TEAS Reading Practice Test

Prepare for the reading section of the exam with our TEAS reading practice test.

Our exam is 100% free, includes detailed answer explanations, and mimics the actual questions on the exam. To practice for other sections, visit our free TEAS 7 practice test page.

Free TEAS Reading Practice Test

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TEAS Reading Exam Overview

TEAS Reading is 1 of 4 sections given on the actual exam. You will find the following on this section:

  • 45 Questions
  • 55 Minutes

The questions will be split up into 3 categories:

  • Key Ideas and Details: 15 Questions
  • Craft and Structure: 9 Questions
  • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 15 Questions
  • Unscored Questions: 6 Questions

An image showing an overview of the TEAS reading section

 

Want to practice other sections of the exam? Visit our TEAS practice questions home.

Studying for TEAS Reading

When studying for the reading portion of the exam, you will want to make sure you can do the following:

  • Summarize a multi-paragraph text
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions about a text’s purpose and meaning
  • Locate specific information in a text
  • Analyze, interpret, and apply information from charts, graphs, and other visuals
  • Interpret events in a sequence
  • Use context to interpret the meaning of words and phrases
  • Evaluate an author’s purpose in a given text
  • Use evidence from a text to make predictions and inferences and to draw conclusions
  • Compare and contrast the themes expressed in one or more texts
  • Evaluate an argument

What makes the TEAS reading section special is the use of reading passages. TEAS reading passages are not Shakespearian plays, but are instead passages for you to analyze.

The reading passages are not necessarily difficult, but they can be time consuming, so it is important to learn how to analyze them.

Our study guide for the TEAS covers everything mentioned above and more. Consider using that to study and save yourself time!

How to Analyze a TEAS Reading Passage

When analyzing a reading passage it is best to skim through the passage to get a basic understanding of what the passage is about. The best way to do this is to read the opening and closing sentence of each paragraph and then jot down a key word for what that paragraph was explaining.

After writing down a keyword for each paragraph write a very simple sentence about what you believe the passage was trying to convey.

Next, go on to the questions. Most questions will have a dead giveaway for where to look for the answer. Sometimes this giveaway is as simple as “in lines 39-47 the author most nearly means…” or the question asks for something that looks similar to your keywords that you wrote.

Whatever the case may be, do NOT read the passage word-by-word, as it is time consuming and you will most likely be reading filler information that does not even apply to any of the questions.

TEAS Reading FAQs

There are 45 total questions on TEAS reading. There will be 6 unscored questions (as part of the 45). You will not know which questions are unscored.

You will have 55 minutes to complete this section. To keep pace, you will need to spend less than 73 seconds per question.

To do well on the TEAS reading test it is necessary to become an expert at analyzing the reading passages.

The reading passages are the most time consuming aspect of the TEAS reading test, so if you are able to analyze them faster you can have more time for answering the questions.

It is also best, as mentioned above, to study early and efficiently. Cramming for 7 hours the night before your test will do you no good. However, studying for 1 hour every day for 2 weeks will help your brain immensely.

While there is not necessarily a “passing score” for the TEAS reading section, there are scores that are classified as good and exemplary. A good TEAS reading score is 78% to 90%, or a 35-40 out of 45. A good score will get you recognized by nearly all nursing programs.

An exemplary score is classified as a 90.7% to 100%, and these scores will get you recognized by the top nursing programs.

Read our guide to TEAS scores for more information.

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Authored By: Denise Lessow

Denise has been helping students study for 25+ years.

Denise has a wealth of knowledge and has helped students reach scores in the top 10% across all subject areas for the HESI, TEAS, and NLN PAX exams.

Learn more about Denise Lessow.

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