ISEE Middle Level Test

If your child is currently in grades six to seven, then he or she is up for the second level in the Independent School Entrance Examination, or ISEE, which is the Middle Level test. Private or independent schools require this test to assess if the student’s skills and ranking of abilities and achievements against others for his or her admission to grades seven to eight.

Just like the other levels, the Middle Level test also takes three hours to finish. Your child will be given two breaks during the test to which they are allowed to leave the testing room. This test is also consists of carefully constructed and standardized test of both verbal and qualitative reasoning. The student will also be assessed in his or her comprehension and mathematical achievements.

Although all three levels of the ISEE test have the same five concepts (Verbal, Reading, Math I, Math II, and Essay), these are structured differently. For the Middle Level test, verbal concept is consists of 20 questions about synonyms or 20 questions about sentence completion that are needed to be answered in 25 minutes. In Math I, which focuses more on reasoning and application, has 35 multiple choice questions and quantitative comparisons that are needed to be answered in 35 minutes. Reading has 40 questions that are needed to be answered in 40 minutes. Math II has 40 multiple choice questions where the students need to answer in a span of 40 minutes. And, for the writing sample, the students will be asked to create an essay of an assigned topic.

The scoring is the same with all the other levels. Answer sheets, together with the essay created, are sent to the ISEE Operations Office. Only the four multiple choice sections will be scored and produced with the Individual Student Report (ISR). The essay will not be scored but will be photocopied and sent to the school of choice together with the ISR. The test is scored based on the total number of correct answers while the wrong ones will not be penalized.

If you are asking what a good score is, you may want to ask what the school is requiring. Each school has their own standards and criteria for admission. That is why it is best to ask the school during the interview about their standards. And because this test can only be taken once in every six-moth period, it is best to have your child prepared for it.