The official ISEE practice test, scored with ERB’s own tables
ERB puts a full practice test in each of its free “What to Expect on the ISEE” guides, followed by the answer keys and the tables that turn correct answers into a scaled-score range. Pick the grade your child is applying to, type the answers from the sheet, and this does the counting and the table lookup for you — section by section, with the question types where points were lost.
Three official guides, one per level
The level follows the grade your child is applying to, not the grade they are in now: an eighth grader applying for ninth grade takes the Upper Level. Each guide is a free PDF from ERB, linked from its ISEE preparation page. Print the practice test, time each section as the guide says, then come back and score it.
Applying to grades 5–6
Lower Level
| Section | Practice | Real test |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | 30 q · 18 min | 34 q · 20 min |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 35 q · 34 min | 38 q · 35 min |
| Reading Comprehension | 20 q · 20 min | 25 q · 25 min |
| Mathematics Achievement | 25 q · 25 min | 30 q · 30 min |
Answer keys p. 116–119, conversion tables p. 120–123.
Applying to grades 7–8
Middle Level
| Section | Practice | Real test |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | 35 q · 17.5 min | 40 q · 20 min |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 32 q · 30 min | 37 q · 35 min |
| Reading Comprehension | 30 q · 30 min | 36 q · 35 min |
| Mathematics Achievement | 42 q · 36 min | 47 q · 40 min |
Answer keys p. 129–132, conversion tables p. 133–136.
Applying to grades 9–12
Upper Level
| Section | Practice | Real test |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | 35 q · 17.5 min | 40 q · 20 min |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 32 q · 30 min | 37 q · 35 min |
| Reading Comprehension | 30 q · 30 min | 36 q · 35 min |
| Mathematics Achievement | 42 q · 36 min | 47 q · 40 min |
Answer keys p. 121–124, conversion tables p. 125–128.
Question counts and timings as printed in each guide’s “Practice Test and Actual Test” chart. The real test is longer because it includes unscored questions ERB is trying out. Applying to grades 2–4? That is one of the Primary levels, which have no “What to Expect” guide on ERB’s preparation page — see our ISEE registration guide for the six levels.
Score the official practice test
Uses ERB’s own answer keys and conversion tables, printed in each guide right after the test. The result is a practice-test conversion, not your official ISEE score.
The grade they are applying to, not the grade they are in now.
Take the next step
Is this gap worth a term of prep before the test?
Send us the practice-test ranges, the grade and the schools on your list. We’ll write back with which section to work on first and whether the time before your test date is enough.
What the scorer does, step by step
1. Raw score
One point for each correct answer, nothing for a wrong or skipped one — there is no guessing penalty, so a blank is simply a lost point. Counted section by section.
2. Scaled-score range
The raw score is looked up in the conversion table ERB printed for that section of that practice test. ERB gives a 30-point range rather than one number, because a practice test taken at home cannot be equated exactly with the real ISEE.
3. Where it sits for the grade
Next to each table ERB prints the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile scaled scores of applicants to each grade (based on 2018–2019 ISEE Norms). We say where both ends of your range fall against those three marks, and nothing finer: the guide gives no full percentile table, so we do not invent one.
4. Where the points went
If you typed the answers, each missed question is grouped by the question type ERB lists beside it in the answer key — synonyms or single word response in Verbal, geometry or data analysis in Math, main idea or inference in Reading.
Once the real score report arrives, it shows a percentile and a stanine for each section rather than a range. Our ISEE score explainer reads those. If the test is not booked yet, the registration guide covers the level, the account and every fee, and ISEE test dates covers the seasons.
Questions families ask about the practice test
Where is the official ISEE practice test?
ERB, the publisher of the ISEE, links three free guides called “What to Expect on the ISEE” from its preparation page — one each for the Lower, Middle and Upper Level. Each guide contains a full-length practice test, the answer key for every section, and the tables that turn a number of correct answers into a scaled-score range. The PDF links are on this page.
Which level should my child take?
Read the level off the grade your child is applying to, not the grade they are in now. Applying to grades 5–6 is the Lower Level, 7–8 the Middle Level, 9–12 the Upper Level. Applying to grades 2–4 means one of the Primary levels, which have no “What to Expect” guide on ERB’s preparation page.
Why does the result show a range instead of one score?
Because ERB prints a range. Its guides give a 30-point scaled-score range for each raw score, and explain that a practice test taken at home cannot be equated exactly with the real ISEE. The real score report shows a single scaled score per section; the practice test cannot.
Your ISEE score explainer says raw scores cannot be converted. Why can they here?
Because here we know exactly which test was taken. ERB builds a separate conversion for every form of the ISEE, so a chart for one form says nothing reliable about another. The practice test in each guide is one fixed form, and the table we apply is the one ERB printed for that same form. We do not apply it to anything else.
Is the practice test the same length as the real ISEE?
No. ERB says the real test carries extra questions that are not scored but may be used on future tests, so the practice test has fewer questions and slightly shorter timings. The table on this page shows both, as printed in each guide.
Does the essay count?
No. The ISEE essay is not scored. A copy is sent to the schools you choose, which read it for themselves.
Answer keys, conversion tables and comparison marks read from ERB’s three “What to Expect on the ISEE” guides (July 2021), downloaded and checked twice on 2026-09-27. Each score here is a practice-test conversion, not an official ISEE score. GeniusPrep is an independent tutoring company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ERB or E3n.
Planning the months before the test? Our ISEE tutoring page sets out how we prepare students, or book a diagnostic.