ISEE

The Independent School Entrance Exam or ISEE is used for admission to many private elementary, middle, and high schools.

This test measures verbal, math, reading comprehension and essay writing skills. The ISEE format for all students is similar, but the content is divided into four grade-specific iterations: primary ISEE (2nd-4th grades), lower level (5th-6th grades), middle level (7th-8th grades), and upper level (9th-12th grades).

For all students, we suggest taking an initial practice test ahead of time to determine individual needs and necessary timing. In general students should begin preparing about six to eight months in advance. Students may register to take the ISEE up to three times in a 12-month admission cycle, once in any or all of three testing seasons. The seasons are Fall (August–November), Winter (December–March), and Spring/Summer (April–July).

Primary Level 2:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Auditory Comprehension	6 questions	7 minutes	Listening passage followed by six questions: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Organization questions Vocabulary questions Tone of the Passage questions
Reading	18 questions	20 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Figurative Language questions
Mathematics	24 questions	26 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number Sense and Operations Geometric Concepts Measurement Algebraic Concepts Data Analysis and Probability
		53 minutes + 5-10 minute break

Primary Level 3:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Reading	24 questions	28 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Figurative Language questions
Mathematics	24 questions	26 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number Sense and Operations Geometric Concepts Measurement Algebraic Concepts Data Analysis and Probability
		54 minutes + 5-10 minute break

Primary Level 4:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Reading	28 questions	30 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Figurative Language questions
Mathematics	28 questions	30 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number Sense and Operations Geometric Concepts Measurement Algebraic Concepts Data Analysis and Probability
		1 hour + 5-10 minute break

Lower Level:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Verbal Reasoning	34 questions	20 minutes	Synonyms and Sentence Completion
Quantitative Reasoning	38 questions	35 minutes	Mathematical Reasoning problems that require little or no calculations
Reading Comprehension	25 questions	25 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Tone/Style/Figurative Language questions
Mathematics Achievement	30 questions	30 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number and Operations Geometry Measurement Algebra Data Analysis and Probability Problem Solving
Writing Sample	1 prompt	30 minutes	Written Essay
		2 hours, 20 minutes + two 5-10 minute break

Middle Level:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Verbal Reasoning	40 questions	20 minutes	Synonyms and Sentence Completion
Quantitative Reasoning	37 questions	35 minutes	Mathematical Reasoning problems that require little or no calculations
Reading Comprehension	36 questions	35 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Tone/Style/Figurative Language questions
Mathematics Achievement	47 questions	40 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number and Operations Geometry Measurement Algebra Data Analysis and Probability Problem Solving
Writing Sample	1 prompt	30 minutes	Written Essay
		2 hours, 40 minutes + two 5-10 minute break

Upper Level:

Section	Questions	Time Allotted	Types of Questions Note: All Sections except the Writing Example are Multiple Choice.
Verbal Reasoning	40 questions	20 minutes	Synonyms and Sentence Completion
Quantitative Reasoning	37 questions	35 minutes	Mathematical Reasoning problems that require little or no calculations
Reading Comprehension	36 questions	35 minutes	Passage and Questions Responding to the Passage: The Main Idea questions The Supporting Ideas questions Inference questions Organization/Logic questions Vocabulary questions Tone/Style/Figurative Language questions
Mathematics Achievement	47 questions	40 minutes	Mathematical skills: Number and Operations Geometry Measurement Algebra Data Analysis and Probability Problem Solving
Writing Sample	1 prompt	30 minutes	Written Essay
		2 hours, 40 minutes + two 5-10 minute break

How does the scoring system work?

The ISEE scores are called ‘stanines’. The lowest score is a ‘1’, and the highest score is a ‘9’. The stanines correspond to percentiles, as shown in this chart: