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ISEE Types of Questions
The first four sections are composed of multiple-choice questions. The fifth section, the essay, is not scored by ERB, but it is directly forwarded to the school choice of the student.
Essay
The Essay is written by the student in response to a writing “prompt” or topic that is grade-level
appropriate. The prompts rotate throughout the testing season. They are designed to prompt students to write an informed essay on a particular topic. As is true of the passages in the Reading Comprehension section, these prompts have been written for a contemporary feel and a high level of interest to current students. Each prompt is free of bias, global in scope, and representative of various subjects. Each prompt is one or two sentences long and asks students to respond to the situation described. Prompts may relate to the student, the student’s community, or the world.
The ERB does not score the written essay. They send a copy of the essay to the school(s) designated in the ISEE registration along with the scores for the rest of the test. They do not send a copy of the essay to the parents.
