Failed ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam)? Here's Your Recovery Plan

Pro tip: A retake is not visible to schools. E3n states the Individual Student Report does not indicate how many times a student has tested inside a 12-month admission cycle and does not name any other score recipients, and families are never obliged to share a report. Schools can be removed from the recipient list only up until the test date, so decide before testing, not after. Only a complete report can be sent: sections cannot be mixed across sittings. Before paying for a full retake, note that the Stanine Analysis band on the report already spans one stanine either side of the observed score, so a single-stanine change is inside expected variation. Two paid alternatives exist: hand-scoring at USD 55 for paper tests only, and re-scoring for one grade above or below the registered application grade at USD 45, which is available for Lower, Middle and Upper Levels but not Primary.

• Registering for the level matching the student's current grade
  E3n sets the level by the grade being applied to, not the grade the student is in. A student in Grade 6 applying to Grade 7 takes the Middle Level. Registering at the wrong level wastes the season's single attempt.
• Leaving questions blank to avoid a penalty that does not exist
  E3n states students are scored only on correct answers and there is no advantage to leaving a question blank. This is the opposite of the SSAT Middle and Upper Level, which deducts a quarter point per wrong answer. Students who have prepared for both tests often carry the SSAT habit into the ISEE and lose marks for nothing.
• Calculating your way through Quantitative Reasoning
  E3n states Quantitative Reasoning questions require little or no calculation and measure how a student thinks mathematically. If a question is taking long arithmetic, the intended route was estimation, comparison or elimination. Mathematics Achievement is the section where calculation is expected.
• Registering before accommodations are approved
  E3n advises against registering for a test until accommodation decisions arrive, because changing the booking afterwards triggers a rescheduling fee. Review takes one to two weeks after a complete submission and longer if documentation is incomplete. Approvals then last 24 months and are not flagged on the score report.
• Assuming any test site can deliver your accommodation
  E3n publishes a grid of which accommodations exist in which format. Reader on paper, scribe, marking answers in the test booklet and large print are paper only and not available at Prometric Test Centers. Speech to text for the essay is online and at-home only, and not available on Chromebooks. Register only for a test that offers the approved accommodation.
• Missing the paper registration deadline
  Paper tests must be registered 21 days or more before the date. Between 20 and 14 days a late registration fee applies, taking a Grades 5 to 12 booking from USD 170 to USD 215. Inside 13 days only walk-in registration works, at USD 230, and only where the school offers a walk-in code. Online tests close entirely three days out.
• Treating the essay as optional because it is unscored
  The essay is sent to every designated school and admission teams read it for clarity, grammar and spelling, and for what the student says about themselves. Many schools also compare it with other application writing to confirm authorship, because it was written under secure conditions.
• Reading a low percentile as a low ability level
  E3n warns that the ISEE norm group is students applying to independent schools, who are generally of higher ability and achievement than the general school population, so a percentile can look considerably lower than a family expects. Compare against the schools' own admitted-student profiles, not against a state test.
• Over-reading a one-stanine change between sittings
  The Stanine Analysis on the report already shades a band from one stanine below to one stanine above the observed score, because no test is a perfect indicator. A move from 5 to 6 sits inside that band and is not evidence that the preparation worked.
• Bringing a calculator or a smart watch to the test room
  Calculators, cell phones, smart watches and other wearables, books, cameras and any paper other than blank scratch paper are prohibited unless approved as an accommodation. Violating the rules can mean the student is excused, scores are not processed, and the family still pays rescheduling or cancellation fees.
• Sending an at-home student to test alone
  A parent or guardian must assist with the testing area scan at check-in for the at-home test. At a Prometric Test Center a parent or guardian must stay at the centre for the entire test, which E3n states has no exceptions.
• Removing a school from the score recipient list too late
  Schools can be removed from the recipient list only up until the test date. After the student tests, they cannot be removed. Adding schools later is free, so add cautiously before the test and add more once the scores are in.

• Computer-based at Prometric centers
• Four levels: Primary to Upper
• Verbal, quantitative reasoning, reading, math
• Essay is reviewed by schools
• Can only take once per testing season
• Stanine scores 1-9