ISEE Lower Level: questions parents ask
Short answer
The ISEE Lower Level is the admission test for students applying to grades 5 and 6. These pages answer the questions parents ask most: what is on it, how scores work, testing at home, retakes, the essay, when to start and how it compares with the SSAT. Facts come from the test provider's public pages.
- What is on the ISEE Lower Level?The ISEE Lower Level, for students applying to grades 5 and 6, has four scored multiple-choice sections — Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievement — plus one essay that is not scored. Testing time is 2 hours 20 minutes, with two scheduled 10-minute breaks.
- How is the ISEE Lower Level scored?Each of the four multiple-choice sections gets a scaled score between 760 and 940, built from the number of correct answers; wrong answers cost nothing. The report then compares your child with recent same-grade applicants, on a 1–99 scale and in nine broad bands. The essay is not scored.
- Can my child take the ISEE Lower Level at home?Yes. The ISEE can be taken at home, online only, with a parent or guardian in the home for the whole test. It can also be taken in person — at a member school, an ISEE testing office or, for grades 5–12, a Prometric test center. The test content and timing are the same everywhere.
- How many times can my child take the ISEE, and what do schools see?A student can register once per testing season — fall, winter and spring/summer — so up to three times a school year. Families choose which schools receive scores. Each school gets the complete report for the test sent, and the report does not show how many times your child has tested.
- Does the ISEE Lower Level essay count, and how do schools use it?The essay is not scored. Your child has 30 minutes to answer one prompt, typed on the online test or handwritten on paper. A copy goes to every school you choose as a score recipient, and families do not receive a copy. Each school decides how to read it alongside the rest of the application.
- When should we start preparing for the ISEE Lower Level?Start from the test date and count backward. Leave time for a first full-length practice test to show format and pacing gaps, then several weeks of short, regular practice with another full test between. Book the test early, since registration is first-come, and check each school's deadline for receiving scores.
- ISEE Lower Level or SSAT: what is the difference?Both are admission tests now run by the same nonprofit, E3n. ISEE levels follow the grade your child is applying to; SSAT levels follow the grade your child is in now. The ISEE never deducts for wrong answers, while the Middle Level SSAT does. Ask each school which test it accepts before choosing.
The ISEE is administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), which merged with the Enrollment Management Association (EMA) to form the nonprofit E3n in March 2026; E3n now provides both the ISEE and the SSAT. Glentavo is an independent prep platform and is not affiliated with E3n or ERB. Each page lists its sources and the date we checked them.