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UNDERSTANDING THE ISEE
The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) is an admission test used by many
independent schools. Students in grades 4-11 take the ISEE when applying to grades 5-12
in independent schools. The ISEE is administered on three levels: Lower (for students
currently in grades 4 and 5 seeking admission to grades 5 or 6); Middle (for students
currently in grades 6 and 7 seeking admission to grades 7 or 8); and Upper (for students
currently in grades 8 and above seeking admission to grades 9-12).
The five sections that make up the ISEE are (in order of testing): Verbal Reasoning,
Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement and an Essay.
The first four sections consist of multiple choice questions, while the Essay section requires
the student to respond to a writing prompt. Below is a summary of the ISEE testing levels,
number of questions and timing:
Lower Level
(Candidates for Grades 5 and 6)
Test
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
Mathematics Achievement
Essay
No. of Questions
34
38
25
30
1
Total Time
Time (Min)
20
35
25
30
30
2 hours 20
minutes
Middle Level
(Candidates for Grades 7 and 8)
Test
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
Mathematics Achievement
Essay
Total Time
No. of Questions
40
37
36
47
1
Time (Min)
20
35
35
40
30
2 hours 40
minutes
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Upper Level
(Candidates for Grades 9-12)
Test
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
Mathematics Achievement
Essay
No. of Questions
40
37
36
47
1
Total Time
Time (Min)
20
35
35
40
30
2 hours 40
minutes
Verbal Reasoning
The verbal reasoning section consists of two types of questions: synonyms and sentence
completion. Each synonym question consists of a stem word followed by four answer
choices. Each sentence completion question consists of a sentence with one word, two
words or a phrase missing followed by four answer choices. A student must select the
word(s) or phrase that best completes the context of the sentence. Verbal reasoning tests a
student’s “reasoning” ability.
Quantitative Reasoning
At the Lower Level, the quantitative reasoning section consists of word problems that
require either simple or no calculation. At the Middle and Upper Levels, the student will be
asked to answer also quantitative comparison questions by comparing two quantities, (A)
and (B), with the following four answer choices:
(A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
(B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
(C) The two quantities are equal.
(D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Quantitative reasoning tests a student’s “reasoning” ability.
Reading Comprehension
In the reading comprehension section, the student is required to read a passage and then
answer questions specific to that passage. The passages cover different subjects, including
arts, contemporary life, history and science. The writing style is typically expository,
narrative, persuasive or descriptive.
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Mathematics Achievement
The mathematics achievement section tests the student’s knowledge in math. The
questions conform to national mathematics standards. The questions typically require one
or more steps in calculating the answer.
Essay
The student is given a writing “prompt” or topic on which he or she must write an essay.
The essay is typically one to two pages. The essay will not be scored; however, a copy of the
essay will be sent to the school(s) designated on the ISEE registration form.
Scoring
Scores are based on the number of correct answers. Wrong answers are not penalized, so it
is in the student’s best interest to always guess and not leave a question blank. The number
of correct answers is a student’s “raw score”. For example, if a student answered 27
questions correctly out of 40, then her raw score is simply 27.
Next, the student’s raw score is converted to a “scaled score” with a range of 760-940. In
the conversion, the student is compared to other independent school applicants who tests
for the same grade during the past three years. The scaled score is associated with a
percentile ranking which shows how the student scored in comparison to the other
students applying to the same grade. Each school expects a certain range of ISEE scores for
its applicants. Given that the group of students who take the ISEE is a very select group of
students who generally apply to highly selective schools, the ISEE percentile ranks are
generally lower than those on other tests that use national norms.
Finally, a student’s percentile rank is converted to a “stanine score”, which is simply another
scale. Percentile ranks range from 1-99, and stanines range from 1-9.
Percentile Rank
1-3
4-10
11-22
23-39
40-59
60-76
77-88
89-95
96-99
Stanine
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Timing
Students may arrange to take the ISEE at one of the participating school sites throughout
the country and abroad on a number of test dates. The ISEE is also given at the ERB office in
New York and at offices in other parts of the country and abroad.
The ISEE may be taken only once every 6 months, and a student may not take practice tests,
since she must make a formal application to a school for each administration of the test.
Regular registration deadlines are three weeks before each test date. Late registration
(phone or fax only) deadlines are two weeks before each test date. A student may want to
register at least 6-8 weeks ahead of time to avoid late fees and ensure that she can take the
ISEE at her preferred test center.
After registration, a student may change her test date to a later date by contacting the ISEE
Operations Office; however, the student cannot reschedule testing for test sites that are
filled to capacity and test dates where registration has closed.
The Individual Student Report (ISR) and a copy of a student’s essay are usually released to
her chosen schools 7-10 days after her test date. Parents will also receive their student’s
scores within two weeks from such student’s test date.
***
Note: This article discusses information current as of Summer of 2014, and the
information presented herein should not be relied upon without consulting directly with
the school admissions offices.
For additional information, please contact Ivy Link experts at
[email protected] or 1.888.844.4439
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