HESI A2 Passing Score: What You Actually Need, Section by Section (2026)

The HESI A2 passing score isn't one number, it's set per school and per section. Here's how the sections are scored and how to hit them.

You're applying to nursing school, the application checklist says "HESI A2," and somewhere on a forum you read that you need a 75 to pass. Then you read another thread that says 80. Then a third that says it depends on the section. You're trying to pin down a single number that will get you in, and the honest answer is that the single number doesn't exist.

Here's the short version: the HESI A2 has no universal passing score. Each section is reported as its own percentage, and each nursing program sets its own cut; often around 75%, with competitive programs wanting 80%+ and some scoring a weighted average across the sections they require. The exam doesn't pass or fail you. Your program does, using rules printed in its admissions page.

Below: what the A2 actually is (and how it differs from the HESI Exit you may have also heard about), how the per-section scoring really works, a section-by-section table with realistic targets, why "the passing score" is the wrong question, and a study plan built for the sections students reliably underestimate.

What you'll get:

• What the HESI A2 is, and why it's not the HESI Exit/E2
• How scoring works (per-section percentages, not one composite)
• A section-by-section table with what each tests and a realistic target
• Why there's no single passing score, and what schools actually set
• How to read YOUR program's specific requirement
• A four-phase study plan that targets the sections people fail

What the HESI A2 Is (and Isn't)

The HESI A2, formally the Admission Assessment, is Elsevier's pre-nursing-school entrance exam. Programs use it to screen applicants before admission: it's a gatekeeper at the front door of nursing school.

This is the first thing to get straight, because two very different exams share the "HESI" name:

• HESI A2 (Admission Assessment), taken before you start nursing school, as part of your application. That's the one this guide is about.
• HESI Exit / E2, taken in your final semester, as a graduation gate and an NCLEX predictor.

If you're searching for a "passing score" and you're still applying to programs, you want the A2. They are not interchangeable, and a score on one tells you nothing about the other.

The A2 is a modular exam: it's built from a menu of sections, and your school chooses which ones count. The academic sections schools can include are:

• Math
• Reading Comprehension
• Vocabulary & General Knowledge
• Grammar
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Physics (less common, mostly required by select programs)

On top of those, the A2 carries three non-academic sections that don't have a "passing score" in the same way: Critical Thinking, a Learning Style assessment, and a Personality Profile. Schools use these for advising and cohort placement, not usually as a cut. Your program decides which academic sections it requires, many use four to six of them.

The thing to internalize: there is no fixed "HESI A2 test." There's a HESI A2 configuration your specific program built. The first move in your prep is finding out which sections yours requires.

How the A2 Is Scored (Per-Section, Not One Number)

Here's the part the forums get wrong. The HESI A2 does not hand you one overall pass/fail score the way a driving test does. Instead:

• Each section is reported as its own percentage, your Math score, your Reading score, your A&P score, each standing alone.
• There's also a composite/average across the sections you took, but whether your school cares about the composite, the individual sections, or both is entirely up to the school.

This distinction matters enormously, because it changes how a weak section hurts you. Consider two students who both "averaged 80%":

If their target school only looks at the composite, both pass. If the school requires every required section to clear its cut, which many do, Student B's 60% in A&P sinks the whole application despite the identical average. Same composite, opposite outcome.

Section-by-Section: What Each Tests and a Realistic Target

Here's the table students actually want. The "typical target" column reflects where common school cuts cluster, but read it as direction, not a promise. Your program's number overrides anything here.

Two sections deserve a flag because they're the ones students most often underestimate:

• Math. People assume it's "just arithmetic." It is, until the dosage conversions and ratio problems show up under time pressure with no calculator habits built. Many programs set Math as a strict floor (you must clear it regardless of your other scores) because medication math is non-negotiable in clinical practice.
• Anatomy & Physiology. A&P is frequently the lowest-scoring section on the whole exam, and it's often the one programs weight most heavily because it's the strongest predictor of nursing-course success. If your program requires A&P, treat it as your center of gravity.

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"Every cycle I watch strong students get rejected over one section. Almost always it's A&P or Math, the two they were sure they had. They studied Reading because it felt productive, and let the section that actually gates them slide."

If you only have time to over-prepare two sections, make them Math and A&P. That's not a guess; it's where applications die.

Ready to drill the sections that matter? HESI A2 prep on Precision Nursing is built around per-section practice with full rationales. Start free →, no credit card.

Why There's No Single Passing Score

Now the question everyone arrives with: "What's the passing score?" The reason you keep getting different answers is that the exam doesn't set one, schools do. Elsevier provides the scores; your program decides what clears.

Cut scores vary widely:

• A less competitive program might accept 70% on its required sections.
• A typical program often sets the bar around 75%.
• A competitive program, more applicants than seats, frequently wants 80%+, sometimes with a hard 85% floor on Math or A&P specifically.
• Some programs don't use a fixed cut at all: they rank applicants by composite or by A&P score and admit from the top down. In that model there's no "passing", only "high enough to make the cut this cycle," which moves every year.

This is genuinely good news, even though it sounds like more work. Because the cut is per-program and per-section, you can reverse-engineer your exact target instead of chasing a mythical universal score. You're not aiming at "pass the HESI." You're aiming at "clear this program's required sections at its posted cut, with a buffer."

How to Read YOUR Program's Requirement

The most important HESI A2 number isn't in any blog post, it's on your target program's admissions or nursing-application page. Before you schedule the exam, get answers to five questions:

1. Which sections does this program require? Don't study Physics if your program never looks at it. Don't skip Chemistry if it does.
2. What's the minimum score, per section, composite, or both? This determines whether a weak section can be averaged away or whether it's fatal on its own.
3. Is there a hard floor on Math or A&P? Many programs gate these two individually even when they average everything else.
4. Is it pass/fail, or are applicants ranked? A ranked program means "the posted minimum" and "the score that actually gets in" are different numbers, aim well above the floor.
5. What's the retake policy? How many attempts, and how long must you wait between them?

A Study Plan to Hit Your Targets

This plan assumes you have roughly four to six weeks. Compress or expand the phases, but keep the sequence; and keep it organized by section, because that's how you're scored.

Phase 1, Diagnose (first few days)

• Take a full-length practice set covering every section your program requires, untimed.
• Score it by section, not just overall. The composite tells you where you stand; the per-section breakdown tells you where you'll get rejected.
• Rank your weakest two or three required sections. Expect A&P and Math to surface here for most people, and if they do, accept it instead of avoiding them.

Phase 2, Patch the weak areas (the bulk of your weeks)

For each weak section, run this loop:

1. Drill the single section untimed until your accuracy sits consistently at or above your target plus a cushion (if the cut is 75%, drill to a steady 85%).
2. Reintroduce time pressure on the same material, timed sets, so accuracy survives the clock.
3. For Math specifically: build a no-calculator habit. Hand-work conversions, ratios, and dosage problems until the steps are automatic.
4. For A&P specifically: study by system (cardiovascular, respiratory, renal…) and force yourself to connect structure to function, not just memorize labels.

Spend roughly 70% of your time on your weakest two sections. Re-reading material you already score 90% on feels productive and changes nothing, it's a comfort trap.

Phase 3, Simulate (final week to ten days)

• Take one or two full-length, timed runs across all your required sections back-to-back.
• Practice pacing and stamina, not just content; a multi-section exam is a marathon, and fatigue late in the test is a real variable.
• Review every miss for the why, not just the right answer.

Phase 4, The 48 hours before

• Stop learning new material. Light review of high-yield facts only, formula sheet for Math, normal anatomy relationships, key vocabulary.
• Sleep. A rested brain outperforms a crammed one on a long reasoning exam, every time.

After the A2: It's the Front Door, Not the Finish Line

Clearing the HESI A2 gets you into a program. It says nothing about the NCLEX or the HESI Exit you'll face years later, those are entirely separate exams with their own scoring. So treat the A2 for exactly what it is: a one-time admissions hurdle you clear cleanly, with a buffer, and then move past.

The students who get in aren't the ones who found a secret "passing score." They're the ones who pulled up their actual program's requirements, saw they needed 80% on A&P and a Math floor, and spent their weeks on those two sections instead of the ones that felt comfortable.

Practice the Sections That Actually Gate You

Precision Nursing's free tier covers the HESI A2 sections with per-section practice and full rationales, including the Math and Anatomy & Physiology questions that decide most applications. Diagnose your weak sections, drill them to a buffer above your program's cut, and walk in knowing your numbers. HESI A2 prep is free to start. Start free →. No credit card.

FAQ

What is a passing score on the HESI A2?

There isn't a universal one. The A2 reports each section as its own percentage, and each nursing program sets its own cut; commonly around 75%, with competitive programs wanting 80%+ and some ranking applicants instead of using a fixed pass mark. The only "passing score" that matters is the one posted by the specific program you're applying to.

Is the HESI A2 the same as the HESI Exit?

No. The HESI A2 (Admission Assessment) is an entrance exam you take while applying to nursing school. The HESI Exit (E2) is a graduation predictor you take in your final semester. Different purpose, different content, different scoring, don't confuse the two.

Which HESI A2 section is the hardest?

Anatomy & Physiology is frequently the lowest-scoring section, and Math is the one students most often underestimate. If your program requires either, treat them as your priorities, they're where applications most often fail.

How many times can I retake the HESI A2?

That's set by your school, not Elsevier; typically two or three attempts within an admissions cycle, often with a mandatory wait period (commonly 30–60 days) between sittings. Confirm your program's exact policy before you schedule, because a deadline plus a wait period can leave you only one real attempt.

Does my school look at the composite or each section?

It depends on the program, and it changes everything. Some use only the composite average; many require every individual required section to clear its cut; some set a hard floor on Math or A&P specifically. Read your program's admissions page to find out which rule applies before you decide where to study.