ISEE EXPLAINED

The Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) is a three-hour admission test for entrance into grades five through twelve. The ISEE consists of carefully constructed and standardized verbal and quantitative reasoning tests that measure a student’s capability for learning, and reading comprehension and mathematics

The ISEE is administered at three levels: a Lower Level for students currently in grades four and five, a Middle Level for students in grades six and seven and an Upper Level for students in grades eight to eleven.

How is ISEE organized?
ISEE is broadly divided into five main sections namely Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement and Essay. The essay is not scored, but it is forwarded to the schools or counselors along with the Individual Student Report (ISR).

ISEE Lower Level

TIME

SUBJECT

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS

25 minutes

Verbal Reasoning

40

 

Synonyms

 

 

Sentence completion

 

35 minutes

Quantitative reasoning

35

 

Comprehension

 

 

Interpretation

 

 

Application Higher Order Thinking

 

40 minutes

Reading Comprehension

36

 

Humanities Passages

 

 

Science Passages

 

 

Social Studies Passages

 

40 minutes

Mathematics

35

 

Knowledge and Skills

 

 

Computation/Comprehension

 

 

Applications

 

30 minutes

Essay

 

ISEE Middle Level

TIME

SUBJECT

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS

20 minutes

Verbal Reasoning

40

 

Synonyms

 

 

Sentence completion

 

35 minutes

Quantitative reasoning

35

 

Comprehension

 

 

Interpretation

 

 

Application Higher Order Thinking

 

40 minutes

Reading Comprehension

40

 

Humanities Passages

 

 

Science Passages

 

 

Social Studies Passages

 

45 minutes

Mathematics

45

 

Knowledge and Skills

 

 

Computation/Comprehension

 

 

Applications

 

30 minutes

Essay

1

ISEE Upper Level

TIME

SUBJECT

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS

20 minutes

Verbal Reasoning

40

 

Synonyms

 

 

Sentence completion

 

35 minutes

Quantitative reasoning

35

 

Comprehension

 

 

Interpretation

 

 

Application Higher Order Thinking

 

40 minutes

Reading Comprehension

40

 

Humanities Passages

 

 

Science Passages

 

 

Social Studies Passages

 

45 minutes

Mathematics

40

 

Knowledge and Skills

 

 

Computation/Comprehension

 

 

Applications

 

30 minutes

Essay

1