Hey everyone! I recently took the ISEE exam and got the results back. I'm not totally sure how to interpret them. Can anyone give me a brief rundown of what the different sections and scores mean, and how I can use this info to decide my next steps? Thanks!
Sure, I'd be happy to walk you through it. The ISEE, or Independent School Entrance Exam, is divided into five different sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and an unscored essay.
First, let's talk about the four scored sections, which generate three types of scores each: Raw Score, Scaled Score, and Percentile Rank.
1. Raw Score: This is the total number of questions you answered correctly. Because there's no penalty for incorrect answers, your raw score essentially reflects the number of questions you answered accurately.
2. Scaled Score: Your raw score is then converted to a scaled score that falls within a range of 760 to 940. Each section has its own scaled score.
3. Percentile Rank: Finally, your scaled score is used to determine a percentile rank, which compares your performance to a norm group of other students in the same grade who took the ISEE over the past three years. A percentile rank of 75, for example, would mean you did as well as or better than 75% of the test takers.
In most cases, schools care more about the scaled scores and percentile rankings than raw scores.
Additionally, your overall results will be summarized into a Stanine score that's a simplified scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high). The percentile rankings are converted into Stanine scores as an easy way for admissions officers to understand your results at a glance.
As for the essay, it is not scored, but a copy of it is sent to schools where you’re applying. Admissions offices use it to evaluate your writing skills and to get a sense of who you are as a person.
Regarding next steps, if your scores are lower than expected or if you're aiming to attend a particularly competitive private school, consider studying for a retake focusing on the areas that need improvement.
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