Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) Exam Help!

The Independent School Entrance Exam or ISEE is designed to test a student’s learning ability and measure knowledge in the subject area. Selective private schools seeking to screen prospective students also use the ISEE.  The test is held every six months and lasts for three hours. All the questions are multiple-choice except for the essay writing section. This section however does not influence the final score as it is not graded but just sent to the prospective school.

ISEE is comprised of different sections. There is the verbal reasoning section, mathematics section, quantitative reasoning section and the reading and comprehension. The verbal reasoning section is for 20 minutes and has 40 questions on factor-synonym recognition and ability to correctly complete an incomplete sentence. The quantitative section covers basic math, geometry, quantitative comparison, algebra and the ability to understand and apply advanced concepts. This section has 35 questions and last for 35 minutes. The reading and comprehension section has 40 questions and last for 40 minutes. Students are expected to answer questions on several short passages on social science, humanities and science provided. The math section covers actual math knowledge in most areas of basic math. There are 40 questions to complete in 40 minutes in the math section and students are not allowed to use calculators. Finally, students will be given 30 minutes to write an essay on a topic assigned.

There are three different levels of ISEE exams for different grade levels. The Lower Level, for students seeking admission into grade 5 or 6,  the Middle Level ISEE for admission into grade 7 or 8, and the Upper Level ISEE for admission into grades 9 through 12. Scores are sent a few weeks after the exam to both the school and parents. The ISEE exam usually takes place in the desired school of choice and so information about fees and date can be obtained from the school. Each school sets its own minimum score requirement.

Exam Help!

Test Preparation, Study tips and Strategy The ISEE is a General Aptitude test which tests your ability to learn rather than what you know.

Knowing this, you can formulate your study strategy. To study for a General Aptitude test you need to first master the test material as in any test.

After that, you need to become learn how to answer the different types of questions that you will encounter on the test.

Reading Comprehension Questions. Tips, practice questions and strategies for answering reading comprehension questions.

Mathematics Questions. Learn how to break math questions down into small parts and solve each part individually.

Essay Questions. Tips and strategies for answering Essay Questions.

Aptitude Tests.    This exam tests your ability to learn, not what you already know. Study tips and strategy >>>


Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) Practice Test Questions


Practice Reading Comprehension Questions - (includes Main Idea and Making Inferences)
Practice Math Questions (General)
Basic Math (Very Basic - Long & Short Division, Multiplication, Decimals, Fractions, Percent etc.)
Basic Math II (Percentage, Fractions Decimals exponents, simple algebra, parentheses removal etc.)
Basic Algebra (Word Problems using basic algebra)
Exponents (Adding, subtracting and multiplying exponents and exponent fractions)

Everything you Need to Pass the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE)

Complete study guide prepared by a dedicated team of expert researchers.

You receive the benefit of our hard work! Here is a complete exam package with everything you need, including study plan and practice questions, prepared by experts.

ISEE Study Guide



ISEE Flash Cards


Study after Study shows that flash cards are one of the best ways to study.

Our full-time staff have researched all the material for this test and refined it down to 342 concepts that are critical to ACING this test.

ISEE Flash Cards