ISEE Upper Level

Theindependentschoolentranceexam(Isee),Upperlevel

The ISEE is an admission test for independent schools, offered at several levels by grade. The Upper Level is for students applying to grades 9 through 12. The test is owned and administered by E3n (Enrollment Management & Educational Records Group, Inc.), the nonprofit formed when the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), the ISEE's longtime publisher, combined with the Enrollment Management Association. The ISEE and the SSAT remain separate tests, and the ISEE's format and scoring are unchanged.

Exam Pattern

The Upper Level ISEE contains 160 multiple-choice questions in four scored sections, followed by a 30-minute essay. Total testing time is 2 hours and 40 minutes, with two 10-minute breaks. Every multiple-choice question has four answer choices (A–D). Each section includes several unscored questions that are being tried out for future forms; they look like every other question, so treat every question as if it counts. Calculators, rulers, protractors, and scratch paper are not permitted; on the paper test, students work in the test booklet.

Section Questions	Time	QuestionTypes
1 VerbalReasoning 40 .	20min	Synonyms;sentencecompletionwithoneortwoblanks
2 QuantitativeReasoning 37 .	35min	Wordproblemsandquantitativecomparisonsthatemphasize
		reasoningoverlengthycomputation
	10 -minute break
3 ReadingComprehension 36 .	35min	Sixpassages(arts contemporarylife history science) sixquestions , , , ,
		each
4 MathematicsAchievement 47 .	40min	Curriculum-based problems many requiring more than one step ,
	10 -minute break
5 Essay 1prompt .	30min	Awrittenresponsetooneprompt;notscored senttoschoolswith ,
		thescorereport
U LT I P L E - C H O I C E Q U E S T I O N S B Y S E C T I O N VerbalReasoning·20min QuantitativeReasoning·35min ReadingComprehension·35min MathematicsAchievement·40min		40questions 37questions 36questions 47questions

Multiple-Choicequestionsbysection

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40 in 20 min

37 in 35 min

36 in 35 min

47 in 40 min

1 prompt

Scoring

The raw score for each section is the number of questions answered correctly. A wrong answer and an omitted answer count the same, so there is no penalty for guessing and no question should be left blank. Raw scores are converted into the reported scores below. Students do not pass or fail the ISEE; there is no cutoff score, and each school decides how to weigh the results.

ReportedScore	WhatItMeans
Scaledscore	760 to 940 for each of the four multiple-choice sections; scaling adjusts for small differences in
	difficultybetweentestforms
Percentilerank	1to99:thepercentageofstudentsinthenormgroupwhoearnedthesameoralowerscore A70th .
	percentiledoesnotmean70%correct
Stanine	Abroadbandfrom1to9thatgroupspercentileranks(seethetablebelow);manyschoolsread
	staninesfirst
Normgroup	StudentsapplyingtothesamegradewhotooktheISEEduringthepastthreeyears soanapplicantto ,
	grade9iscomparedonlywithothergrade9applicants
Essay	Notscored;acopyoftheresponseissenttoeveryschoolthatreceivesthereport

Stanine	PercentileRanks	Interpretation
1	1–3	Belowaverage
2	4–10	Belowaverage
3	11–22	Belowaverage
4	23–39	Average
5	40–59	Average
6	60–76	Average
7	77–88	Aboveaverage
8	89–95	Aboveaverage
9	96–99	Aboveaverage

Because every applicant is compared with students applying to the same grade, the percentile and stanine matter more to most admission offices than the scaled score itself. A stanine of 5 or higher in each section places a student at or above the middle of the applicant pool.

Testing Options and Fees

Students may take the ISEE once per testing season: Fall (August–November), Winter (December–March), and Spring/Summer (April–July), for a maximum of three times in a twelve-month admission cycle. Registration is completed online through E3n's ISEE registration site, where families choose a format, date, and location. Fees for grades 5–12 are shown below; check the registration site for current amounts before registering.

TestingOption	Format	Fee (Grades 5–12)
Ataschool	Onlineorpaper	$170; paper late registration $215 (20–14 days before) and walk -in $230
		(13daysorfewer)
Athome	Online	$170whenadministeredbyaschool;$250whenadministeredbyE3n
AtanE3noffice	Online	$225group;$255individual(foraccommodations)
Prometrictestcenter	Online	$250
Changes	—	$50torescheduleand$55cancellationfeeforschool home andoffice , ,
		testing; Prometric uses its own change-fee schedule

Exam at a Glance

ExamAspect	Details
Ownerandadministrator	E3n(EnrollmentManagement&EducationalRecordsGroup Inc) formedfromERBandthe , . ,
	EnrollmentManagementAssociation
Whotakesit	Studentsapplyingforadmissiontogrades9–12atindependentschools
Questions	160 multiple-choice questions four choices each plus one essay prompt , ,
Time	2 hours 40 minutes of testing plus two 10 -minute breaks ,
Calculator	Notpermitted;rulers protractors andscratchpaperarenotpermittedeither , ,
Scoring	Raw score = number correct; scaled scores 760–940 per section , percentile ranks , and stanines; no
	penaltyforguessing
Scorerelease	Usually3–5daysafteronlinetestingand5–10daysafterpapertesting
Scorereports	Familieschoosetherecipientschools;onlyacompletereport includingtheessay canbesent , ,
Retakes	Once per testing season up to three times in a twelve-month cycle ,
Accommodations	AvailableforstudentswithdocumentedneedsthroughtheISEEaccommodationsprocess approved ,
	beforeregistration