How many questions are on the HESI A2?

It depends on which sections your program requires. The HESI A2 has eight academic subtests. The English sections (Math, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar) run around 50 to 55 questions each, and the science sections (Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics) run around 25 to 30 each. Each academic subtest also embeds about 5 unscored pilot questions. Most schools require only four to six sections, so your total is usually a few hundred questions rather than all of them.

What is a passing score on the HESI A2?

There is no single national passing score on the HESI A2. Each nursing program sets its own cutoff, and many require a composite around 75 to 80 percent, while competitive BSN programs can ask for 85 percent or higher and some LPN programs accept around 70 percent. Scores are reported as a percentage per section, and programs may average them into a composite. Always check the exact requirement for the schools you are applying to.

What sections are on the HESI A2?

The HESI A2 has eight academic sections: Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Grammar, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics. It also includes non-academic modules such as Critical Thinking, a Learning Style survey and a Personality Profile. Schools choose which sections applicants must take, so most candidates sit a subset, commonly math, reading, vocabulary, grammar and anatomy and physiology.

How long is the HESI A2 exam?

There is no universal time limit because each school decides which sections to require and how long to allow. If you sit the full battery it can run around 4 to 5 hours, but most candidates take only the sections their program requires, so a typical sitting is closer to 2 to 4 hours. Check your program's testing instructions for the exact sections and time so you can pace your practice to match.

How hard is the HESI A2?

The HESI A2 is manageable with preparation, but the range of content trips people up. Math includes dosage-style calculations, fractions, ratios and conversions, while anatomy and physiology and biology reward specific recall of systems, cells and metabolism. The reading and grammar sections test comprehension and usage under time. Because programs weigh the score heavily in admissions, the challenge is scoring high enough for your target school, which is where repeated practice on your weak sections matters most.

Can you retake the HESI A2?

Usually yes, but the rules are set by each nursing program rather than by Elsevier. Many schools require a waiting period of roughly 30 to 90 days between attempts and cap the number of tries per application cycle, often two or three. Some average your attempts and others take the highest, so confirm your program's retake and scoring policy before you sit it, then use the wait to drill the sections that held your score down.

Is this an official HESI A2 practice test?

No. PDFQuiz is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Elsevier or HESI. This tool generates practice questions from the study material you upload so you can rehearse recall and reasoning between full practice tests, and it does not reproduce official HESI questions. Use it alongside an up-to-date HESI A2 study guide and your program's instructions, not as a replacement for them.

HESI A2 practice test

HESI A2 Practice Test and Practice Questions From Your Own Notes and Study Guide

Upload your HESI A2 study guide, class notes or your own summaries and the AI writes unlimited practice questions with an answer key and explanations in seconds. Drill the exact math, reading, and science content in the material you are studying instead of re-answering a question bank you have already worked through twice.

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In short: to build HESI A2 practice questions, upload your study guide, class notes or your own summaries, and the AI writes exam-style multiple choice questions with an answer key and explanations in seconds. The HESI A2 has eight academic sections, and each nursing program sets which ones you take and the score you need (often around 75 to 80 percent), so you can generate focused sets from your own material and drill math one day and anatomy and physiology the next, right up to test day.

Last updated July 2026

Exam format: 8 academic sections
Passing score: Set by each school (often 75%+)
Practice questions: Unlimited

What a HESI A2 practice question generator does

Drill your own study guide, not a bank you have memorized

The HESI A2 spreads across math, reading, grammar, vocabulary and several sciences, and by your second pass through a question bank you start remembering the answer letter instead of the content. You read a dosage calculation or an anatomy question and you recall the option, not the method. This tool flips the source. You upload what you are actually studying, your study guide, a chapter PDF or your own summaries, and the AI practice question generator writes brand-new items from that text. Weak answers point straight back at the section you need to review, and a fresh practice set is always one upload away.

Works with any study guide and your notes

Upload your HESI A2 study guide, a chapter PDF, a topic outline or handwritten pages you photographed. If the file explains a math, reading or science topic, the generator can build questions on it.

Section-by-section drills

Only need the sections your program requires? Upload just those notes, then narrow to a single topic, like dosage calculations or the cardiovascular system, when your scores are soft.

Fresh questions every session

Generate a new set every time so you are testing knowledge, not recognition. Repeated retrieval on unseen items is what pushes a borderline score up to the mark your target program wants.

HESI A2 sections and how to practice each one

The HESI A2 has eight academic sections. Your program decides which ones you take. Question counts below are approximate and include about 5 unscored pilot questions per section.

Section	Approx. questions	What it covers
Mathematics	~50 to 55	Fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions, percentages, conversions and dosage-style calculations
Reading Comprehension	~50 to 55	Main idea, inference, tone and meaning from context in short passages
Vocabulary and General Knowledge	~50 to 55	Everyday and health-care vocabulary and word meaning
Grammar	~50 to 55	Parts of speech, sentence structure, usage and common errors
Biology	~25 to 30	Cells, metabolism, genetics and heredity, and the scientific method
Chemistry	~25 to 30	Matter, atomic structure, the periodic table, reactions and bonding
Anatomy and Physiology	~25 to 30	Terminology and the body systems, from skeletal and muscular to cardiovascular and nervous
Physics	~25	Motion, force, energy and waves; required by relatively few programs

Most programs require only a subset, commonly math, reading, vocabulary, grammar and anatomy and physiology. Because counts and required sections vary by school, check your program's instructions, then generate questions from your own notes for exactly the sections you will sit. Building sets section by section, then mixing them into longer runs, is the closest low-cost rehearsal for the range the HESI A2 tests.

Simple process

How to make HESI A2 practice questions in 4 steps

1 Upload your material: Drop in your study guide, a chapter PDF, a topic outline or your own notes. Scanned and handwritten pages are read with OCR.
2 Set the drill: Pick the question count and difficulty. Run a 20 question warm-up on one section or a longer mixed set across the sections your program requires.
3 AI writes questions: The AI reads your content and writes exam-style multiple choice questions with an answer key and explanations.
4 Review and repeat: Score the set, review the concept or method behind every miss, then generate a fresh drill on just those weak sections and go again.

Who uses this to prep for the HESI A2

Nursing school applicants

Your program weighs this score heavily in admissions. Upload the study guide for one required section at a time and generate a quick set that checks whether the material stuck, then hit the same section tomorrow with different questions so your composite climbs.

Working students and career changers

If you have been out of school for a while, math and the sciences take the most warming up. Turn your study guide chapters into questions you have never seen and drill in short sessions around work, without buying a second question bank just for fresh items.

Retakers lifting one weak section

When math or anatomy and physiology pulled your composite under the cutoff last time, you do not need to redo everything. Upload just those notes, drill until the misses stop, and turn the section that capped your score into one that lifts it.

HESI A2 practice questions, answered

How many questions are on the HESI A2?: It depends on which sections your program requires. The HESI A2 has eight academic subtests. The English sections (Math, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar) run around 50 to 55 questions each, and the science sections (Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics) run around 25 to 30 each. Each academic subtest also embeds about 5 unscored pilot questions. Most schools require only four to six sections, so your total is usually a few hundred questions rather than all of them. If your notes are on paper, run them through an OCR tool like DocuOCR first so the text is selectable.
What is a passing score on the HESI A2?: There is no single national passing score on the HESI A2. Each nursing program sets its own cutoff, and many require a composite around 75 to 80 percent, while competitive BSN programs can ask for 85 percent or higher and some LPN programs accept around 70 percent. Scores are reported as a percentage per section, and programs may average them into a composite. Always check the exact requirement for the schools you are applying to.
What sections are on the HESI A2?: The HESI A2 has eight academic sections: Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Grammar, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics. It also includes non-academic modules such as Critical Thinking, a Learning Style survey and a Personality Profile. Schools choose which sections applicants must take, so most candidates sit a subset, commonly math, reading, vocabulary, grammar and anatomy and physiology.
How long is the HESI A2 exam?: There is no universal time limit because each school decides which sections to require and how long to allow. If you sit the full battery it can run around 4 to 5 hours, but most candidates take only the sections their program requires, so a typical sitting is closer to 2 to 4 hours. Check your program's testing instructions for the exact sections and time so you can pace your practice to match.
How hard is the HESI A2?: The HESI A2 is manageable with preparation, but the range of content trips people up. Math includes dosage-style calculations, fractions, ratios and conversions, while anatomy and physiology and biology reward specific recall of systems, cells and metabolism. The reading and grammar sections test comprehension and usage under time. Because programs weigh the score heavily in admissions, the challenge is scoring high enough for your target school, which is where repeated practice on your weak sections matters most.
Can you retake the HESI A2?: Usually yes, but the rules are set by each nursing program rather than by Elsevier. Many schools require a waiting period of roughly 30 to 90 days between attempts and cap the number of tries per application cycle, often two or three. Some average your attempts and others take the highest, so confirm your program's retake and scoring policy before you sit it, then use the wait to drill the sections that held your score down.
Is this an official HESI A2 practice test?: No. PDFQuiz is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Elsevier or HESI. This tool generates practice questions from the study material you upload so you can rehearse recall and reasoning between full practice tests, and it does not reproduce official HESI questions. Use it alongside an up-to-date HESI A2 study guide and your program's instructions, not as a replacement for them.

Related study tools

Applying to programs that use a different entrance exam? Build a TEAS practice test from your own notes too, and once you are in nursing school, turn your coursework into NCLEX practice questions for the boards. To turn any source into a set, use the PDF to practice test generator or the study notes to quiz maker.

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Upload your HESI A2 notes or study guide PDF and generate practice questions in under a minute. Keep generating fresh sets on your weak sections until every timed run clears the score your program wants.

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