The Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) is taken by some students applying for admission to independent schools. There are three main levels of the ISEE meant to assess students of different ages: Upper Level, Middle Level, and Lower Level. At each of these levels, the test shares the same format listed below. There are also three different primary level tests for students applying to grades 2-4, each of which has a different format.
ISEE Upper Level
- Duration: 3 hours and 0 minutes
- Applying for Grade: 9-12
ISEE Middle Level
- Duration: 3 hours and 0 minutes
- Applying for Grade: 7-8
ISEE Lower Level
- Duration: 2 hours and 40 minutes
- Applying for Grade: 5-6
Format of ISEE Tests
- Verbal Reasoning: 40 Questions, 20 mins (ML and UL)
- Part One – Synonym Questions: students are given a word and must choose an answer that is most similar in meaning to the given word.
- Part Two – Sentence Completion: students choose one or two words that best fill in the blanks in a given sentence, using context clues from the sentence to help guide them.
- Quantitative Reasoning: 37 Questions, 35 mins (ML and UL)
- Part One – Word Problems: these problems test numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis & probability.
- Part Two – Quantitative Comparisons: students are given two quantities and asked to determine whether one is larger, whether both are equal, or if there is not enough information provided to determine the relationship.
- Reading Comprehension: 36 Questions, 40 mins (ML and UL)
- This section includes six reading passages each of which have six reading comprehension questions.
- Mathematics Achievement: 47 Questions, 40 mins (ML and UL)
- As with the quantitative analysis section, this section tests content related to numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis and probability. However, the section is less focused on logic and more focused on students’ computational abilities – direct calculation, applying formulas and knowing mathematical terminology.
- Essay: 1 essay, 30 mins
- The final section gives students two prompt choices for writing a personal essay of 1-2 pages (about 300-400 words). This section is not scored and does not have right or wrong answers. The essays are sent to the admissions offices of the schools to which students are applying.
Scoring Structure:
Students’ raw scores from each section are converted into scaled scores, percentiles, and stanines. Students earn a point for every correct answer- the sum of correct answers constitutes their raw score for each section. Unlike the SSAT, there is no penalty for wrong answers. Raw scores are converted into a scaled scale from 750 to 940. Percentiles are calculated based on how a student’s scaled score ranks in comparison to the scaled scores of students in the same grade that took the test in the past three years (not the current year). Lastly, students’ scores are converted into stanines from 1-9 (9 being the highest score) derived from the percentiles:
- Stanine 9: 96th–99th percentile
- Stanine 8: 89th–95th percentile
- Stanine 7: 77th–88th percentile
- Stanine 6: 60th–76th percentile
- Stanine 5: 40th–59th percentile
- Stanine 4: 23rd–39th percentile
- Stanine 3: 11th–22nd percentile
- Stanine 2: 4th–10th percentile
- Stanine 1: 1st–3rd percentile
Changes and Trends for the ISEE
There have been no major changes in the ISEE’s structure, format or content focus in recent years. As of December 2020, however, all students taking the ISEE can choose the ISEE at Home option which allows students to take the exam digitally on their home computers. As a result, test center availability for both paper tests and virtual tests is more limited than in the past. Depending on your area, it may be difficult to find centers offering paper tests in person, so it’s important for parents to research testing centers in advance.
Marks Education recommends that most students take the ISEE on paper. This allows students to mark up and annotate reading passages, work out math problems, cross out wrong answer choices, and employ several other strategies that involve writing directly on the test pages. However, some students may not have the option of taking the test on paper. They can still prep for the exam and see strong score improvements.
Another recent trend in private school admissions in the D.C. area and around the country is a return to requiring test scores since our blog on the topic in 2021. You can find a breakdown of testing policies below. Note that these are the testing policies for students applying to 9th Grade, most of whom will be taking the upper-level versions of the SSAT and ISEE. Some schools may have different policies for students applying to middle school or later grades in high school.
While many independent schools require the ISEE, many also require or accept the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT), High School Placement Test (HSPT), Measures of Academic Progress (MAP Growth), or an in-house test created by the school. The Educational Records Bureau (ERB), the makers of the ISEE, and the Enrollment Management Association (EMA), the makers of the SSAT, recently merged into E3n. The merger may cause many schools to accept both tests interchangeably. Contact Marks Education about which test is best for your student or to schedule a free proctored baseline test.
Testing requirements at top private schools in the country
| School | State | Tests Required | Optional Tests | Test Blind | Change Since 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brearly School | NY | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Choate Rosemary Hall | CT | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Harvard-Westlake School | CA | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| The Hotchkiss School | CT | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Lakeside School | WA | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| The Lawrenceville School | NJ | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Phillips Academy Andover | MA | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Phillips Exeter Academy | NH | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| The Roxbury Latin School | MA | SSAT |
D.C. area high school testing requirements
| School | State | Tests Required | Optional Tests | Test Blind | Change Since 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of the Holy Cross | MD | HSPT | |||
| Archbishop Carroll High School | DC | HSPT | |||
| The Avalon School | MD | ||||
| Bishop McNamara High School | MD | HSPT | |||
| Bullis School | MD | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Connelly School of the Holy Child | MD | In-House Test | |||
| DeMatha Catholic High School | MD | HSPT | |||
| Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School | MD | MAP | |||
| Edmund Burke School | DC | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| Elizabeth Seton High School | MD | HSPT | |||
| Episcopal High School | VA | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Field School | DC | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| Flint Hill School | VA | SSAT | |||
| Georgetown Day School | DC | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Georgetown Preparatory School | MD | SSAT | |||
| Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School | DC | HSPT | |||
| Gonzaga College High School | DC | HSPT | |||
| The Heights School | MD | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| Holton-Arms School | MD | SSAT, ISEE or in-house | (change to include SSAT/ISEE) | ||
| Landon School | MD | SSAT/HSPT | (Change from in-house test) | ||
| The Madeira School | VA | SSAT/ISEE/ERB/School, State, or Country mandated testing | |||
| Maret School | DC | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| National Cathedral School | DC | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Our Lady of Good Counsel High School | MD | HSPT | |||
| The Potomac School | VA | SSAT/ISEE or in-house assessment | |||
| Sidwell Friends School | DC | School, State, or Country mandated testing | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | ||
| St. Albans School | DC | SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| St. Andrew’s Episcopal School | MD | Essay/project or SSAT/ISEE/HSPT | |||
| St. Anselm’s Abbey School | DC | SSAT | |||
| St. John’s College High School | DC | HSPT | |||
| St. Mary’s Ryken High School | MD | HSPT | |||
| St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School | VA | SSAT | |||
| Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart | MD | SSAT/ISEE | |||
| Vincent Pallotti High School | MD | HSPT |