What is the ISEE?
ISEE is an acronym that stands for "Independent School Entrance Examination." The ISEE is administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), and there are four distinct ISEE assessments: Primary (intended for students wishing to enroll in grades 2-4), Lower (grades 5-6), Middle (grades 7-8), and Upper (grades 9-12). ERB member schools, which may be either public or private, use the appropriate ISEE levels to evaluate candidates for admission to their programs, along with other credentials such as GPA, letters of recommendation, and outside activities. The ISEE is available as an online examination or as a paper-and-pencil test, except for the Primary ISEE, which is an online-only assessment.
Which Schools Accept the ISEE?
Although the ISEE is accepted by more than 1,200 schools, we can't be sure that your chosen institution is among them. Some schools give students and parents a choice, while others will only accept the ISEE, the SSAT (a test administered for similar purposes), or yet another examination. The schools themselves are the most reliable sources of information on admission testing policies.
How is the ISEE Organized?
At the Lower, Middle, and Upper levels, the ISEE is a five-part test that includes the following sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics achievement, and essay. The first four sections are comprised entirely of multiple-choice questions. The timing and number of questions associated with each section vary by level. The Middle and Upper Level ISEEs take a total of 160 minutes to complete, divided into 20 minutes and 40 questions for verbal reasoning, 35 minutes and 37 questions for quantitative reasoning, 35 minutes and 36 questions for reading comprehension, 40 minutes and 47 questions for mathematics achievement, and 30 minutes and one prompt for the essay. At the lower level, the section timing/question breakdown is as follows: verbal reasoning (20 minutes for 34 questions), quantitative reasoning (35 minutes for 38 questions), reading comprehension (25 minutes for 25 questions), mathematics achievement (30 minutes for 30 questions), and essay (30 minutes for one prompt).
What About the Primary Level ISEE?
The Primary Level ISEE has a unique structure for each grade level. Aside from the writing sample, all Primary Level ISEE questions are multiple choice. For entrance to grade 2, the ISEE has a 6-question auditory comprehension section (7 minutes), an 18-question reading section (20 minutes), a 24-question mathematics section (26 minutes), and an untimed writing sample. The Primary Level 3 ISEE has 24 questions each for reading and mathematics (for which test-takers are given 28 and 26 minutes respectively) and the untimed writing sample. At Primary Level 4, the ISEE includes reading and mathematics sections (28 questions and 30 minutes each) plus the untimed writing sample.
How is the ISEE Scored?
ISEE score reports, which ERB refers to as Individual Student Reports (ISRs), include raw and scaled scores for each section, percentile rankings, and stanine analysis. The Lower, Middle, and Upper ISEE scaled score range is 760-940 per section. At the Primary Level, scaled section scores are reported from 200-299 each (grade 2), 300-399 each (grade 3), or 400-499 each (grade 4). For test-takers at all levels, raw scores (the total number of correct answers) are reported by skill areas within each section, while percentile rankings compare the student's performance with all other test-takers over the past three years. Stanine analysis (1-9) compares student scores on the "ability" sections (verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning) with the corresponding "achievement" sections (reading comprehension and mathematics achievement).
What's a Good ISEE Score?
The median Lower, Middle, and Upper Level ISEE scaled scores for each section are usually between about 840 and 890, and section scores follow an expected pattern of ascending by grade level. For example, the 50th-percentile mathematics achievement score is 848 for grade 5, 871 for grade 7, 883 for grade 9, and 892 for grade 12. The median sectional score for the Primary Level ISEE mostly falls between 40 and 50 points above the bottom of the appropriate scale (e.g. 240-250 for the Level 2 exam).