Two things about the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) matter for families planning applications in the 2026-27 cycle. First, the sponsor has a new name: the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) has merged with the Enrollment Management Association (EMA) to form a nonprofit called E3n, and the official websites and contact addresses moved with it. Second, the attempt limit still runs by testing season, one registration per season and at most three in a school year. This guide is for Irvine families preparing applications due in early 2027. All details below come from the official 2026-27 ISEE Quick Facts Guide and current ISEE pages.

The Sponsor Has a New Name

ISEE registration, preparation resources, and score services now run under E3n. The official testing site is www.iseetest.org and the admissions site is admission.org. Test operations questions go to iseeoperations@e3n.org, and accommodations requests to iseeaccommodations@e3n.org.

The change affects where families look for information, not the test content or scoring. Note also that the ISEE and SSAT still use separate parent accounts; the organization intends to merge them, but for now families register for each separately.

Three Seasons, One Test per Season

A student may register for the ISEE once per testing season, for a maximum of three attempts in a school year. The seasons are:

  • Fall: August, September, October, November
  • Winter: December, January, February, March
  • Spring/Summer: April, May, June, July

A student who tests in September, during the Fall season, must wait until December to test again. For Irvine families, that means a January deadline leaves only two usable attempts, one in the fall and one early in the winter, since a spring or summer score arrives too late for that cycle.

Testing level is set by the grade a student is applying to, not the current grade: Primary 2, 3, and 4 for grades 2 through 4, Lower Level for grades 5 and 6, Middle Level for grades 7 and 8, and Upper Level for grades 9 through 12. Lower Level runs 128 questions in 2 hours 20 minutes plus two breaks; Middle and Upper Level run 161 questions in 2 hours 40 minutes plus two breaks.

Four Test Site Types, Two Formats

  • At-home testing serves applicants to grades 2 through 12: remotely proctored, online format only, individually administered. A parent or guardian must be home throughout, and families should check device and network requirements before registering.
  • At-school testing is given in person, in paper or online format, usually in a group taking the same level.
  • In-office testing takes place at professional educational testing offices, individually or in small groups, with formats varying by location.
  • Prometric test centers serve applicants to grades 5 through 12 only, in person and online, alongside other test-takers. A parent or guardian must remain at the center throughout, and a student arriving 30 minutes or more late may not test and receives no refund.

The paper format exists only for the Lower, Middle, and Upper Levels, and only at school and in-office sites. Online tests must be booked at least 3 days ahead and paper tests at least 21 days ahead, followed by a late window 20 to 14 days out; some sites offer walk-in registration using a site-issued code.

Accommodations must be approved before registering. An approval is valid for 24 months and is not flagged on the score report. Fee waivers are issued by the schools a student applies to, not by E3n.

Score Reporting Rules

Scores from online administrations are usually ready in 3 to 5 days; paper administrations take 5 to 10 days. Reports are released in the parent account and shared automatically with the schools the family has designated.

Five rules govern score sending, and two of them are irreversible:

  1. Families always receive a copy. Sharing with schools is optional.
  2. Recipients may be chosen at registration or after viewing scores, with no extra fee for adding a school later.
  3. A school may be removed up until the test date. Once the student tests, schools already listed cannot be removed.
  4. Only a complete report may be sent. Families cannot share selected sections or combine sections from different test dates.
  5. The essay is unscored and is not sent to families. Only designated schools receive a copy.

Section scaled scores range from 760 to 940. Percentiles compare a student to others in the same grade who took the ISEE over the previous three years, and the stanine analysis shows a band one stanine above and below the observed score to indicate normal variation between sittings.

What EDUBUS Recommends

The one-test-per-season rule moves the preparation calendar earlier. For students targeting grade 7 entry, the main entry point at both Sage Hill School and Harvard-Westlake School, the relevant level is Middle Level, and the fall sitting should be treated as a real attempt rather than a rehearsal. The winter sitting is for correction, and spring or summer generally falls outside the current cycle. Finalize the score recipient list before test day, since schools cannot be removed afterward. The EDUBUS ISEE intensive program is organized by Lower, Middle, and Upper Level with practice tests timed to the application calendar.

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