The Best ISEE Upper Level Test Prep

• The ISEE Upper Level is for students applying to grades 9-12.
• The ISEE Middle Level is for students applying to grades 7&8.
• The ISEE Lower Level is for students applying to grades 5&6.
• The ISEE Primary Level is offered for students applying to grades 2, 3, and 4; however, ISEE scores are not that important at this early age.

Assuming a winter application deadline in December or January, the majority of students will start preparing in fall. About a quarter of students plan ahead and start in summer. And another quarter play catch-up in the winter.

Read our article to learn more about when to prepare for the ISEE test.

The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) is a standardized test required by many American private schools for admission. It is comprised of 4 scored sections testing math and reading plus 1 non-scored, 2-page personal essay. The ISEE admission test lasts between 2.5 and 3 hours depending on which grade to which the student is applying. The worst stanine score is a 1 and the best score is a 9; average scores are 4, 5, and 6. Students may take the ISEE test up to 3 times a year, but most students only have two chances to make their best score before applications are due.

• Read more about the ISEE Upper Level test.
• Read more about the ISEE Middle Level test.
• Read more about the ISEE Lower Level test.

When you hear other people discussing ISEE scores, they are usually referring to Stanine Scores. The Stanine Scores are also what schools usually care about most, as they provide the most succinct way of measuring a student’s performance on the ISEE test.

In general, a good ISEE score for an academically competitive school is a Stanine Score of 7, 8, or 9. Stanine Scores of 4, 5, and 6 are considered average, and scores of 1, 2, and 3 are below average. However, the comprehensive answer to this question depends on several factors, including the schools to which you are applying.

For more information, read our comprehensive article, “What is a Good Score on the ISEE?”

The ISEE test can be difficult but it does not have to be. The ISEE tests both what students have learned in school (achievement) as well as how they apply that knowledge to new and novel situations (reasoning). The ISEE test is comprised of four scored sections in this order:

1. Verbal Reasoning
2. Quantitative Reasoning
3. Reading Comprehension
4. Mathematics Achievement

High achieving students who are already performing well in school tend to naturally do well on the achievement parts of the test (Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievement). Conversely students who are already struggling with fractions or building their vocabularies will see those deficiencies amplified on the ISEE.

Almost all students find the two reasoning sections difficult (Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning). These two sections are specifically designed to challenge students to take their in-class learning one step further.

No, the ISEE test does not allow a calculator on either of the two math sections of the ISEE test—Mathematics Achievement and Quantitative Reasoning. All math questions are designed to be answered without the aid of a calculator. In fact, when a question looks like it might involve many steps and complex calculations, it can often be solved very quickly with a little mental math and logic.

The average student preparing with Piqosity reports that they spent between 30 and 40 hours in total studying for the ISEE. However, how long your student will need to study for the ISEE depends on three primary factors:

1. The academic competitiveness of the schools to which your child is applying.
2. Your child’s baseline score after taking a diagnostic test.
3. Your child’s desired score.

For example, an average student applying to a large private school that caters to students of different abilities will not need to study nearly as much as an average student applying to a small private school that prides itself for academic rigor.

In general the ISEE test lasts between 2.5 and 3 hours with breaks, but the exact duration depends on the level of the test the student is taking.

• The ISEE Upper Level is for students applying to grades 9-12 and lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes not including two breaks. Students must answer 160 multiple-choice questions and write 1 essay in this time period.
• The ISEE Middle Level is for students applying to grades 7&8 and lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes not including two breaks. Students must answer 160 multiple-choice questions and write 1 essay in this time period.
• The ISEE Lower Level is for students applying to grades 5&6 and lasts 2 hours and 20 minutes not including two breaks. Students must answer 147 multiple-choice questions and write 1 essay in this time period.

ISEE test score results can take anywhere from 24-hours to 10 days before they are viewable in the ERB’s online parent portal.

Tests taken on a computer either at home or at a testing center are scored within 24-hours.

Tests taken on paper are not promised to be scored until 10-14 days after the test date. However, the reality is that most large testing sites (popular private schools) quickly turn around the results as soon as the Monday or Wednesday after a Saturday testing.

As of 2021, there was no paid option for guaranteed faster scoring since the online testing results are already so fast.

As a rule, our editors try to ensure that Piqosity’s first-party preparation material for the ISEE test is at or slightly above the expected difficulty of the actual ISEE. The last thing we want to do is provide unrealistically easy material that lulls families into a false sense of confidence (and the next to last thing we want to do is make the content so difficult that we scare students into feeling defeated).

Beginning in winter 2021, we started to peer norm every question on Piqosity and compare it to the actual ISEE test results. When we examined our 3,597 questions for the ISEE Upper Level on December 21, 2021, we found that students were answering our questions with a mean accuracy of 51.25% and a median accuracy of 51.75%, which is nearly exactly the same as the official ISEE results reported from students testing in November of 2021.

However, Piqosity’s norm group is smaller and likely more studious than the ISEE-taking population as a whole, which means that Piqosity’s content may skew more difficult than what students can expect to find on the actual ISEE.

Parents must create an online account at ERB to register for the ISEE test:

1. Create an online account at ERB
2. Pick a test date and location (online, school, or testing center)
3. Pay a fee of between $140 and $200 depending on the location

To avoid paying a $30 late registration fee, parents should register at least 3-weeks before their desired testing date.

Some testing locations require an access code to register because they only test students enrolled or applying to their school. Parents obtain this code by speaking with the school’s admissions team.