Independent School Entrance Exams

There are 3 tests schools may use:

• Secondary School Admission Test 

  • This test seems to be mainly used by boarding schools. Most schools that require the SSAT will accept scores from the ISEE. 

  • Contact school admissions offices for further information and to see if they will accept scores from the ISEE administered at Benchmark School.

• High School Placement Test 

  • This test is mainly used by area Catholic schools. 

  • Most require you not only to take the HSPT (they will not accept scores from the ISEE instead), but will require you to take it at their school. 

  • Schools vary, but there are limited accommodations available for taking the HSPT. See school websites for their requirements. 

  • Note that a few schools, such as Malvern Prep and Ursuline Academy, require the HSPT, but will accept scores from the ISEE administered at Benchmark School.

• Independent School Entrance Exam

  • This is most common amongst our area independent schools. 

  • Accommodations can be applied for, such as extra time, spell check, calculator, and text-to-speech. 

  • Benchmark School administers this test on-site during the school day in mid-November.

• Thursday, November 13, 2025

1. Go to the ERB website and create a parent account.

2. Add your student to the account.

3. Select "Request Accommodations"

4. You will receive an ISEE Accommodations Request Form at the email address associated with your parent account. (Check your spam folder if you do not see this form in your inbox.) Please forward this to Dr. MacDonald (ericmacdonald@benchmarkschool.org), who will complete and submit the form. As long as Benchmark School has your release of records form AND a copy of your child's most recent comprehensive psychoeducational testing report, we will submit this documentation for you. Otherwise, you will need to upload a copy to the portal. The deadline for requesting accommodations for the ISEE at Benchmark School is September 30.

   • Benchmark School will request all appropriate accommodations for every student, including: extra time, calculator, spell check, and text-to-speech.

   • The Educational Records Bureau (ERB) staff carefully review the accommodations request and supporting documents to determine accommodations.

   • Accommodations are provided for students where there is a demonstrated gap between potential and achievement.

   • Benchmark School cannot provide test administration for students who do not apply for accommodations, as we are only able to accommodate students who at least are granted extended time (1.5x).

5. Once you receive notification of accommodations, you can register for the test. Go back into the parent portal to complete the registration.

   • Benchmark Test Event Code 2025: 2J9FCSMF

   • Be sure to include the school code for each school to which you want reports to be sent. (Note that if you are applying to schools that normally do not take the ISEE, such as Ursuline Academy or Malvern Prep, you can contact Dr. MacDonald to request that Benchmark send a copy of the score report. (Note that the report we receive is slightly more detailed than the parent report.)

   • Please include Benchmark School as a score recipient. Benchmark's ERB Code: 395517

   • Deadline for registration: November 1, 2025

   • The ISEE Quick Facts Guide can be found on the Families/ISEE by ERB website.

• As with all things, schools vary, but generally this is one very small piece of the admissions puzzle.

• Schools familiar with Benchmark tend to rely much more heavily on student visits, teacher recommendations, the comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation report, and other records.

• Benchmark does not encourage families to have students undertake intensive test prep. For many students, this actually increases their anxiety about such tests and students in our 8th grade program already have an intense amount of academic work to balance in addition to their other activities and much needed "downtime."

• Students should be familiar with the test format/question types.

  • When registering for the test, you will receive access to a free online practice test. You can also access an online practice test by clicking here.

  • Work with your child through the practice test to help them familiarize themselves with the format of the test and the types of questions.

  • For more on what to expect, click here.

• Students will meet with Mrs. Crowding a few times before the exam to review what to expect and how to approach the testing. Click here to access our "ISEE Tips for Students." 

• Be aware that the ISEE is intended for the top 10% of students in the country.

• Your child will be taking a test intended for students entering grades 9-12 and the difficulty level goes beyond high school, so many items on the test will feel very difficult for students.

• There are specific wrong answers that match wrong approaches to solving the problem or figuring out the answer.

• There are no penalties for wrong answers, however students should not rush through and guess answers if time is short.

• Encourage your child to do their best, while trying to relax and not become too anxious about the test and its results.

Click here for the guide: What to Expect on the ISEE (Upper Level)