The ISEE is a four-section, multiple-choice exam administered by the Education Records Bureau. The exact number of questions and time vary a little for each level.

Test Section Questions Time Details
Verbal Reasoning 40 20 minutes Tests vocabulary and reasoning abilities
Synonym section focuses on word recognition
Sentence Completion section measures students’ knowledge of words and their function
Use context clues to decide which word best fits the sentence
Quantitative Reasoning 37 35 minutes Tests mathematical synthesis, skill, comprehension, and logical reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning problems are higher-order thinking problems
Interpreting data
Solving application problems
Estimating
Recognizing patterns
Solving non-routine problems
Reading Comprehension 36 35 minutes Tests reading ability through six to eight passages, depending on the ISEE test level.
Each passage is followed by at least 4 text-related questions.
Mathematics Achievement 47 40 minutes Correlates with common mathematics curriculum taught in schools.
Students may NOT use calculators on the ISEE.
Essay 1 30 minutes Students’ essays must be in response to a provided prompt
Students’ essays are sent to each school that receives the ISEE score report
Essays are NOT SCORED, but are instead evaluated individually by each school
The ISEE essay section is intended for students to demonstrate their writing abilities