RSSON utilizes the HESI Admission Assessment (A2) as a tool to assess the academic preparedness of prospective nursing students for the Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.

Exam Registration

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment is administered in the RSSON at assigned location.  Dates are posted on HESI A2 Testing Schedule or students are notified by email.  Students must register through Elsevier and create a MyEvolve account.  Space for testing is limited, and students must register for a test date. No additional test dates will be added unless at the discretion of the faculty. HESI A2 spring is sheduled in the spring semester and students are allotted two opportunities to achieve the minimum score requirement.

Assessment Contents

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment consists of five computerized content areas including Math, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Science, and Critical Thinking.  A cumulative score of 78% is required for consideration of admission into the SON.

  1. Math: 55-item examination focused on math skills essential for health care professions including basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions, household and metric measurements and conversions, and general mathematical principles. Recommended time: 50 minutes.
  2. Reading Comprehension: 55-item examination focused on reading and comprehension of health-related scenarios.  Students will identify the main idea, determine meaning of words within the context of the scenario, reading passage comprehension, and develop logical inferences related to the scenario.  Recommended time: 60 minutes.
  3. Vocabulary and General Knowledge: 55-item examination focused on assessment of basic vocabulary that is often used in health professions.  Recommended time: 50 minutes.   
  4. Science: 30-item examination of each of the following, Anatomy and Physiology: focused on comprehension of general terminology, anatomical structures and functions of the human body systems.  Recommended time: 25 minutes.  Biology:  Covers biology basics, water, biological molecules, metabolism, cells, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, etc. Recommended time: 25 minutes.  Chemistry:  Contains test items that cover matter, chemical equations and reactions, the periodic table, atomic structure, nuclear chemistry, chemical bonding, etc.  Recommended time: 25 minutes 
  5. Critical Thinking: 30-item examination focused on assessment of critical thinking ability in situations encountered in healthcare settings. A total score is reflective of abilities including four categories: 1.  Problem Solving, 2. Biases and Ethical Dilemmas, 3. Argument Analysis, 4. Analysis of Data.  All answers are multiple choice; however, each item represents varying degrees of critical thinking ability.  The higher the score, the better the representation of the student’s ability to critically think which is essential within the nursing discipline.  This examination does not require a minimal score for admission criteria evaluation.

Scoring and Admission Guidelines

Students will receive a composite score for each content exam as well as a cumulative score.  Students must score a minimum of 78% on the cumulative score, including the math, reading comprehension, vocabulary and general knowledge, and science content examinations for consideration of admission into RSSON. The cumulative score and the student’s nursing core curriculum GPA will be utilized to determine admission into RSSON nursing program if ranking is needed.  The cumulative score and the nursing core curriculum GPA will each count at 50% to determine an admission score by which students will be ranked.

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment may be completed a maximum of two times within one academic year.  The scores are valid for one year and a repeat examination may only be taken greater than 30 days from the previous examination unless otherwise deemed necessary per SON faculty.  Students failing to meet the minimum of 78% cumulative score will need to register to retake the examination on another available test date.

A student failing to meet the 78% cumulative score after two attempts will not be eligible to retake the exam until one year from the first examination date and will consequentially delay admission until the following entrance year.

The HESI A2 score is calculated by the following:

  1. English Language Composite Score (ELCS): includes the following sub-content areas and counts as 43% of the overall HESI A2 cumulative grade:
    1. Reading Comprehension (RC)
    2. Grammar (GRA)
    3. Vocabulary and General Knowledge (V/K)
  2. Science Composite Score (SCS) includes the following sub-content areas and counts as 43% of the overall HESI A2 cumulative grade:
    1. Biology (BIO)
    2. Chemistry (CHEM)
    3. Anatomy & Physiology (AP)
  3. Math (MA) Score which is a single exam score and counts as 14% of the overall HESI A2 cumulative grade.

HESI A2 scores from other testing sites will be considered by faculty for admission criteria. The HESI A2 report must be submitted to the chair of nursing for review.

Refer to RSSON HESI A2 Admission Assessment Preparation & Testing Guidelines and

RSSON’s HESI A2 Test Registration Instructions

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is expected of all students.  Breeches of academic integrity will not be tolerated and may result in denial of admission into RSSON or dismissal from the program.  Any student(s) found to be engaging in any type of academic dishonesty, forgery, or misrepresentation of identity will not be allowed to test.  Any breech of academic integrity discovered after testing may result in ineligibility to apply to the nursing program.

After Exam Completion

Students will receive scores within 24 hours after testing by accessing the myEvolve website.  Students are provided remediation information specific to their individual examination results through myEvolve.  Scores are provided to RSSON following the exam.  Students are not required to send scores to RSSON.  However, if the student tests at an alternative testing site, the student is responsible for providing a copy of the HESI A2 Admission Assessment score to RSSON.

If you have questions concerning the HESI A2 Admission Assessment requirements, please contact Rielin & Salmen School of Nursing at (706)865-2134, ext. 6001 or your nursing academic advisor.