The Independent School Entrance Examination''
ISEE online page
(ISEE) is an

entrance exam In education, an entrance examination or admission examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typicall ...

used by many

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

s and

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

s in the United States. Developed and administered by the

Educational Records Bureau Educational Records Bureau (ERB) is an educational services Non-profit Organization that offers assessments for both admission and achievement for independent and selective public schools for Pre K-grade 12. ERB was founded in 1927, and is h ...

, the ISEE has four levels: the Primary level, for entrance to grades 2–4; Lower level, for entrance in grades 5–6; Middle level, for entrance in grades 7–8; Upper level, for entrance in grades 9–12. All levels consist of five sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and a 30-minute essay. The ISEE can be seen as a parallel to the

Secondary School Admission Test The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is an admission test administered by The Enrollment Management Association in the United States to students in grades 3–11 to provide a standardized measure that will help professionals in indepen ...

, or SSAT. It is currently administered by

Measurement Incorporated Measurement Incorporated is an educational testing company based in Durham, North Carolina. The company was founded in 1980 by Dr. Henry Scherich. Measurement Incorporated currently administers state-wide standardized tests for Arizona, Californi ...

Verbal reasoning

This section consists of two parts:

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

and sentence completions. Both parts measure the student’s

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

level and reasoning ability. The Synonym section assesses the student’s ability to pick, out of four options, a word with a similar meaning to the one in question. The Sentence Completion section assesses the student’s ability to complete a sentence logically by picking the correct word out of the four options presented. On the Upper and Middle Levels there are 40 questions to be answered in 20 minutes. On the Lower Level there are 34 questions to be answered in 20 minutes.

Quantitative reasoning

On the Lower Level, there are 38 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. On the Upper and Middle Levels, there are 37 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. The Lower Level consists of Word Problems, and the Middle and Upper levels consist of Word Problems and Quantitative Comparisons. All questions found in the two math sections of the ISEE are linked to the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...

(NCTM) Standards. The ISEE uses the following NCTM strands as a basis for the Quantitative Reasoning section: * Numbers and Operations * Algebra * Geometry * Measurement * Data Analysis and Probability * Problem Solving

Reading comprehension

On the Lower Level, there are 25 questions to be answered in 25 minutes. On the Middle and Upper levels, there are 36 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. The Lower Level contains five reading passages, each followed by five questions. The Middle and Upper levels contain six reading passages, each followed by six questions. The passages include topics related to history, science, literature, and contemporary life. The types of questions focus on six categories: Main Idea, Supporting Ideas, Inference, Vocabulary, Organization/Logic and Tone/Style/Figurative Language.

Mathematics achievement

There are 30 questions to be answered in 30 minutes on the Lower level, and 47 questions to be answered in 40 minutes on the Middle and Upper levels. As with the questions in the Quantitative Reasoning section, this section will include questions from NCTM standards.

Essay

On all three levels, candidates must plan and write an essay to provide a sample of his or her writing to schools to which the candidate is applying. A random topic is distributed, and students have 30 minutes to write an essay using a black or blue pen. The essay is not scored, but is photocopied and sent to schools to which the student is applying.

Breaks

On all three levels, students are given two five-minute breaks when they take the ISEE. One is after the Quantitative Reasoning section and the other is after the Mathematics Achievement Section. During the breaks, students may use the restroom, talk, eat food, or walk around the room. However, students are not permitted to discuss the test.

References

{{reflist Year of introduction missing Standardized tests in the United States