To score top marks on the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE), it is important to understand the structure of the test.
There are three variations of the ISEE depending on grade level.
Lower Level (for students entering grades 5 and 6)
Middle Level (for students entering grades 7 and 8)
Upper Level (for students entering grades 9 and 12)
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As you can see, the sections stay constant but the number of questions and time allotted change depending on your level.
It is also relevant to know that this is a long test!
The ISEE is 2 hours and 50 minutes (Upper and Middle Levels) and 2 hours and 30 minutes (Lower Level)!
This test is certainly competitive and challenging, but it provides a great learning opportunity for students to set clear goals and achieve their objectives.
VERBAL REASONING: Requires knowledge of vocabulary, especially synonyms and using context clues to determine the best word choice in sentences
QUANTITATIVE REASONING: Focuses primarily on problem-solving skills and critical thinking through word-based problems. These types of problems frequently do not require significant calculation, but rather numerical and logical reasoning.
READING COMPREHENSION: You need to read 5 passages and answer different question types for each passage (Students perform better when they can quickly identify question type)
MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT: This section covers a variety of content areas such as numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis, probability and problem solving.
ESSAY: Students have 30 minutes to write an essay on a given topic. While the essay is unscored, your school of choice certainly considers this component and it is beneficial for the student to weave in information about the school in his or her response.
Students' scores are converted into what the ISEE calls stanines, or scores ranging from 1-9 with 1 being the lowest and 9 the highest. The middle 50% of students will score 5 on any section—above 5 is above average, below 5 is below average. For example, if a student scored in the 98th Percentile, she'd receive a 9 stanine score. These stanine scores are the most considered factor by the admissions committees so it is important to understand how they work.
In test prep, the goal is to hone in on student's weaker areas and apply proven strategies that students can use to identify different types of problems so they can apply the correct method to solving them quickly and accurately.
For any test, it is important to practice early and consistently, set appropriate goals and build confidence through practice. Every one of my students has improved their test performance using my materials, guidance, instruction and test-taking approach.
If you would like to schedule 2-4 sessions to prepare for the entire test or either the reading/math sections, please email Brian at:
1. Know the Test
The Verbal Reasoning (VR) section assesses student’s vocabulary, ability to identify synonyms, and ability to solve the verbal puzzles known as sentence completions. The first half consists of synonyms, and the second half consists of sentence completions, which are each a sentence with one or two blanks followed by four answer choices. This section of the test is completely multiple-choice questions.
2. Answer every question (No penalties for guessing!)
3. Process of elimination (Which words do not seem to fit the answer? Eliminate them!)
4. Use the Positive-Negative-Neutral-Rule - Does the word sound positive, negative or neutral?
5. Identify the Prefix/Suffix/Root of a word (Learning words in categories based on this criteria is a great strategy for vocabulary building)
6. Which word do you associate most with the main word (Way to find synonym)
7. Learn the etymology of the word. Knowing the history of a word can help you remember it
8. Use the word in a sentence to remember it (e.g. prosperous: The prosperous merchant sold many kinds of spices and acquired great riches
9. Make the vocabulary word memorable (Connect it to something/someone you know or an impactful emotion)
10. Use Context (Where have you heard of the word before)
11. Underlining the key word/idea (Sentence completion)
12. Look for Sentences showing contrast (Sentence completion)
13. Look for Sentences showing cause or sequence (Sentence completion)
