The TEAS 7 Reading section gives you 45 questions in 55 minutes, about 73 seconds each; 39 are scored. They test Key Ideas and Details (15 scored), Craft and Structure (9) and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (15). Three habits that help: pace by checkpoints, read the question first, and prove every answer from the passage.
Reading at a glance
45 questions in 55 minutes, about 73 seconds per question.
39 scored and 6 unscored pretest questions; you cannot tell which are unscored.
Reading is always the first of the four sections: Reading, Math, Science, then English and Language Usage.
Unused time does not carry over; unanswered questions count as incorrect; there is no penalty for guessing.
You can move back, change answers and flag questions until you submit the section.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 15 scored questions (objectives R.3.1, R.3.2, R.3.3, R.3.4).
What does each Reading objective ask?
R.1.1 Summaries: Pick the summary that captures the central message and the points that support it, not a list of details. Taught in chapter 2.
R.1.2 Purpose/meaning inference: Infer what the text implies and name the words that limit how far the inference can go. Taught in chapter 3.
R.1.3 Directions: Follow written steps in order, including conditions, exceptions and time limits. Taught in chapter 2.
R.1.4 Locate details: Find a stated detail and check that its unit, reference and context match the question. Taught in chapter 2.
R.1.5 Visual information: Read a labeled table, graph or map: title, axes, units, legend and scale. Taught in chapter 5.
R.1.6 Sequence: Put events or steps in order using time words and cause-and-effect clues. Taught in chapter 2.
R.2.1 Fact/opinion and bias: Separate checkable facts from judgments and notice loaded or one-sided wording. Taught in chapter 4.
R.2.2 Context vocabulary: Work out what a word or phrase means from the sentence around it. Taught in chapter 3.
R.2.3 Purpose: Identify why the author wrote the text: to inform, persuade, instruct, entertain or describe. Taught in chapter 3.
R.2.4 Perspective: Identify the attitude or point of view the text supports, and tell narrator from author. Taught in chapter 4.
R.3.1 Evidence-based conclusions: Choose the conclusion or prediction the evidence supports without going further than it does. Taught in chapter 4.
R.3.2 Themes across texts: Compare how two texts treat a shared issue, with a supporting detail from each. Taught in chapter 5.
R.3.3 Arguments: Judge whether reasons and evidence are relevant and enough, and spot unstated assumptions. Taught in chapter 4.
R.3.4 Multiple sources/media: Combine information from more than one source and notice when they define terms differently. Taught in chapter 5.
How do I manage 45 questions in 55 minutes?
Work to checkpoints, not to the second. The default plan below reaches question 15 by 16:40, question 30 by 33:20 and question 45 by 50:00, which leaves 5 minutes for flagged questions.
If one question passes about two minutes, choose your best answer, flag it and move on. ATI lets you move back and forth and flag questions within the open section until you submit it.
Answer every question. ATI says unanswered questions count as incorrect when time runs out, and there is no penalty for guessing.
Spare minutes do not carry over to Math, so spend them on your flagged questions.
Read the question before the passage when the passage is long, so you know whether you are hunting for one detail or judging the whole text.
Question 15 done by 16:40 elapsed (38:20 left).
Question 30 done by 33:20 elapsed (21:40 left).
Question 45 done by 50:00 elapsed (5:00 left).
What strategies work for main idea, inference and author's purpose?
Main idea and summaries (R.1.1): Ask what the whole passage is about and what it claims about that topic. The right summary covers the whole passage. A choice built on one vivid detail is too narrow; a choice that adds an opinion the author never states is too broad.
Finding details (R.1.4): Scan for the key word or number from the question, then read the whole sentence around it. Check the unit and what the number refers to before you answer.
Directions and sequence (R.1.3, R.1.6): Number the steps on your scratch paper. Conditions such as "only if", "unless" and "within 30 minutes" are where most mistakes happen, so underline them.
Inference and conclusions (R.1.2, R.3.1): The right inference is the one the text supports, not the one that is likely in real life. If you cannot point to the words that back it up, it goes too far.
Words in context (R.2.2): Cover the word, predict a replacement from the clues around it (a definition, a contrast, an example), then choose the option closest to your prediction and reread the sentence with it.
Author's purpose and perspective (R.2.3, R.2.4): Name the author's verb first: inform, persuade, instruct, entertain or describe. Commands suggest instruct; loaded words such as "finally", "only" or "disastrous" reveal attitude.
Fact, opinion and bias (R.2.1): A fact can be checked; an opinion is a judgment. Words such as best, should, friendly and terrible usually signal opinion. A false statement can still be a factual claim, because it can be checked.
Tables, graphs and maps (R.1.5): Read the title, labels, units and legend before the bars or numbers. Then answer the exact question: a single value, a change, a total or a comparison.
Arguments and multiple sources (R.3.3, R.3.4, R.3.2): Name the claim, then ask whether each reason is relevant and whether it is enough. With two sources, find what they agree on and where they define or measure something differently.
Why do two Reading answers both seem right?
Use a four-step elimination routine that demands proof from the passage for every option.
Decide what the question asks for: the whole passage, one detail, the author's purpose or a conclusion.
Predict an answer in your own words before you read the options.
For each option, find the line that proves it. Cross out options that are too broad, too narrow, use extreme words the passage does not, or are true but do not answer the question.
If two options survive, pick the one that answers the question fully using only what the passage says.
What test-takers report
Themes from public forum posts and reviews read in October 2026. These are reports, not statistics.
Running out of time is one of the most common Reading complaints: long passages early in the section use up the clock and leave rushed guesses at the end.
Students who think of themselves as strong readers often report lower Reading scores than they expected, usually because two answer choices both seemed defensible.
Test-takers who did well on the first attempt often describe the same routine: a practice test before studying, study aimed at what they kept missing, reading every rationale, and a list of missed questions.
Free TEAS Reading practice questions
Eight original questions written to the TEAS 7 Reading objectives, with explanations. They are not real TEAS items.
1. (R.1.1) Read the passage, then answer the question. When the Riverside branch library began lending home blood pressure monitors last spring, staff expected a few requests each month. Instead, every monitor was checked out within two weeks, and a waiting list formed. After several borrowers returned kits with questions about where to place the cuff, librarians added a short instruction card to each one. The library now plans to double the number of kits and to invite a county health nurse to give monthly demonstrations. Which sentence best summarizes the passage? A) A library's blood pressure monitor program was more popular than expected, so the library is expanding it and adding support for borrowers. B) Several borrowers did not know where to place a blood pressure cuff. C) Libraries should replace clinics as the main place to check blood pressure. D) The county health department started a monitor-lending program at the library. Answer: A. A summary covers the whole passage: unexpected demand, the library's response and its plan to expand. B is one detail, so it is too narrow. C adds an opinion the passage never states. D gets the facts wrong: the library started the program and plans to invite a nurse.
2. (R.3.1) Read the passage, then answer the question. A school nurse counted how many students came to her office with headaches. In September, before the school installed water-bottle filling stations, she recorded 64 headache visits. In November, after the stations were installed, she recorded 41. During the same months, the school also shortened its lunch line by opening a second serving window. Which conclusion is best supported by the passage? A) The water stations caused the drop in headache visits. B) Headache visits to the nurse's office fell between September and November. C) Students drank more water in November than in September. D) Shorter lunch lines prevent headaches. Answer: B. B only restates what the counts show. Two changes happened at the same time, so the passage cannot tell which one, if either, caused the drop; A and D both claim a cause. C may sound likely, but the passage never measures how much water students drank.
3. (R.1.3) Read the directions, then answer the question. Home test kit directions 1. Wash and dry your hands. 2. Open the foil pouch only when you are ready to begin. Use the test strip within 30 minutes of opening the pouch. 3. Place two drops of the sample on the pad marked S. 4. Read the result 10 minutes after adding the drops. Do not read the result more than 15 minutes after adding the drops. A user opens the pouch at 9:00 a.m. and adds the drops at 9:05 a.m. What is the latest time the user can read the result? A) 9:15 a.m. B) 9:20 a.m. C) 9:30 a.m. D) 9:35 a.m. Answer: B. Both reading times count from adding the drops at 9:05, not from opening the pouch. The result is ready at 9:15 and must be read no later than 9:20. A is the earliest time, not the latest. C applies the 30-minute rule, which limits when the strip is used, not when it is read. D adds 30 minutes to 9:05.
4. (R.2.2) Read the sentence, then answer the question. The committee's response to the students' proposal was tepid: members thanked them politely but declined to schedule a vote. As used in the sentence, what does "tepid" most nearly mean? A) enthusiastic B) angry C) lukewarm D) confused Answer: C. The colon tells you the second half explains the first. Polite thanks with no vote describes a response that is neither warm nor hostile: lukewarm, or lacking enthusiasm. A contradicts the refusal to vote, B is too strong for polite thanks, and nothing in the sentence suggests confusion.
5. (R.2.1) Which statement from a clinic flyer is an opinion? A) The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. B) Flu shots are offered at no charge to patients under 18. C) Our friendly staff make every visit a pleasure. D) Parking is available in the lot behind the building. Answer: C. A fact can be checked; an opinion is a judgment. You could verify the hours, the price and the parking. Whether the staff are friendly and every visit is a pleasure is a judgment, signaled by the words "friendly" and "pleasure".
6. (R.2.3) Read the passage, then answer the question. Cooking is a leading cause of home fires, and many start when food is left unattended. Stay in the kitchen while you fry, grill or broil food. Keep a lid within reach so you can slide it over a small pan fire, then turn off the burner. Never pour water on a grease fire, because it can make burning oil splatter and spread the flames. What is the author's main purpose? A) to persuade readers to buy a fire extinguisher B) to explain the history of kitchen fire safety C) to instruct readers how to prevent and respond to kitchen fires D) to describe a kitchen fire the author witnessed Answer: C. The passage is built from commands (stay, keep, turn off, never pour), which signals a purpose to instruct. A fire extinguisher is never mentioned (A), there is no history (B), and there is no personal story (D).
7. (R.1.5) Use the table to answer the question. Patient visits at a walk-in clinic, one week Monday: 42 Tuesday: 35 Wednesday: 38 Thursday: 51 Friday: 29 Which statement is supported by the table? A) Visits rose every day from Monday to Thursday. B) Thursday had the most visits of the week. C) Friday had fewer than half as many visits as Monday. D) The clinic had more than 250 visits that week. Answer: B. Thursday's 51 is the highest value. A fails because visits fell from Monday (42) to Tuesday (35). C fails because half of 42 is 21, and Friday had 29. D fails because the five days total 195.
8. (R.3.3) Read the passage, then answer the question. Our town should build a covered bike shelter at the train station. The open bike rack there was full on most weekday mornings last year, and in a survey of riders, rain was the reason given most often for driving to the station instead of cycling. Which additional fact would most strengthen the writer's argument? A) The train station was built more than sixty years ago. B) Most surveyed riders said they would cycle to the station more often if their bikes could stay dry. C) Some residents prefer to walk to the station. D) Bike shelters come in several colors and styles. Answer: B. The argument is that a covered shelter would get more people cycling. B links the proposed shelter directly to what riders say they would do. A, C and D may be true, but the station's age, walkers and shelter styles do not show that a shelter would be used.
ATI does not set a passing score; each nursing or health program sets its own, sometimes with section minimums. To do well, learn what the three sub-areas ask, practise timed sets with checkpoints, prove every answer from the passage, and review why each wrong option is wrong. Track the question types you miss and study those first.
How much time do you get per question on TEAS Reading?
Reading allows 55 minutes for 45 questions, about 73 seconds per question (ATI describes it as about 1.2 minutes). The section has its own clock, unused time does not carry over to Math, and unanswered questions count as incorrect, so answer every question. There is no penalty for guessing.
What types of questions are on the TEAS Reading section?
Reading covers 14 objectives in three sub-areas: Key Ideas and Details (summaries, inference, directions, details, visuals, sequence), Craft and Structure (fact and opinion, words in context, purpose, perspective) and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (conclusions, themes across texts, arguments, multiple sources). ATI says about 20% of all TEAS items use alternate formats such as multiple select or hot spot.
Can I go back to a question in the Reading section?
Yes, while the section is open. ATI lets you move back and forth, change answers and flag questions until you submit the section. Before you leave, a prompt shows how many questions you flagged. Once you submit Reading and move on, you cannot return to it.
Do the unscored Reading questions count?
Six of the 45 Reading questions are unscored pretest items, and ATI says you cannot tell which ones they are. Treat every question as if it counts, and do not spend extra time guessing which items are unscored.
Is the TEAS Reading section hard?
It depends on your reading speed and habits. The two problems test-takers report most are running out of time and two answer choices that both seem right. Both respond to practice: checkpoint pacing for the clock, and an elimination routine that demands proof from the passage for every option.
Where can I get free TEAS 7 Reading practice?
This page has 8 original sample questions with explanations, and the free Passage structure lab lets you mark main ideas and text structure. TEASPATH's free practice preview adds more questions. ATI also offers a free online practice test of 60 questions, 15 per section, with rationales.
TEASPATH is independent of ATI. ATI TEAS® and TEAS® are registered trademarks of Assessment Technologies Institute, L.L.C., which is not affiliated with and does not endorse TEASPATH. Practice results and estimates are not official scores or admission predictions. Sample questions and passages are original practice material, not real TEAS items.