What are the sections of the ISEE?

The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) is comprised of five sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics achievement, and the essay.

1. Verbal Reasoning
   

   The ISEE’s Verbal Reasoning section contains two types of questions: vocabulary and sentence completions. Vocabulary questions provide  a word and ask the student  to choose the most similar word from four options. Sentence completion questions ask students  to fill in one or two blanks in a sentence with the best word (or words) from four answer choices. Sentence completion questions on the Lower and Middle Level tests will have only one blank to fill in for each sentence, while the Upper Level test will have some questions with one blank and some questions with two blanks.

2. Quantitative Reasoning
   

   Quantitative Reasoning is the first of the ISEE’s two math sections. This section focuses on students’ logical and mathematical reasoning skills. Unlike many of the math tests students  may have taken in school, a lot of the questions in this section require little to no calculations. On the Lower Level test, all of the questions are word problems. On the Middle and Upper Level tests, the questions consist of both word problems and quantitative comparison questions. Quantitative comparison questions will give students  two quantities (A and B) and ask them  to evaluate the relationship between them. The answer choices for quantitative comparison questions are always the same:

   A. The quantity in Column A is greater
   B. The quantity in Column B is greater
   C. The two quantities are equal
   D. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
   
   
3. Reading Comprehension
   

   The Reading Comprehension section consists of reading passages which vary widely in topic. Students may see passages related to science, literature, history, and/or daily life. After reading the passage, students are asked questions about the main ideas, details, organization, and tone of the passage. Some questions will ask students to make inferences based on what they have read. Passages are chosen to be grade-level appropriate and interesting. There are six reading passages on both the Middle and Upper Level ISEEs, while the Lower Level Test only includes five. 

4. Mathematics Achievement
   

   The Mathematics Achievement section aims to test the mathematical skills students  have learned in school. The questions and content are made to align with grade level standards determined by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The topics covered include numerical operations, algebra, geometry, data analysis, and measurement. Unlike the Quantitative Reasoning section, students  may need to perform calculations in this section. It is worth noting that while calculations may be necessary, calculators are not allowed, so being quick and careful with calculations is important.

5. Essay
   

   For the final section of the test students  will be given 30 minutes to write an essay in response to a prompt. While the essay is not scored, it is sent to the schools students are applying to. The essay provides students an opportunity to show schools how well they can express themselves, organize their thoughts, and address a prompt in a logical manner.