Middle School Teaching Units

The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) is a test used by the admissions offices of almost all independent schools in New York City. There are three levels of ISEE given, which correspond to students applying to lower schools, middle schools, and high schools. All versions of the ISEE have multiple choice math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary questions. In addition, there is an essay which is ungraded but sent to schools. The ISEE is given many times throughout the year, but a student can only sit for it once in any six month period.

As with other standardized admissions tests, doing well on the ISEE requires a combination of real academic achievement and test-taking savvy. In the long run, the best preparation for the ISEE is being a good student and an avid reader. In the medium term, focused test preparation can also be a great help. In the short term, just get a good night’s rest. Cramming is not useful.

Many, perhaps most, students who take the ISEE will encounter at least some material that they are unfamiliar with. Sometimes, they haven’t learned the material in school and other times they have studied the concepts, but the ISEE presents them in a way that they don’t recognize. In either case, as a tutor, my first goal is to teach students whatever curriculum that they may encounter on Continue Reading