What the NLN NEX is, and how it differs from PAX and TEAS
The NLN Nursing Entrance Exam, NEX, is three computer-based subject tests in one sitting: verbal, math, and science, 60 minutes each. All three must be finished to produce a report. A Savannah lap book that still says PAX will miss the new clocks and the science list that dropped physics. The proctor will not grade the book. The 2025 brief will.
This guide is NEX’s shape, what replaced PAX, and the fact that NLN reports while the catalog admits. If your PDF named TEAS or HESI instead, stop and open TEAS 7 or HESI A2. If the name is still a maybe, open the name in the catalog.
What the NLN NEX actually tests
The National League for Nursing’s Assessment Services Division writes NEX. ATI writes TEAS. Elsevier writes HESI. Those are three vendors. Scores do not convert. Read NLN’s NEX technical brief (PDF) after your PDF names NEX. Nursier does not sell NEX. We do not collect NLN fees. Unofficial practice is a separate product.
Three subject tests, one sitting
NLN’s January 2026 brief is the public shape:
- A battery of three computer-based subject tests in one session.
- Live proctoring, on site at an approved center or virtually with active monitoring.
- Multiple choice, four options. Linear-on-the-fly forms that meet the blueprint.
- No penalty for guessing. Unanswered items count as incorrect.
- Each subject test is 60 minutes. All tests must be completed to produce a score report.
That last line is why a person who “skips science to save time” does not have a report. Finish the battery.
What the 2025 brief actually counts
| Subject | Scored items | Unscored (pilot) | What the brief puts inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal | 50 | 8 | Word knowledge 25, reading comprehension 25 |
| Mathematics | 40 | 5 | Numbers and operations, measurement, algebra, data and information |
| Science | 55 | 5 | Biology, human anatomy, human physiology, chemistry, health |
Verbal is 34 percent of the scored battery. Math is 28. Science is 38. Those percents are NLN’s. They are not a school cut. Logic and reasoning are reported inside each subject, not as a fourth exam. We will not invent a current student price. The school or NLN names the fee on the registration you actually open.
PAX numbers will mislead you
NLN published a PAX-to-NEX one-pager because people keep sitting the old story. PAX verbal had more scored items and six reading passages. NEX verbal has five passages and 50 scored items. PAX science included physics. NEX science does not. PAX math leaned on conversions and geometry in a different mix. NEX math names measurement and data. Read the PAX-to-NEX one-pager (PDF) and then close the 2018 book. Official NLN practice, if you buy it, is on NLN’s prep page. Their NEX practice includes all three areas.
NLN does not admit you
The brief says NEX is one measure for admission and student support. The catalog still writes the cut, the retake rule, and whether all three subjects count. A total that looks fine in a practice portal can miss a science floor. That is the same family of problem as a TEAS composite that hides a section. Different vendor. Same humility.
What not to sit this month
Do not sit a TEAS dump because a friend did. Do not sit leftover PAX items and call them NEX. Do not skip a subject test. If you need unofficial practice after the name is honest, sit practice questions only if they match this family. The Nursier editorial team wrote this.
After you know it is NEX
Write four facts: three 60-minute tests, scored counts 50 / 40 / 55, no physics, school cut. Then retire the PAX book. We do not take NLN checkout. NLN keeps that payment.
Common questions
Is NEX harder than TEAS?
They are different tickets. Comparing “harder” is how people buy the wrong pile. Sit the one the PDF named.
Can I finish only verbal and math?
NLN says all tests must be completed to produce a score report. A partial sitting is not a strategy.
Does NEX have an English section like TEAS?
NEX verbal covers word knowledge and reading. TEAS splits reading and English and language usage. Do not study the wrong fourth clock.
Is there physics?
Not on the NEX science list in the current brief. Biology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, health.
Sources
Nursier is independent. We are not affiliated with NLN, ATI, or Elsevier. This article is planning copy. It is not a live NEX form, not a cut score, and not a registration.
