TEAS unscored questions: how many there are, and why you can't skip them
The ATI TEAS has 20 unscored questions out of 170: 6 in Reading, 4 in Math, 6 in Science and 4 in English and language usage. ATI uses them to try out questions for future tests, and they look exactly like the 150 that count, so there is no way to tell which ones they are during the exam.
That has three practical effects. You must answer all 170 as if each one counts. About 25 minutes of your 209 go to questions that don't change your score. And when you score a practice test, you should count it out of the scored questions, not out of 170. This guide covers all three, plus the myths about spotting pretest questions and the rules for going back to a question.
How many unscored questions are on the TEAS?
Twenty. ATI calls them unscored or pretest items. They are spread over all four sections, in this split (UConn nursing, TEAS structure; ATI exam details):
| Section | All questions | Scored | Unscored | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 45 | 39 | 6 | 55 |
| Mathematics | 38 | 34 | 4 | 57 |
| Science | 50 | 44 | 6 | 60 |
| English and language usage | 37 | 33 | 4 | 37 |
| Total | 170 | 150 | 20 | 209 |
So roughly one question in eight is unscored: 13% of Reading and Science, about 11% of Math and English. The full layout of the exam, section by section, is in what is on the TEAS test.
What are unscored questions on the TEAS?
They are new questions being tested before they can count. A question can't go straight onto a scored form: ATI first needs to see how real test takers answer it. Is it too hard, too easy, or confusing? Do strong students get it right more often than weak ones, as a good question should? ATI's help center says questions that turn out too hard or too easy are reworked before they are used again (ATI: what is an unscored item).
A technical manual for the TEAS, posted by the College of Marin, describes the same process for the exam as a whole: items were pilot tested and had to meet statistical criteria before they could become scored items (ATI TEAS technical manual, College of Marin).
Pretesting is common on large exams for this reason. It is also part of why ATI can keep scores comparable from one test form to the next: the questions have been measured before they count.
Can you tell which TEAS questions are unscored?
No. Nothing on the screen marks them, and they are mixed in among the scored questions rather than grouped at the start or end of a section. ATI's own advice is to treat every question as if it counts.
Forums are full of theories about spotting them. Here is why each fails:
- "The weird, hard ones are unscored." A pretest question can be easy, and a scored question can be hard. Every test form has scored questions that most people miss. If you decide a hard question "doesn't count" and rush it, you are as likely to be throwing away a real point.
- "The new question types are the experiments." Multiple select, fill in the blank, ordered response and hot spot questions have been scored parts of the TEAS since Version 7 arrived in June 2022 (TEAS 6 to TEAS 7). A select-all question is scored all or nothing, like any other.
- "A topic that isn't in the study manual must be a pretest." ATI's outline lists content areas, not every question that can be asked. An odd-looking question can still sit inside a listed area.
- "The last questions in a section are the unscored ones." There is no published rule about where they go, and the order you see is not something you can learn from one sitting.
The only safe rule is the boring one: answer everything as carefully as your time allows.
Do unscored questions affect your TEAS score?
Your answers to them don't. Right or wrong, the 20 pretest questions are left out of your total, section and content area scores. Your score comes from the 150 scored questions, turned into a percent and then equated, which means adjusted for small differences in difficulty between test forms (ATI scoring).
What unscored questions do affect is your time. Each section has its own clock, and the clock doesn't stop for a pretest question. Spread evenly, the TEAS gives you about 1.2 minutes per question (209 minutes for 170 questions). At that pace the 20 unscored questions take about 25 minutes:
| Section | Minutes per question | Unscored | Time they take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 1.22 | 6 | about 7 min |
| Mathematics | 1.50 | 4 | about 6 min |
| Science | 1.20 | 6 | about 7 min |
| English | 1.00 | 4 | about 4 min |
That is our arithmetic from ATI's minutes and counts. It matters most when you practise: if you time yourself on a practice section with only the scored number of questions, you will feel more time than you get on the day. Practise at the full counts (45, 38, 50, 37) in the real minutes.
Unanswered questions and guessing
When a section's time runs out, it closes, and any question you didn't answer is marked incorrect (ATI time limit). There is no extra penalty for a wrong answer beyond not getting the point. So a blank is always worth less than a guess.
Put that together with unscored items and the rule is simple: never leave a question blank. If you are in the last two minutes of a section with five questions left, pick an answer for each, then use any time left to look properly at the ones you can work out. For four-option multiple choice, a blind guess is right about one time in four; ruling out one wrong option makes it one in three. Our TEAS test taking strategies guide has a pacing and guessing plan for every question type.
Can you go back to questions on the TEAS test?
Yes, inside a section. While a section is open you can move back and forth between its questions and flag questions to return to. Once you submit a section, or its time runs out, you can't go back to it (ATI: sections and going back).
Use that like this:
- First pass: answer every question you can in about the average time for that section. If one is taking more than twice the average, pick your best answer, flag it, and move on.
- Second pass: go back to the flagged ones with the time you saved. Change an answer only when you find a concrete reason, such as a misread number or a word you skipped.
- Before you submit: check that every question has an answer. Submitting a section is final.
Finishing a section early does not add time to the next one, so there is no reason to submit early with minutes left (TEAS exam day tips has the full timing rules and pace checkpoints).
What unscored questions mean for your practice tests
Practice tests handle pretest items in different ways, and it changes how you read your result:
- Full-length practice at 170 questions: every question in a practice test is scored, so you are scored on 170. That is a slightly bigger sample than the real exam and is fine for estimating.
- Practice at 150 questions: this matches the scored part of the real exam, but you will have more time per question than you will on the day.
- Short checks: a 15- or 20-question check gives a rough level, not a score. One question is worth several percentage points on a short test.
To turn your practice right answers into a TEAS-style percent, divide by the number of questions you were scored on. The TEAS score calculator does this per section against your program's minimum, and how many questions you can miss on the TEAS turns common minimums into a number of wrong answers. Both work from the 150 scored questions, because those are what your real score is built on.
A plan that works with unscored questions
You can't avoid pretest questions, but you can make sure they don't cost you scored points:
| Do | Why |
|---|---|
| Practise each section at its full question count and real minutes | The real clock includes the unscored questions |
| Set a time limit per question (about twice the section's average) | Stops one hard question, scored or not, from eating three easy ones |
| Flag and move on, then come back | You can return inside a section, never after it closes |
| Answer every question before time runs out | Blanks are marked wrong; guesses can score |
| Treat a strange question as a normal one | You can't tell scored from unscored, so rushing it is a gamble |
| Score your practice out of the questions you were scored on | Gives a percent you can compare with your program's minimum |
The biggest lever is still knowing the content, especially in science, where the national mean is about 50% (average TEAS score). Six science questions are unscored, but 44 count, spread across anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry and scientific reasoning. Before you plan your study, take the free TEAS practice test to see which section is furthest from your program's minimum.
TEAS unscored questions FAQ
How many questions on the TEAS are unscored?
20 of 170: 6 in Reading, 4 in Math, 6 in Science and 4 in English. Your score comes from the other 150.
Why does the TEAS have unscored questions?
To test new questions before they count. ATI checks how real test takers answer them and reworks the ones that are too hard, too easy or unclear.
Can you skip the unscored questions?
No, because nothing tells you which they are. Skipping any question risks a scored point, and unanswered questions are marked incorrect.
Are the new question types unscored?
No. Multiple select, fill in the blank, ordered response and hot spot questions have been scored on the TEAS since 2022. Any question type can be scored or a pretest.
Do unscored questions count in my percentile?
No. Your total, section scores and percentile ranks are all built from the scored questions only.
Is the TEAS score out of 170 or 150?
Out of 150 scored questions, reported as a percent from 0 to 100% and equated across test forms. You can't work out your exact total from a count of right answers, but the percent of scored questions you got right is close.
Sources
- ATI, TEAS exam details. Read 2026-10-27.
- ATI, What is an unscored item on the ATI TEAS Version 7? (search summary, 2026-11-04; the page answers our fetch with 403).
- University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS). Read 2026-11-04.
- ATI, How the ATI TEAS is scored. Read 2026-10-27.
- ATI, What is the time limit for the ATI TEAS? Read 2026-10-19.
- ATI, TEAS sections and going back to a question. Read 2026-10-19.
- College of Marin, ATI TEAS technical manual (search summary, 2026-11-04).
More on the test itself: what is on the TEAS test, the TEAS calculator, is there a new TEAS and nursing school entrance exams, or all TEAS guides. To find where your points are, take the free TEAS practice test.