Our Proven Approach to ISEE Test Prep
ISEE Test Preparation Services
Private ISEE tutoring ensures that your student is only spending precious time on the areas where they need help. Students generally meet with a tutor for 1 to 2 hours a week depending on the student’s needs, schedule, and their targeted test dates.
We will start by identifying your student’s strengths and weaknesses through a mock test, then the tutor will work with your student to address shortcomings and reinforce skills in the tested subjects in math and reading.
To maximize skill retention, the tutor will assign homework questions for the student to complete in-between sessions.
Our tutors & instructors are brilliant and charismatic:
- Equally skilled in math and english
- Self-accomplished and inspiring
- Gifted at working with younger students
Personal Courses
You can also schedule your student’s preparation as a personal course, which are structured as 10 or 20-hour packages. Personal courses are the same as regular private tutoring but follow a specific timeline and plan (while still catering to the student’s needs).
Pricing is dependent on the tutor’s hourly rate and a:
- 10% discount on the hourly rate for a 10-hour personal course
- 15% discount on the hourly rate for a 20-hour personal course
Test prep classes are a great way for students to understand the ins and outs of the ISEE and its tested concepts. We offer 15-hour courses for the Upper Level and Lower Level ISEE. Our courses will cover test-taking strategies while teaching and reviewing math and reading topics, all with significant amounts of instructor-led practice.
Our classes are capped at just 8 students so that every student gets full attention from the instructor, and every student receives a personalized study plan that guides them through to their two test dates. We recommend that students follow up this course with ongoing private tutoring, typically meeting once a week for 1 hour, leading up to their test dates.
Our 15-hour courses are $1200, or $1000 if you enroll with friends.
These courses are held in person.
Fall 2025 Upper and Lower ISEE Courses
Our fall courses are designed to fit into your student’s busy schedule, while allowing plenty of time to complete practice in between each class and in the weeks leading up to their ISEE test date. Our courses target ISEE test dates in October and November, and they meet on either 5 Sundays or 5 Thursdays.
Upper Level ISEE Courses
- September 7 to October 5
- 5 Sundays
- 1:00pm to 4:00pm
- 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Lower Level ISEE Courses
- September 7 to October 5
- 5 Sundays
- 12:30pm to 3:30pm
- September 11 to October 9
- 5 Thursdays
- 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Mock tests are an integral part to our ISEE prep methodology. We use a diagnostic test to identify your student’s strengths and weaknesses, and we continually recommend additional tests to get students comfortable with the test format and structure.
We offer mock tests on most Saturdays at no-charge for current and future clients.
- The Upper Level ISEE test will last approximately 3 hours. Upper Level is for students applying to grades 9-12.
- The MiddleLevel ISEE test will last approximately 3 hours. Middle Level is for students applying to grades 7&8.
- The Lower Level ISEE test will last approximately 2.5 hours. Lower Level is for students applying to grades 5&6.
ISEE Admissions Test Overview
We Support Multiple ISEE Test Levels
- Upper Level – Applying to Grades 9 – 12
- Middle Level – Applying to Grades 7 & 8
- Lower Level – Applying to Grades 5 & 6
The Upper and Lower levels are most popular in Houston. We offer both classroom courses and private tutoring for the ISEE Lower and Upper levels; we offer private tutoring for the ISEE Middle Level.
Students may take the ISEE up to three times a year or once each during three 4-month periods generally corresponding to summer, fall, and winter. These 4-month periods are set by ERB; a student could not, for example, take the ISEE in both December AND January because of the limitation of taking the test only once during each prescribed period.
Let’s now assume that you are a current 7th grader looking to apply to 9th grade, which is generally the “prime entry year” for a private high school –
- Your first opportunity would be during the fall of your 8th grade year between August and November.
- The second and last opportunity for the admissions period would be during the winter of your 8th grade year between December and March.
- The third option, between April and July, is outside of the traditional admissions period
Note that Houston schools will not take the results from the April to July for the following admissions period. As a current 7th grader, ERB will count you as a 7th grader until August 1st, and if you register for an exam before August 1st, then you will be given the Middle Level ISEE instead of the Upper Level ISEE. Instead, April to July is more for families who have just recently moved to Houston during that time frame, and private schools have allowed them to apply.
The ISEE is scored along a normal curve, which is divided into 9 slices (“stanines”), where 1 is significantly below average and 9 is outstanding. The norm group consists of students who applied for the same grade from the past 3 years; students are not compared directly to students in their current year.
Most Houston schools will accept average scores of 4, 5, and 6, but academically rigorous schools are more likely to enroll students with scores of 7, 8, and 9.
The Upper and Middle Level ISEE is a 5-part, 2 hour and 40-minute test with two breaks lasting between 5 and 10 minutes each. The ISEE Lower Level is a 5-part, 2 hour and 20-minute test with two breaks lasting between 5 and 10 minutes each.
Students will be tested on their knowledge of vocabulary, reading, writing, and math.
High achieving students at competitive schools should have already learned most of the tested concepts by the end of their first semester in 8th grade (Upper Level) or the end of their first semester in 6th grade (Middle Level) or 4th grade (Lower Level).
However, there will be some questions that ask about concepts that students have not learned as the Upper Level ISEE is taken by students applying to grades as high as 12, the Middle Level is taken by students applying to both grades 7 and 8, and the Lower Level is taken by students applying to both grades 5 and 6.
The ISEE is both an achievement and a reasoning test. Achievement tests strive simply to determine if a student has learned something they were taught. A reasoning test goes a step further to determine if a student can leverage what they were taught to reason their way through related but new and novel concepts.
To this extent, there are four, scored sections of the ISEE – two that test reading and vocabulary skills (Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension) and two that test math skills (Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement).
The best predictors of a student’s success on the ISEE are good grades in school in core academic subjects like math, science, English, and history.
Therefore the best way for a student to prepare is to ensure that they’re doing well in core subjects well before a few months before they plan to take the ISEE.
Next up are standard good test-taking practices:
- Determine target score & what it takes to achieve
- Know the content and format of the ISEE
- Identify subject areas that are weak
Core academics are king. There are no amount of tips and tricks that will help students ace the ISEE if they do not know how to do division or punctuate a sentence.
Upper/Middle Level ISEE overview video by General Academic Founder Shelby Joe. Read much more about the ISEE at Piqosity.
Lower Level ISEE overview video by General Academic Founder Shelby Joe. Read much more about the ISEE at Piqosity.
ISEE Test Prep FAQs
As the fourth largest public school district in the United States, Houston is fortunate to offer some exceptional public schools.
Our research shows that elementary school desirability and performance are directly related to the wealth of the surrounding neighborhood. Therefore top schools inside the city include River Oaks, West University, Horn (Bellaire), Poe (Southampton), and Roberts (University Place).
At the high school level, Houston’s best public schools are application-only magnet schools like Carnegie Vanguard, DeBakey, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Click here to read our analysis of Houston’s magnet school lottery.
We could debate this topic ad nauseam! Some Houston private schools like St. John’s, Awty, and Kinkaid routinely boast of an exceptional number of students who score in the top 1% on the PSAT. However, ultimately the definition of “best” is different for each family, and indeed each child.
Click here to read our analysis of PSAT National Merit Semifinalists by school.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, the average Houston private school costs $27,952, which was up 4% from the previous year. Catholic schools were generally 20% cheaper.
Click here to read our annual analysis of Houston-area private school tuition.
Students are generally able to take the ISEE twice during the application cycle. In Houston, we recommend that students take the ISEE in mid-November and again in early January (if they were unhappy with their first attempt).
Students generally take the test either at their current school (for terminal middle schools) or at the school to which they’re applying.
Registration opens August 1st and does fill up, so parents should register as early as possible.
Click here to see the 2025-2026 ISEE test dates and locations in Houston.
While it’s impossible for us to guarantee specific improvements given every student’s unique situation, our research shows that the average General Academic student improves by 2 stanines or up to 30 percentile ranks.
Click here to read our analysis about student score improvement.
The ISEE is a peer-normed test graded along a normal curve, which is split into 9, evenly divided sections. Scores of 4, 5, and 6 are average while scores of 7, 8, and 9 are highest. A 1 approximately represents the bottom 3% of test-takers while a 9 represents the top 3% of test-takers.
In Houston, students applying to the most academically rigorous private schools like St. John’s, Awty International, Kinkaid, Strake Jesuit, St. Agnes or Annunciation Orthodox tend to have the best chances of admission with scores of 7 or higher.
Larger private schools with a more academically diverse population like Episcopal, Houston Christian, or St. Pius are more welcoming of average scores of 5 and 6.
About half of General Academic’s more than 300 ISEE students start preparing by the end of August. When preparing for a standardized test, the most important tools are a diagnostic test and time. Students need to know where they are and how far they need to go to meet their goals.
Click here to read our analysis about when when Houston students start preparing for the ISEE.
Ideally, students will complete at least 3 full-length practice tests before they take the ISEE, SAT, or ACT exam. However, parents should be careful not to force students to take mock tests in quick succession without sufficient studying.
We expect students to complete a minimum of 20 hours of tutoring and self-study between each mock test. Forgoing this recommendation risks demoralizing students and/or being disappointed by lack of perceived improvement.
Students working with us have access to more than 12 full-length practice tests.
Taking a full-length mock test under timed conditions is one of the best ways to predict how your child will perform on the actual exam; it also helps them build the mental toughness necessary to perform reliably on test day.
There’s a big difference between working 10, untimed questions at the kitchen table with the aid of a tutor versus slogging through 161 unassisted questions in a room with other kids all at the same time.
We offer complimentary diagnostic mock testing for ISEE, ACT, and SAT to both current and future clients. For current clients, we also offer ongoing mock testing when our guidelines for properly spacing out practice tests is followed.
Stephen Hayes leads our ISEE test preparation services. He is the co-founder of General Academic and lead author of, “ISEE Upper Level Prep Guide and 6 Full-Length Practice Tests.”
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