If you and your child are looking for an elite private middle school or high school for the best education, then you’ll need to take the ISEE in Moraga to excel.

ISEE means Independent School Entrance Examination, an entrance exam used by many independent schools. The ISEE helps students get admitted to the best, top-performing middle and high schools. The ISEE offers exams of different levels depending on the grade your child is studying in:

• Lower Level – for applicants in the 5th and 6th grade
• Middle Level – for applicants in the 7th and 8th grade
• Upper Level – for applicants in the 9th to 12th grade

No matter what level of test a student is taking, all levels consist of the same five sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and Essay. However, there some differences within these sections depending on the level of the test.

• Verbal Reasoning – Students test their vocabularies in this section through these two parts: Synonyms and Sentence Completion.
• Quantitative Reasoning – The Lower Level students answer 38 questions in 35 minutes, while the Middle and Upper Level students answer 37 questions in the same number of minutes. The Lower Level consists of Word Problems and both the Middle and Upper Levels consist of World Problems and Quantitative Comparisons.
• Reading Comprehension – The Lower Level students must answer 25 questions while the Middle and Upper Level students answer 36 questions in 35 minutes. On the Lower Level, there are five reading passages, and each of these passages is followed by five questions. On the Middle and Upper Levels, there six reading passages with six questions apiece. These passages cover a wide range of subjects from history to science.
• Mathematics Achievement – On the Lower Level, students must solve 30 questions in 30 minutes while in the Middle and Upper Levels, students answer 47 items in 40 minutes.
• Essay – students have to show their essay-writing skills in 30 minutes. The essay is not scored but otherwise submitted to schools the students are applying to.

You may surely ask when and how your child will take this test. The ISEE in Moraga is taken several times throughout the year, typically during the fall and early winter season. The number of test dates will depend on the area you reside in, so for instance, in Moraga the number of tests is different than other cities and towns in the state and around the country. A student can take the ISEE just once in six months.

The ISEE is often seen as an equal to the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT). The SSAT is similar to the ISSE – it is another type of entrance examination for students to get into the best independent schools in the country. However, the SSAT is geared for students in the 3rd to 11th grade and covers a broader range of topics. Many elite middle and high schools will accept both ISEE and SSAT for admission as they are both a standardized assessment of skills and knowledge for each applicant to get into these reputable schools. This gives students the advantage of choosing either one of the two entrance exams, depending on their preference.

If you believe that getting your children into these elite private middle and high schools is a way for them to receive the best education possible, sign them up to take the ISSE in Moraga.