Does the ISEE Lower Level essay count, and how do schools use it?
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Short answer
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.
How the essay section works
- It is the fifth and last section, after the four multiple-choice sections.
- One prompt, 30 minutes.
- Online, the essay is typed; on paper, it is handwritten in pen.
- It is not scored, and it does not change any of the four section results.
- For security, families do not get a copy. Schools on your score recipient list do.
Why an unscored essay still matters
The test provider describes the essay as a chance for students to show their writing. Because it has no score, the school reads it directly. Unlike writing done at home for an application, it is written in a fixed time with no help, so it shows how your child writes on their own.
How much weight it carries is each school's decision; the test provider does not publish one rule.
What helps in 30 minutes
- Read the prompt twice and answer the question it asks.
- Spend two or three minutes planning: one main point and two or three details that support it.
- Write a clear beginning, middle and end, in the child's own voice.
- Use specific examples rather than general statements.
- Leave a few minutes to reread and fix slips.
- If testing on paper, practice handwriting for the full 30 minutes; if online, practice typing for the same time.
Since families never see the essay that schools receive, practice at home is the only way to see what your child writes under time.
Where Glentavo fits
Each Glentavo full-length practice test ends with a 30-minute essay with one prompt, typed. Glentavo does not score or comment on essays this season; in the practice test report you can read what your child wrote and how long it took. We never rewrite your child's essay.