ISEE Independent School Entrance Exam
Grades 4–12

Advanced admission assessment
 

What is ISEE?

For over 20 years, the ISEE has provided independent schools and selective public schools with a rigorous admission tool for evaluating applicants. The 2011-2012 season will mark the debut of an online version of the ISEE. Please click here for more information on the ISEE Online.

Features and Benefits of ISEE

• Schools can choose test dates at individual school test sites
• Reasonable testing fee for families ($95)
• Electronic score reports within 48 hours
• Accommodations available with approval
• Fee waivers for test sites
• What to Expect on the ISEE at no cost  online
• Payments made directly to supervisors, administrators, and proctors
• No penalty for incorrect answers for entrance into top-performing independent schools
• Standards aligned with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
• Customer service for schools and families at every turn

To learn more about how to become an ISEE test site or to receive ISEE test scores, click here.

ISEE Test Standards

ISEE test questions continue to be aligned to the current standards defined by the National Council of Teachers of Math and the National Council of Teachers of English. Each item was written by grade level content specialists and ERB faculty members under the guidance of Measurement Incorporated. Upon approval, the item was subjected to a Universal Design review to make sure that there were no barriers to students of varying backgrounds (e.g., gender, ethnicity, handicapping conditions) in order to make sure that the items measured the constructs intended, rather than irrelevant group differences. The items measured the skills intended. Items were reviewed and assessed for bias by experts. Approved items were then field tested and, after completing all steps, included in the final form.

ISEE Norm Process

The process by which the ISEE is normed continues to be a 3-year rolling norm pool of applicants to the same grade regardless of gender. The test is scored based on the total number of correct answers and there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. From the raw score, the scaled score is derived. The scaled score is then compared to a 3-year rolling norm pool of applicants to the same grade to determine the student’s percentile ranking. Stanines are also reported to represent the percentiles.

Test Sections and Timing

Please click here for a list of ISEE test sections and associated timing.
 

Once applicants are admitted, schools can use ERB's CTP 4 or CTP Online to assess student progress and provide robust and timely feedback to inform instruction, curriculum and learning decisions.  Serving the needs of students and schools that aspire to meet essential academic standards, the CTP is a natural follow-up to the ISEE and provides a rigorous series of assessments in English language arts, mathematics (grades 1-11) and science (grades 3-11).  Click here to find out more about the CTP.