Test Structure | Test Dates & Locations | Percentiles & Scoring

ISEE Percentiles and Scoring

All questions on the ISEE are equal in value, and a raw score is generated based on the number of questions a student answered correctly. There is no penalty for incorrect answers on the ISEE. The scaled score range for all sections and levels of the ISEE is 760 to 940.

The four multiple choice sections of the test are scored at the ISEE Operations Office, and the results are put together in an Individual Score Report (ISR). Copies of the ISR, as well as the unscored essay, are sent to schools as specified by the applicant family at the time of registration. Another copy of the ISR is sent to the parents of the test-taker.

The ISEE score report provides a student’s percentile ranking of where the student stands relative to the ISEE norm group. The norm group is composed of all students in the same grade who took the ISEE test within the past three years.

The ISEE score report also provides a student’s stanine score, which range from 1 to 9, with 5 as the midpoint. Stanines are derived by diving the entire range of students’ scores into nine segments, as follows:

   
      Percentile Rank

      Stanine

      1-3

      1

      4-10

      2

      11-22

      3

      23-39

      4

      40-59

      5

      60-76

      6

      77-88

      7

      89-95

      8

      96-99

      9

In addition to reporting the student’s stanine score, the ISR also provides an analysis that compares a student’s performance on both the ability tests and the related achievement tests.