About ISEE

“Learning is more effective when it is Active rather than a passive process.”

~ Kurt Lewin

  • CEM (Centre for Evaluation & Monitoring)
  • GL Assessment
  • ISEB (Independent Schools Examining Board)
  • SAT
  • Numerical Reasoning
  • English (comprehension, spelling, punctuation, grammar)
  • Verbal Reasoning
  • Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning.


Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) is created and administered by Educational Records Bureau (ERB). It tests students' academic achievement and reasoning skills to determine their eligibility for admission to US and international private schools.
Our Program includes:

  • Sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievements.
  • Levels: Primary Level ISEE (applying to grade 4) and Lower Level ISEE (applying to grade 5 & 6)
  • Practice & Reports: Unlimited Practice tests, Full-Length exams, Granular Reporting.
  • Learning: Visual Learning, Active Learning, Conceptual explanation, Topic level assessments, Puzzles.
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What is included in the ISEE exam?

In the ISEE test, you will be tested on multiple educational subjects and your skills in each will be evaluated. Please note that we provide our quality material based on grades and age.

  • Verbal Reasoning: Includes two subsections with questions on synonyms and sentence completion. This section tests grade-level-appropriate vocabulary and sentence completion ability. Students are asked to choose the appropriate word or phrase that best completes the sentence.
  • Quantitative Reasoning: Addresses multiple math concepts and has several subsections as well as various word problems. Concepts tested include
    1. Numbers and operations
    2. Algebra
    3. Geometry
    4. Measurement
    5. Data analysis and probability
    6. Concepts/understanding
    7. Applications/higher-order thinking
    8. Quantitative comparisons.
  • Reading Comprehension: Tests students' ability to understand and interpret questions based on six reading passages on humanities, science, and social studies subjects. For each passage, you'll get the passage first and then questions that correspond to it.
  • Mathematics Achievement: The final multiple-choice section on the ISEE test. This section tests topics such as
    1. numbers and operations
    2. algebraic concepts
    3. geometric concepts
    4. measurement
    5. data analysis and probability.
  • Essay (optional): An optional timed essay. Students are given an essay prompt and asked to produce a well-informed essay on a particular topic.

The first four ISEE sections consist of multiple-choice questions, each with four answer choices labeled (A), (B), (C), and (D). The optional writing exercise at the end is a timed essay.

What’s on ISEE?

The ISEE is administered at four different levels:

  • Upper Level (for students currently in grades 8-11)
  • Middle Level (for students currently in grades 6 or 7)
  • Lower Level (for students currently in grades 4 or 5)
  • Primary Level (for students currently in grades 1-3)

The ISEE is administered in five separately timed sections. The first four sections of the test are multiple-choice and contain some scored and some un-scored questions. A total of 21 multiple-choice questions on the test are not scored. The essay, which is the final section of the ISEE. is also not scored. A photocopy of your essay is provided to each school as a writing sample.

Each multiple-choice question on the ISEE offers four answer choices. These are lettered (A), (B), (C), and (D).

The ISEE Primary Level exam is an online test that itself is administered at three different levels: Primary Level 2 for students currently in 1st grade, Primary Level 3 for students currently in 2nd grade, and Primary Level 4 for students currently in 3rd grade. Each Primary Level exam contains a Mathematics section, a Reading section, and a Writing Sample.

There are some differences between each of the Primary Level exams. For example, both the Primary Level 2 and 3 exams contain a picture prompt, which offers students the opportunity to be creative and self-expressive with their individual writing styles. Also, in the Primary Level 2 exam, there is a short Auditory Comprehension section that tests how students listen to a passage with no written text. After finishing the passage, students answer questions that are related.

The ISEE Primary Level exams are only available at select schools. For all Primary Level tests, the Writing Sample is untimed, allowing all students to type at their own pace. The following table is a breakdown of the digital Primary Level tests.

ISEE Primary 4 (applying to Grade 4)
Sections Questions Time Allowed
Reading 28 questions 30 minutes
Break 5-10 minutes
Mathematics 28 questions 30 minutes
Total break: 5-10 minutes 60 minutes
ISEE Lower Level (applying to Grades 5 or 6)
Sections Questions Time Allowed
Verbal Reasoning 34 questions 20 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning 38 questions 35 minutes
Break 5-10 minutes
Reading Comprehension 25 questions 25 minutes
Mathematics Achievement 30 questions 30 minutes
Break 5-10 minutes
Essay 1 Prompt 30 minutes
Total break: two 5-10 minutes 2 hours, 20 minutes

ISEE Scoring

Scoring of the ISEE is uncomplicated. You receive one point for every question that you answer correctly. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. It receives no credit, but there is no deduction for the error. As with the SSAT, scoring and percentile ranking are done separately for members of each grade group taking the same exam. You will be compared only with your peers.

How the ISEE Differs from the SSAT

  • On the ISEE. the Verbal section contains Synonym and Sentence Completion questions. On the SSAT, the Verbal section contains Synonym and Analogy questions.
  • On the ISEE. there are Quantitative Comparisons in the Quantitative Reasoning section (Upper and Middle Levels only).
  • On the ISEE. there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. That means it is always in your favor to guess if you're not sure of the answer.
  • On the ISEE. there are four answer choices: A. B, C, and D. On the SSAT, there are five answer choices: A. B, C, D. and E.

What we provide:

SiriLearning is an integrated EdTech product-based website that is committed to supplying the accessibility of visually rich edifying 3D content indulged with modern interactive simulations in an aim to ignite the intricate learning strategies of a candidate’s preparation so as to assert the essential skills of requisite for reaching the best results in 11+ examination.

We exceptionally provide the study regimes that are developed by our experienced EdTech professionals and designed based on years of expertise in SSAT/ISEE examination contexts. The modern and advanced content we provide is a combination of visually realistic videos and interactive simulations in order to help edify the child’s knowledge base in regards to the crucial yet ever monotonous theories and tedious discoveries of various topics that are to be refined to retain for examination.

Our product also comes along with the modules of mock papers that are released on a cycle of every month-end and supports accessibility by the candidates at the comfort of their pace and time. The mocks supplied are the true replicates of the actual patterns of SSAT/ISEE examination, thus educating and preparing the children towards higher familiarity in real-time exam pattern that ultimately ease the questionnaire of complexed thoughts and gears up the confidence in attaining good score in a way to achieve eligibility into their dream school.

Since every school varies in its evaluation strategies, we prepare candidates to overcome difficulties in varied categorical approaches by constant guidance and continuous mentoring extending the help for strategical and hustle-free exam preparation. We also supply the consolidated, standardized, and verified as well as customized test reports resulting from mocks taken by any candidate that are aimed to reach the parents to scrutinize their child’s learning that can additionally help improve the student's capabilities on replicating the changes in prep-guide of a candidate's weaker and strengthened areas. These reports are also moduled with suggestions and recommendations to schedule the preparation patterns to achieve the high score in the actual SSAT/ISEE examination on targeting the examined skill-statistics and performance of a candidate undergoing the course.

We constantly stay advanced and updated in accordance with advanced help & support. If you are in search of guidance regarding the SSAT/ISEE examination or have unanswered queries relative to any products we offer, kindly feel comfortable to contact us and get assistance from our expert teams anytime at your comfort.

Types of exams

Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring

About CEM

The CEM has been providing entrance exams for the Independent school sector for many years and started to become more popular with the grammar school sector from 2013 onwards with many regions and schools opting to use the CEM tests in place of the GL Assessment test.

We offer CEM mocks reflecting the crucial patterns and time constraints of actual 11+ plus examination to help candidates stay synchronous with ever vital test motives. The CEM mocks are verified practically to attain the peak level expertise in requisite of 11+ preparation.

What is Included in each CEM Mock Exam?

Number of Tests and Subjects

  • Test 1 (45 mins) divided into three sections – Numerical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, English Comprehension
  • Test 2 (45 mins) divided into three sections – Numerical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, English Comprehension
  • Test 3 (15 mins) – Non-Verbal Reasoning

In the online version of this mock, the three sections included in Test 1 and Test 2 will appear as three separate mini-tests so that they can be separately timed online, as with the real paper-based exam. Therefore, it is best the three mini-tests are completed back to back without any breaks as there would be no breaks in a paper exam.

Format

The format of the exam is multiple choice, however, as with the real exam, there are some question types that will not have answer options to choose from and therefore are not strictly multiple choice. However, the answer has to be worked out and marked by either writing a word, letter or number or by marking a line in a box on a separate answer sheet that is marked by OCR.

Weighting Per Subject

The different components of the tests are weighted depending on the requirements of the individual schools and the subjects they elect to test. Commonly, where all four subjects are tested, the English and Verbal Reasoning sections would be worth 50% with Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning both at 25% each.

Age Standardisation

Standardisation is a statistical process that is designed to give equal value to the results of each test, regardless of the number of questions in the test and the time allowed to take account of two factors:

  • Take account of children’s ages when they sit the exam to ensure fairness and therefore avoid unfair advantage to older children.
  • The raw scores of CEM exams are age standardised to provide a single combined score. This means that two children born in different months but with exactly the same raw percentage score will have different age standardised scores.
  • GL Education

    About GL Assessment

    GL Assessment have been the creators and developers of the 11 Plus exams for the vast majority of grammar and independent schools in the UK during the last 25 years.

    Our GL Assessment mocks are tailored to challenging the candidate’s preparation strategies with the advanced approach in edification. These are keenly scrutinized to ensure high reliability in content and regularly revised to secure advancements.

    What is Included in each GL Mock Exam?

    Number of Tests and Subjects

  • Test 1 (45 mins) – divided into two sections: English (comprehension, spelling, punctuation, grammar) and Verbal Reasoning.
  • Test 2 (45 mins) – divided into two sections: Maths and Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning.
  • In the online version of this mock, the two sections in Test 1 and Test 2 will appear as two separate mini-tests so that they can be separately timed online, as with the real paper-based exam. The two mini-tests should therefore be attempted back to back without any break.

    Each paper will have 50% weighting.

    Format

    The format of the exam is multiple choice.

    Weighting Per Subject

    Each subject may have a different weighting based on the requirements of the school, which commissions their exam. Where Maths and English are tested, the subjects are commonly weighted as 50% each, similarly where the exam is purely Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

    Age Standardisation

    Standardisation is a statistical process that is designed to give equal value to the results of each test, regardless of the number of questions in the test and the time allowed take account of two factors:

  • Take account of children’s ages when they sit the exam to ensure fairness, and therefore avoid unfair advantage to older children.
  • The raw scores of GL exams are age standardised to provide a single combined score. This means that two children born in different months but with exactly the same raw percentage score will have different age standardised scores.