7 Prep Tips for the ISEE
It’s the start of the school year, which means it’s the start of a new testing season. Here are a few tips on how to prepare for the ISEE!
1. Give yourself enough time to take the test twice.
It can be helpful to schedule two test dates in advance, just in case you are not happy with the results of the first test.
Students can take the ISEE up to three times, once per season. The three testing seasons are: Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer.
If you haven’t signed up for a test date yet, you can register on the ERB site.
2. Make a consistent practice schedule.
It’s best to practice in shorter, more frequent sessions as opposed to a few long sessions. Practicing three to five times a week for 30 to 60 minutes is better than practicing once a week for 5 hours. Frequent practice will help you strengthen and retain content knowledge and your test-taking skills.
One recommended study schedule is to take one practice test every week or every other week, depending on how close your test date is. You can then complete additional practice in between.
3. Take practice tests.
We always recommend that students get started by taking a full-length ISEE practice test. Taking practice tests helps you gain familiarity with the test’s content, style, and format. Familiarizing yourself with the test will help you build confidence and ensure there aren’t any surprises on test day.
The most effective way to take a practice test is to take a mock test. During mock testing, students take a full-length practice test while receiving test-day instructions from a live proctor. Taking a mock test will help you simulate test day, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.
4. Learn test-taking strategies.
Test-taking is a skill that can be learned and improved on with consistent, targeted practice. We offer ISEE prep classes to teach students key strategies for every section of the test. During the small-group class, students will learn how to quickly and effectively eliminate wrong answer choices, what to do when encountering difficult questions, and more.
If you can’t make it to a prep class, we also have a video course to help students learn test-taking strategies and skills. The video course consists of over 60 instructional videos, each about one to three minutes long, that cover specific strategies for all sections of the test.
5. Study vocabulary.
You will likely encounter new words on the Verbal Reasoning section, so you will want to learn as many new words as possible. Studying vocabulary words will also help you on the Reading Comprehension section.
Studying for just 15 minutes each day can really help you improve. There are several ways to study vocab, including flash cards, writing sentences that contain the vocabulary words, drawing pictures depicting the word, and using the vocabulary words in everyday conversation. It is also a good idea to study roots, prefixes, and suffixes, which can be very helpful when encountering unfamiliar words.
6. Read challenging texts.
Reading a variety of things, such as newspaper articles and nonfiction books, will prepare you for the wide assortment of passages on the Reading Comprehension section of the test. It’s important to read challenging texts, so that you can improve your reading skills.
Reading will also greatly improve your vocab and writing, as well as your test-taking skills in general, as it’s a great way to strengthen your focus.
7. Don’t stress too much about unfamiliar material.
The ISEE may have questions that you are unfamiliar with and don’t not know how to answer, and that’s okay. Keep in mind that students from different grade levels take the same test. For example, if you are applying to 9th grade, you will take the same test as students applying to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade.
This is not a disadvantage, however, because your test is scored based on your grade level. That means that you will only be compared to other people applying to the same grade as you.
Being well-prepared for the ISEE will help you build confidence and alleviate test anxiety. The most important thing to do right now is to set goals for what areas to improve on, make a prep plan, and stick to it. Happy studying!
