US admissions tests

The ISEE explained

6 min read · updated 2026-10-02

The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) is used by many US independent schools for entry to grades 5 to 12. This guide covers the levels, what each section tests, how scores are reported and how often a student can take it.

Levels and sections

Students applying for grades 5 and 6 take the Lower Level, grades 7 and 8 the Middle Level, and grades 9 to 12 the Upper Level. Each level has four scored sections, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievement, plus an essay that is sent to schools but not scored.

✓ Verbal Reasoning: vocabulary and sentence completion (Upper Level: 40 questions in 20 minutes)
✓ Quantitative Reasoning: reasoning and quantitative comparison (37 in 35 minutes)
✓ Reading Comprehension: passages from different subjects (36 in 35 minutes)
✓ Mathematics Achievement: school maths content (47 in 40 minutes)
✓ Essay: 30 minutes, unscored

How scores are reported

Schools see scaled scores, percentile ranks and stanines for each section. The percentile compares a student with others applying to the same grade, and the stanine groups percentiles into nine bands from 1 to 9. Because the comparison group is other strong applicants, a 50th percentile is a solid, not weak, result.

How often can a student take it?

Up to three times in a 12-month admission cycle, once in each testing season: fall (August to November), winter (December to March) and spring/summer (April to July).