When should my student take the ISEE?

When should my student take the ISEE?

It can be confusing deciding when and where your student should take the ISEE test. We discussed taking the test on a computer at a Prometric center vs taking it on paper at a school location in a previous blog post (click here), so now let’s discuss the “when” of taking the test.

Testing Windows

Students have three “testing windows” over the full year to take the ISEE, which is a radical change from the limitations in 2015 and before when students could only take the test once.  

These windows are broken into three times throughout the year:  

Students may take the ISEE test once in each window – or up to a maximum of 3 times – in a 12 month admissions cycle. But since most school admissions teams require scores to be submitted in January or, at the latest, early February, most students will only have the opportunity to take the test twice.

Which Test Scores Will Schools See?

Schools will only have access to the scores that you choose to send to them, so you can decide which score report the schools will see. Typically, the scores will be available within the next week after students take the test, but you do have the option of paying an extra fee to expedite the scoring. Computerized tests tend to have the scores available earlier.

Our Opinion

At Davidson Tutoring, our general position is that students only need to take the ISEE test once. They will feel prepared, confident and ready to perform their best if they follow our ISEE test prep by working through our online and paper/pencil ISEE practice tests, doing their weekly homework and practicing the test taking strategies they’ve been learning with their instructor.