The ISEE, or Independent School Entrance Exam, is a standardized test that is given to students in the fourth through the twelfth grades in order to provide a quantitative measurement of various academic skills that they can submit when applying to independent schools. The ISEE comes in three forms: the Lower Level ISEE, which is given to students in fifth and sixth grades; the Middle Level ISEE, which is given to students in seventh and eighth grades; and the Upper Level ISEE, which is given to students in ninth through twelfth grades. While the number of problems in each section of the ISEE differs slightly by level, each test contains a Verbal section, a Quantitative Reasoning section, a Mathematical Achievement section, and a Reading section, as well as an Essay. All of the problems on the ISEE, excepting the Essay prompt, are multiple-choice. The Verbal section consists entirely of Synonym and Fill-in-the-Blank questions; the Quantitative Reasoning section tests computation-light mathematical reasoning; the Mathematical Achievement tests computation-heavy math skills taught in math classes students have previously taken, and the Reading section asks students reading-comprehension questions about short provided passages.

Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools also include Full-Length ISEE Practice Tests for each section. Try beginning your test preparation by taking a free online Practice Test to help you create a unique study plan. The comprehensive makeup of these exams gives you the chance to work on your endurance, pace, and focus. Just like on the shorter Practice Tests, the results page includes thorough explanations and relevant information on each question’s concepts. However, the complete Practice Tests provide the additional benefit of helping you target your review by showing you which concepts you have already mastered, and the concepts on which you may want to spend more time. Once you have reviewed using the other Learning Tools, you can take another Full-Length ISEE Practice Test to gauge your progress.

Many students may find themselves concerned about one section in particular on the ISEE, or both of the mathematics-related sections. If the Verbal Reasoning section is causing you trouble, you can use Varsity Tutors’ free ISEE Verbal Practice Tests to familiarize yourself with the format of Synonym questions and word-based and phrase-based Fill-in-the-Blank questions. Practicing ahead of time with the unique format of these questions can ease your mind, and you can learn new vocabulary words from any questions that you happen to miss by reading the complete answers, which often include definitions of not only the word in question, but the words you had to choose from as incorrect answer choices.

If one or both of the ISEE”s math sections leaves you feeling lost, we recommend practicing problems of the types featured on each section. Having to face two mathematics sections can feel very daunting, but when you mentally separate them into two different tasks, they can appear much more approachable. Reading about what separates the ISEE’s Mathematics Achievement section from its Quantitative Reasoning section is a good first step, but actually practicing problems from each part of the test by using Varsity Tutors’ free ISEE Mathematics Achievement Practice Tests and free ISEE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Tests can help this division sink in so you don’t find yourself expecting one section’s problems but faced with the others on test day.

If it’s the Reading Comprehension section is your personal nightmare, you’re not alone—many students find this section to be more challenging than they initially expected, because of how well students are expected to manage their time in order to be able to answer all the questions, much less answer them correctly. Varsity Tutors’ free ISEE Reading Comprehension Practice Tests not only provide full explanations to help you reduce the number of mistakes you make over time, but they also can help you track how long it takes you to read a passage and answer a number of questions about it, a vital statistic to be aware of as you study for the ISEE. If you need to speed up your reading or slow it down so that you don’t miss important information, or worse, misunderstand it, you can figure this out by completing ISEE Reading Comprehension Practice Tests, which present you with detailed statistics after you complete them, including how long it took you to answer each question.

Many students find themselves feeling a bit apprehensive about one or another of the ISEE’s sections, or perhaps they worry about all of them. By reviewing in an efficient but comprehensive manner and taking advantage of Varsity Tutors’ variety of free ISEE resources, you can identify the gaps or weak spots in your ISEE knowledge and work to fill them; for every section of the ISEE, you can choose to take free Practice Tests organized by concept. So, Varsity Tutors’ resources make identifying and remedying knowledge gaps a breeze, leaving you nothing to worry about when getting ready to take an ISEE of any level!