ISEE questions.

[trulycrabby]

Hello, DS12 is applying to a private school for next year (grade 7), and needs to take the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam).

 

If anyone's middle schooler has taken this exam, could you offer some words of advice as to what to expect? He will most likely be taking the online test.

 

1. Is this a test for which he needs to extensively prepare? We would like to take the test as soon as possible, but if we could take it in early March and devote the next month to test prep, if necessary.

 

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

 

I am cross posting in the general education section.

Edited February 1, 2016 by trulycrabby

[slackermom]

My dd took it last year. We had about a month to prepare. We mostly focused on familiarizing her with the test format, question style, how to pace herself. We got a prep book for the isee with some sample tests. Other than that, it didn't seem to make sense to try to "study" for it, in terms of vocab or math.

[Acadie]

I agree that familiarization with the test format and pacing to complete each section are the priority. However, I should tell you that my dd13 took the online sample test, and we both thought the quantitative reasoning section was really, really tough. Turns out she did well on that section in the exam itself, though. So if sample tests don't go well as you'd like, don't worry about it. I heard so many times it's not a test you can study for--it measures years of academic preparation, and if your child has really been reading and progressing in math, that's the bulk of it. 

 

That said, if you do want to add content, just keep going with his current math program and add some vocab. There's an excellent word list in The Princeton Review prep book. Use vocab at the dinner table. Adding 25 words he really knows is far better than trying to cram 100. I don't believe that cramming works.

 

Does your child have any issues with anxiety? If that's a concern, I'd just do minimal prep to become familiar with the exam, briefly discuss techniques to manage anxiety, and leave it at that. Get to bed early the night before, have a good breakfast and hydrate. 

 

If you need results asap, then schedule asap. But if you have extra time, he could get a little more math under his belt. I picked the second-to-last possible test date for that reason. I wanted dd to get as far as she could in math prior to the test, but I also wanted an alternative test date in case she got sick. The day of her exam she had a cold, but we both agreed it wasn't bad enough to reschedule. I felt terrible when she came out of the exam with a fever! But she still did well enough to qualify for scholarships at every school.

 

Good luck! Dd's transition to school has been great. Looking back I'm grateful for the unique opportunities she had as a home schooler, and I also feel that school is a wonderful fit for her now. 

 

Amy

 

 

 

 

[Spryte]

No useful advice, just stopping in to wish him luck!

[trulycrabby]

Thanks everyone! He doesn't really get nervous for tests, and while this school is the best in the city, it's not super-competitive to get in like it is in the northeast.

 

I have downloaded some practice tests, and will go over some specifics on how to take standardized tests, etc...

We have a month to work on a few things.

[Catherine]

My son took it when he applied to private high schools locally, and I used a test prep book that I got at Amazon.  I had him look at one of the complete tests and do one section timed so he could get a feeling for how he'd need to pace himself.  He took it upon himself to do another section or two timed, for practice, but I agree that it's an SAT style of test that is hard to prepare for.  Best wishes to your ds!