ISEE Scores: Scaled Scores, Percentiles and Stanines Explained

The three numbers for each section

This section explains what each number on the report means and which ones families usually rely on. Every scored section carries a scaled score, a percentile and a stanine. Students at the Lower, Middle and Upper Level receive these for Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievement. The structure of each level is described on the levels page.

Measure	Range	What it answers
Scaled score	760–940	The raw result in one section, converted to a common scale so that different test forms can be compared
Percentile	1–99	The share of same-grade test takers whose score is equal to or lower than the student’s
Stanine	1–9	Which of nine bands the percentile falls into, from lowest to highest

Source: E3n (formerly ERB), ISEE score reports (admission.org), checked 2026-08-24.

The scaled score is useful for comparing results across test dates, but on its own it does not show where a student stands among other applicants. Percentiles and stanines do, which is why admissions offices tend to refer to them first. The word “stanine” is short for “standard nine”.

Stanine and percentile, band by band

This section lists every stanine with the percentiles it covers. E3n describes the distribution this way: stanines 4, 5 and 6 cover the middle 54 percentile points, while stanines 1–3 and 7–9 each cover 23 points at the bottom and top of the group.

Stanine	Percentile range	Share of test takers	Band
1	1–3	4%	Lower
2	4–10	7%	Lower
3	11–22	12%	Lower
4	23–39	17%	Middle
5	40–59	20%	Middle
6	60–76	17%	Middle
7	77–88	12%	Upper
8	89–95	7%	Upper
9	96–99	4%	Upper

Source: E3n, ISEE score reports (admission.org), checked 2026-08-24.

Two points help in reading the table. First, each stanine is a range, so two students who share a stanine of 7 can differ by several percentile points. A one-band difference between two sections is often ordinary variation and not a real difference in strength. Second, the top band is narrow. A stanine of 9 covers only percentiles 96–99, so it is a demanding result and not an expectation for any student.

A report in which all four sections show a stanine of 9 is the case families call “9999”. The phrase describes a stanine of 9 on all four scored sections. It does not mean that every question was answered correctly, and it is not a condition of admission anywhere.

No total score

This section answers a question that comes up in many searches: what the combined ISEE score is. There is none. The four sections are reported separately, and the report does not add them into a total, an average or a composite. A reference to “a total ISEE score” in a forum post or a school brochure has no matching score behind it, so the useful comparison is section by section.

The same logic applies to the family’s own review of results. A profile that is level across four sections and a profile with one clearly lower section tell different stories, even when an informal average would match. Reading the four stanines side by side, and looking for the section that stands apart, is more informative than any single figure.

The essay is not scored

The essay receives no score and does not appear as a number anywhere on the report. Families do not see the essay text in the report either. Only the schools that the family chooses as score recipients receive a copy of it.

Because the essay is unscored, the report cannot show how it was judged. Families who want to know whether a particular school reads it, and how, can ask the admissions office directly. In practice, a student should still treat the essay as a real piece of writing, because a school may read it as a sample produced independently under test conditions.

How schools read the numbers

This section covers what a percentile or stanine does and does not tell a school. Three points matter for families.

• The comparison group is same-grade test takers. A percentile of 70 means a student scored at or below the level of 70% of that group, which is a statement about relative position and not about the share of questions answered correctly.
• No score settles an application on its own. ISEEPrep lists no cut-off scores, and no stanine or percentile by itself decides an outcome. Schools consider results together with grades, recommendations, interviews and their own priorities, and each school decides how much weight to give each section.
• Balance can matter as much as a single high number. A school that cares about mathematics may look closely at Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement, while another may weigh Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension more heavily. The admissions office is the reliable source for this.

Families should therefore avoid any claim that a particular stanine will secure admission. The numbers describe a performance on one test on one day, and the right question to ask each school is how it uses them.

An illustration of reading a profile

This table is a hypothetical report written for illustration. It is not a real student result and not a prediction.

Section	Stanine	Reading
Verbal Reasoning	8	Upper band; a clear strength
Quantitative Reasoning	6	Top of the middle band
Reading Comprehension	7	Entry level of the upper band
Mathematics Achievement	5	Middle of the comparison group

In this example the spread between the strongest and weakest section is three bands, which is large enough to be worth a closer look. The family could review the question-type breakdown on the report to see whether lost points cluster in one area, such as a particular math topic or the final reading passages. A difference of a single band between two sections would usually not call for the same attention.

When results arrive and how they are sent

This section gives the timing and the sending rules. E3n lists different release times by test format, and the table below is the basis for planning around application deadlines.

Test format	Usual time to results
Online tests	3–5 days
Paper tests	5–10 days

Source: E3n, ISEE score reports (admission.org), checked 2026-08-24.

Once results are generated, families can add recipient schools in the parent account. Adding schools afterward does not carry an extra fee, so a family can review the results first and then decide where to send them. The detailed steps, and what changes when a student tests again, are covered on the page about retakes and score sending.

Release time matters most for a retake. A student who tests in one season and plans to test again must leave enough days for results to arrive before the earliest school deadline. The ISEE allows one attempt per testing season and up to three in a school year. The specific months of each season are commonly fall, winter and spring or summer, but the dates shown inside the registration account are the ones that apply; the test dates page explains how to work backward from a deadline.

What families usually decide after the report

Once the report is in hand, the options are generally three, and the section profile points toward one of them.

1. Send the results. When all four sections sit in a range the family considers appropriate for the target schools and no section stands apart, the next step is to confirm recipients and send.
2. Test again in a later season. When one or two sections are clearly below the others and the cause can be named, such as limited time or a specific question type, targeted preparation followed by a retake is a common route. It depends on a later season still falling before the deadline, and a retake can move a section in either direction.
3. Keep the result and strengthen the rest of the application. When time is short or the scores already reflect the student’s steady level, effort is often better spent on the other parts of the application.

Families who would like help reading a specific report can book a free consultation. A student at the start of the process can begin with what the ISEE is and the structure of each level.