Middle Level ISEE — Information & Free Practice

About Middle Level ISEE

Middle Level ISEE · US

Key exam facts

Provider

E3n provides and owns the ISEE trademark; the test was developed by ERB and Measurement Incorporated with member-school faculty. E3n is the organization formed from ERB and EMA. Schools, ISEE testing offices and Prometric deliver testing; Prometric is not the examination owner.

Format

Four multiple-choice sections plus an integral unscored essay. Online delivery at schools, testing offices, Prometric or remotely at home uses digital responses and a typed essay; school paper delivery uses a separate bubbled answer sheet and handwritten essay, subject to site and accommodation availability.

Exam questions

Total questions: 161.

Time limit

Standard answer time is 160 minutes: Verbal Reasoning 20, Quantitative Reasoning 35, Reading Comprehension 35, Mathematics Achievement 40, essay 30. Two scheduled 10-minute breaks make 180 minutes including breaks; check-in is additional and accommodations may change timing.

Passing score

There is no owner pass/fail cutoff or recommended passing score. Each of the four scored sections has a 760–940 scaled score, with percentile ranks 1–99 and stanines 1–9. Schools make their own admission decisions; the essay is unscored.

Exam fee

US testing fees in dollars ($): school paper/online or school-administered at-home $170; ISEE/E3n-administered at-home $250; office group $225 or individual accommodated $255; Prometric online $250; office-administered accommodated at-home $250 where offered. School paper late registration totals $215 (20–14 days before), and walk-in totals $230 where offered (less than 13 days before). Availability and accommodation conditions apply; fee waivers are available. These are test fees, not an additional sum of the delivery options.

Topics covered

• Verbal Reasoning (25%)

  • Synonyms
  • Sentence Completion (Single Word Response)

• Quantitative Reasoning (23.13%)

  • Numbers and Operations
  • Algebraic Concepts
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data Analysis and Probability

• Reading Comprehension (22.5%)

  • Main Idea
  • Supporting Ideas
  • Inference
  • Vocabulary
  • Organization/Logic
  • Tone/Style/Figurative Language

• Mathematics Achievement (29.38%)

  • Whole Numbers
  • Decimals, Percents, Fractions
  • Algebraic Concepts
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data Analysis and Probability

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and references

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.145, Appendix A — ISEE Content and Specifications

• E3n ISEE Preparation

  Free What to Expect on the ISEE Guides — Middle Level, applying to Grades 7–8

• E3n ISEE Quick Facts

  PDF p.5 (printed p.4), Middle Level table

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.145, actual Verbal Reasoning table

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.146, actual Quantitative Reasoning table

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.148, actual Reading Comprehension table

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.148, actual Mathematics Achievement table

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.149, Essay

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.145, actual administered section footnote

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.146, actual administered section footnote

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.148, actual administered section footnote

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.149, actual administered section footnote

• E3n ISEE Quick Facts

  PDF p.5 (printed p.4), Lower, Middle, and Upper Levels

• E3n ISEE Score Reports

  ISEE Score Terminology — Scaled Scores

• What to Expect on the ISEE — Middle Level

  p.21, How will I know if my student passed or failed?

• E3n ISEE Quick Facts

  PDF p.5 (printed p.4), Lower, Middle, and Upper Levels — format

• E3n ISEE Score Reports

  Percentile Ranks

• E3n ISEE Score Reports

  Stanine Ranks

• E3n ISEE Registration

  At-Home Testing — applying to Grades 5–12

• E3n ISEE Registration

  At-School Testing — applying to Grades 5–12

• E3n ISEE Registration

  In-Office Testing — applying to Grades 5–12

• E3n ISEE Registration

  Prometric Test Centers — applying to Grades 5–12

• E3n ISEE Quick Facts

  PDF p.7 (printed p.6), Office-Administered At-Home Testing

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.