Free VTNE practice test

A full-length VTNE practice test weighted exactly the way the AAVSB’s 2023 content outline publishes it — ten domains, an item count for each, 150 scored questions. An explanation for every one, and nothing to sign up for.

VTNE full-length practice

150 scored questions. 180 minutes.

That is the full clock the real paper gives you, spent on the 150 questions that count. On the day, 20 unscored pretest items share the same 180 minutes, so the real pace is about 1.1 minutes an item — this run is deliberately a little kinder than that. The questions are dealt in the proportions the content outline publishes rather than evenly. The clock starts when you press the button and submits the test when it runs out, and you will not be told whether an answer was right until the end — that is the point of a full run.

1.1 min an item on the day Weighted to the published outline No account, nothing saved off your device

Practise one area at a time

The full test tells you where you stand. These tell you what to do about it: untimed sets with the explanation right after each answer, which is the one thing a timed run cannot give you.

The figure beside each domain is the number of scored items the content outline gives it, out of 150. These are the AAVSB’s own counts, not this site’s estimate — spend your revision in that proportion.

Pharmacy and pharmacology 20/150 Preparing, calculating, dispensing and storing drugs — and knowing what they do published 13% of the examinationSurgical nursing 20/150 Sterile and circulating roles, instrument care, and the aseptic chain that either holds or does not published 13% of the examinationDentistry 10/150 The comprehensive oral health assessment and treatment, and the radiographs that make it diagnostic published 7% of the examinationLaboratory procedures 14/150 Sample handling, in-house testing across six disciplines, and quality control that means something published 9% of the examinationAnimal care and nursing 30/150 The largest domain: assessment, nursing procedures, medication routes, restraint and the ward itself published 20% of the examinationDiagnostic imaging 9/150 Producing diagnostic images safely — positioning, technique, and the dose nobody is allowed to absorb published 6% of the examinationAnesthesia 20/150 The plan, the machine, the airway, and monitoring through every stage published 13% of the examinationEmergency and critical care 10/150 Triage, emergency procedures, critical care nursing, and the ongoing evaluation of an unstable patient published 7% of the examinationPain management and analgesia 10/150 Recognising pain in an animal that cannot report it, and building the plan around what you saw published 7% of the examinationCommunication and support services 7/150 Client education, professional communication, history taking, and assisting with euthanasia published 5% of the examination

A hundred and seventy questions, a hundred and fifty that count

The handbook is unusually precise about the paper: the VTNE "consists of 150 multiple-choice operational questions and 20 multiple-choice pilot questions", and three hours to answer all of them. The twenty pilot items are being trialled for future examinations, they do not count towards your score, and — the sentence worth remembering — they "are not marked any differently from the operational questions". There is no way to spot one and nothing to gain from trying. The blueprint describes the 150 that are scored, and that is what this practice test reproduces.

The second thing to know is that this examination is a fixed form rather than an adaptive one, which changes how you should sit it. The handbook states that candidates can skip questions, change answers and mark questions for review. That makes a first pass answering everything you know quickly, and a second pass on what you marked, a real strategy here — where on an adaptive test it would be impossible. A calculator is provided in the platform, so the arithmetic in the pharmacology domain is arithmetic you check rather than arithmetic you perform in your head.

The third thing is the one most free material gets wrong, and it is about the score. Performance is reported as a scaled score from 200 to 800 with a passing score of 425, and the AAVSB states in the same paragraph that it "does not offer VTNE scores as number correct or percentage correct". So a page telling you the pass mark is a percentage is quoting a figure its publisher declines to produce. This site reports a raw count and a per-domain breakdown, calls it exactly that, and never converts it into anything.

Frequently asked

How many questions are on the VTNE?
A hundred and seventy are presented and a hundred and fifty are scored. The candidate handbook states that the examination consists of 150 multiple-choice operational questions and 20 multiple-choice pilot questions, that your score is based on the 150, and that the pilot items are not marked differently and cannot be identified. Both numbers are correct, and most material quotes only one of them.
How long is the VTNE?
Three hours — 180 minutes — for the whole paper, which is a little over a minute per presented item. The handbook says a countdown clock appears on screen and that you may hide it if you would rather not watch it.
What score do you need to pass the VTNE?
A scaled score of 425. Performance is converted mathematically to a scale running from 200 to 800, and the AAVSB states that it does not offer scores as number correct or percentage correct — which means no percentage anyone quotes you is the passing mark, including a percentage from this site. Scaled scores are equivalent across administrations so that the standard does not move between sittings.
Can you skip questions and come back to them on the VTNE?
Yes. The handbook states that candidates can skip questions, change answers and mark questions for review. The examination is a fixed form rather than an adaptive one, so a first pass for the questions you are sure of and a second pass for the ones you marked is a workable strategy — and it is worth knowing, because advice written for adaptive certification exams says the opposite.
What are the ten VTNE domains?
Pharmacy and pharmacology (20 items), surgical nursing (20), dentistry (10), laboratory procedures (14), animal care and nursing (30), diagnostic imaging (9), anaesthesia (20), emergency medicine and critical care (10), pain management and analgesia (10), and communication and veterinary professional support services (7). Those counts are the AAVSB’s own, from the content outline its board approved in March 2023, and they sum to the 150 scored items.
Is there a calculator on the VTNE?
Yes — the handbook states that a calculator is provided through the exam platform, and that handheld or other digital calculators are not permitted without an approved accommodation. The practice test here shows a calculator note for the same reason, so the dosage-calculation items on the real paper are not a mental-arithmetic test.
Does passing the VTNE make me a credentialed veterinary technician?
No. The AAVSB administers the examination and states that it does not license, certify or register veterinary technicians. Jurisdictions require a passing VTNE score as one criterion for credentialing, and state or provincial law sets the rest, including the scope of practice. Eligibility to sit runs through one of three pathways and not every jurisdiction accepts all three, so the board you intend to be credentialed by is the authority on your route.
Are these the real questions?
No, and nobody publishing the real ones would be doing so lawfully. Every question here is original, written against the published content outline so that practising it covers what the examination covers rather than reproducing it.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and nothing to buy. Your scores are kept in your own browser and never sent anywhere.

The other half of certification

Passing the VTNE is not the same as being credentialed. The AAVSB administers the examination and states plainly that it does not license, certify or register veterinary technicians: jurisdictions require a passing score as one criterion among several, and state and provincial law sets the scope of practice and the licence requirements. Eligibility to sit runs through one of three pathways and not every jurisdiction accepts all three. Nothing on this site is jurisdiction-specific — that part has to come from the board you intend to be credentialed by.

198 original questions are in the bank behind this test, across the 10 content areas above.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read. Requirements change; if a source has moved on since that date, the source is right and this page is out of date.

Allied Exam Bank is independent practice material and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by Credentia, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, or any state nurse aide registry. NNAAP® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. Programme and examination names are used only to describe what this material prepares you for. Every question here is original and none is taken from any actual examination. This site is not a nurse aide training programme and does not prepare you for the skills evaluation.