What part of your application is most taken into consideration during the admissions process? Is it teacher recommendations, grades, extracurricular activities, test scores? In this clip from our CEO’s chat with placement expert Neal Kamsler, Neal discusses the different ways that schools might interpret your ISEE & SSAT scores, and how those scores factor into the final admissions decision.
For 21 years, Neal Kamsler was Head of Upper School at Allen-Stevenson School in New York City. He now serves as Senior Director of Placement at Oliver Scholars, a non-profit educational access organization. Listen to the full school admissions conversation here.
The Lower Level ISEE is taken by students applying to grades 5 and 6. Students can take the test on the computer or on paper. It consists of five sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and the Essay.
While every student is different, the number one cause of test anxiety is not knowing what to expect. High-stakes exams like the ISEE, SSAT, SAT, and ACT are significantly different than in-school assessment tests that students regularly take, so the strategies for taking these tests are different too. This might...
One critical aspect of ACT preparation is familiarizing yourself with the test so there are no surprises on test day. Knowing what to expect for each section of the test builds confidence and prevents lost time.
For the SSAT, students receive a scaled score and a percentile for each subject of the test (Quantitative, Reading, and Verbal). Note: the Writing Sample is not scored. Instead, a copy of the writing sample is sent with the score report to the school recipient. Learn how the scaled score...
Get resources: full-length SSAT practice tests, level-appropriate vocabulary lists, a watch for test day (and practice sections!), a quiet place to complete timed sections
Help students eat well, sleep well, and exercise often
The Quantitative Reasoning section of the ISEE tests mathematical reasoning abilities, which means that the questions often don’t require significant calculation and instead can be solved with numerical and logical reasoning.
Fast Facts
Second section of the ISEE
Lower Level: 35 minutes with 38 questions
all word problems
Middle and Upper...
We are so excited to introduce Loren, one of our 2023 Independent School Tuition Scholars! Loren increased her ISEE score by 18.5%, earning her a spot in the 93rd percentile overall.
As part of our mission to help students gain access to quality educational opportunities, we award six merit-based scholarships every year to the Test Innovators students who showed the most improvement on either the SSAT or the ISEE.
Our Director of Admissions, Laurie, recently sat down with four parents who went through the admissions process last year to understand what it’s like for students and their families. Check out their advice to others who are navigating the admissions process.
