. CSU San Marcos allows three attempts and uses the highest, and Bluefield State lets you take the test twice.

Moorpark College is the opposite case. If you test more than once in 12 months, it accepts only your first result in that period, so a quick retake won’t help there.

A low score can also come with extra steps rather than a simple no. At Moorpark, the 62% line is a statewide recommendation, and applicants below it must complete specific remediation.

When you retest, start with your Topics to Review list and the content area with the lowest percentile. Take a free TEAS practice test to measure where you stand, then build a TEAS study plan around your next test date.

Quick answers

What is a passing score on the TEAS? There isn’t one. ATI leaves the requirement to each school, and minimums at the five programs in this post range from 58.7% to 75%.

Is 70 a good TEAS score? A 70% total falls in ATI’s Proficient range (58.7% to 79.3%). It meets the composite minimums at three of the programs above but misses CSU San Marcos (71.0%) and the University of Arizona (75%).

What TEAS score is Advanced? On TEAS 7, Advanced runs from 80.0% to 91.3%, and Exemplary starts at 92.0% (ATI, 2023).

Why don’t my section scores average to my total? ATI adjusts the total and each section separately for test difficulty, so section scores can’t be used to calculate the total.

Where should I start preparing? Our TEAS 7 hub has lessons, practice tests and a study plan in one place.