ISEE 7s (scores)

My son is applying from a K-12 private in Brooklyn. Straight As, two sports. Sweet kid well liked by everyone, things have gone great.

Unfortunately his ISEE test scores were worse than any practice tests he took.

While he got perfect scores on the two math sections, his verbal reasoning and reading comprehension were both 7s.

Are schools like Hotchkiss, Andover, Exeter, Choate, Taft, St. Pauls off the list now? The scores have already been sent so nothing can be done even with test optional.

I have heard that 8 is the lower limit for many BS.

Like for college standardized tests scores are just one piece of the puzzle. Focus on the essays and interviews. If you can visit the schools in person and with your top two or so, visit a second time. Show real interest in the school(s). Go to the meet and greets. Reach out to the coaches in your son’s sports, he may be able to get support from those individuals. If your school has a high school placement officer, get that person to advocate for you at your top or top two schools. Good luck. We are so happy we made the BS choice.

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Thank you @Swimmom2006 I appreciate that. I’m glad that BS is a great fit for your family.

Are you saying he got 9,9,7,7 stanine ISEE? Or are you saying he got 9,9,7,7 and also had a perfect score in math (all available points, no incorrect problems) on the ISEE, which would actually result in a significantly higher score. I don’t think the first knocks you out at all. The score is one part of the package. You are simply giving them a piece of information.

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If they were 8,8,9,9 that would be OK.
If they were 6,6,9,9 we would retake.
But 7,7,9,9 is a limbo score of not great but not terrible.

Anyone know if schools look at percentiles or just stanines?

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During my Choate tour, they explicitly told us something along the lines of - “We don’t consider test scores as part of our application process. You can send in your test scores if you think they’re really good, but they would in no way affect in your application.” They seem very very committed to the idea of being test-optional in contrast to other schools.

Also, what are the percentile scores? Iirc, the schools that do really care about standardized tests (oftentimes the ones that are test-mandatory) still only care about the percentiles rather than numerical scores.

Oh you should definitely retake if you can get a seat. Although test companies swear there is very little variation in scores in my experience there is quite a lot. My kids always have a higher score the second time. Sometimes it is because they were able to focused on a weak area. Often they are simply less stressed. You may also be able to book a SSAT home test.

Hi! My test score for ISEE is 9( 99th on reading), 8( 93 and 94 on quantitive), and 6( 69th on verbal), some of the schools I’m applying to are Concord Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon, Brooks School, Pomfret, will that hurt my chance?