HESI Practice Tests

The HESI exam is an integral part for any inspiring nurse. It is critical that you do well on both the HESI Entrance Exam and the HESI Exit Exam. Scoring well on the HESI Entrance Exam will help you get into the nursing program of your choice. It is important to pass the HESI Exit Exam so you are eligible to take your NCLEX Exams to become a nurse. We have information and different resources below to help you succeed on your HESI Exams.

HESI A2 Entrance Exam Practice Tests + Resources

Test-Guide (FREE) – Test-guide.com offers free practice tests for all of the sections of the HESI A2 Admissions Assessment Exam. All of the sample questions are automatically scored and all of the answers offer explanations to help you understand the concepts. The best part about Test-Guide.com – all of the sample questions and quizzes are free and require no registration.

BoostPrep.com (PAID) – BoostPrep offers HESI A2 test prep for aspiring nursing students. They offer different variations of test prep materials for the HESI A2, depending on what you are looking for. All of the courses they offer include in-depth study guides that review key concepts like Math, Reading, Grammar, and Vocabulary. Each course also includes 3 full-length, timed practice exams which comes out to over 900 total questions.

Check out our review of HESI practice tests and study materials:

HESI A2 Content

The HESI A2 Entrance Exam has a total of 10 different exams. While there are 10 different exams, schools can choose to administer any of the HESI exams to their potential students. Schools may choose different exams to administer to their potential students to assess their readiness for the nursing program. Most schools focus on the Math, Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar portions of the HESI exam to assess a potential student. The 10 different exams that the HESI may consist of include:

• Math – This will evaluate a student’s math skills related to the health field. Some skills that may be tested are: multiplication, division, ratios, proportions, fractions and decimals. Make sure you know how to work with conversions, household measures, and dosage calculators, as these topics are tested heavily. HESI Math includes 50 questions with a 50-minute time limit.
• Reading – This will evaluate a student’s capability to understand various reading passages. The reading passages tend to be about topics related to health care. Some skills that will be tested include finding primary themes, understand the meaning of phrases in context, and determine logical inferences. HESI Reading includes 47 questions with a 60-minute time limit.
• Vocabulary – This will evaluate a student’s grasp on numerous vocabulary terms related to health care. HESI Vocabulary includes 50 questions with a 50-minute time limit.
• Grammar – A student’s knowledge of basic grammar principles will be tested in this section. HESI Grammar includes 50 questions with a 50-minute time limit.
• Biology – Students will be tested on topics like metabolism, cells, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, biological molecules, and biology basics. This portion of the HESI is usually given if biology is a required pre-requisite. HESI Biology includes 25 questions with a 25-minute time limit.
• Chemistry – Students will be tested on topics like the periodic table, atomic structure, chemical equations, chemical bonding, and nuclear chemistry. This portion of the HESI is usually given if chemistry is a required pre-requisite. HESI Chemistry includes 25 questions with a 25-minute time limit.
• Anatomy and Physiology – Students will be tested on topics like anatomical structures, general terminology, and systems. This portion of the HESI is usually given if anatomy and physiology is a required pre-requisite. HESI Anatomy and Physiology includes 25 questions with a 25-minute time limit.
• Physics – Students will be evaluated on rotation, gravitation, Newton’s Laws of Motion, average speed, acceleration, projectile motion, light and optics, and energy. This portion of the HESI is usually given if physics is a required pre-requisite. HESI Physics includes 25 questions with a 50-minute time limit.

Benefits of HESI Study Guides and Practice Tests

HESI practice tests offer many distinct advantages for students who choose to utilize them. Using study guides and sample questions is one of the most efficient ways of studying. Some other advantages of using HESI practice tests include:

• More Efficient Studying – By taking HESI practice tests, you will figure out which topics you are good at and which topics you may need to spend more time on. This will help you focus your time and energy on the topics that you need to work on and not waste time on topics you are already good at.
• Grasp of Concepts – If the HESI practice tests you are taking include answer explanations, you will be able to learn additional knowledge through the explanations. You will be able to apply this knowledge to other questions and use your problem solving abilities to find the correct answer.
• Comfort with Exam – All standardized tests have their own unique format. Taking HESI practice tests will help you get more comfortable with the HESI exam – which will help you do better on the exam!
• Speed – All portions of the HESI A2 exam are timed. By taking the HESI practice tests with time limits, you will be able to pace yourself on the actual HESI exam because you should already have a feel for how quick you need to operate.

HESI A2 Scores

As stated earlier, schools choose which of the HESI subject tests that want to administer to prospective students. When a student takes the HESI A2 exam, their scores will be sent to the institution. The institution will see individual percentage based scores for each subject exam and an overall composite score.

There is no minimum passing score for all institutions, rather, each individual institution determines their own requirements for admission. It is generally believed that for a student to be successful in their nursing program they should achieve at least a 75% composite score and individual scores of 70% or higher. If you fall in the 90%-100% score range, this is considered excellent. If you fall in the 80% – 89% score range, this is considered very good. If you fall in the 75% to 79% score range, this is considered satisfactory. If you fall below 75%, this is considered to be needing improvement.