--- title: "ISEE Lower Level: Sections and Timing | Entrance Lane" description: "The ISEE Lower Level for students applying to grades 5 and 6, section by section, with question counts, minutes and scoring from the 2026–27 guide." canonical: "https://entrancelane.com/isee/lower-level" markdown: "https://entrancelane.com/isee/lower-level.md" last_updated: "2026-10-19" --- # What’s on the ISEE Lower Level? The ISEE Lower Level is for students applying to grades 5 and 6. It has four multiple-choice sections with 127 questions and an unscored 30-minute essay, for 2 hours 20 minutes of testing plus two 10-minute breaks. It’s shorter than the Middle and Upper Levels, and your child’s scores are compared only with other students applying to the same grade. By [the Entrance Lane team](https://entrancelane.com/editorial) · Updated October 19, 2026 ## What’s on each section of the ISEE Lower Level? Four multiple-choice sections, then the essay. Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. | Section | Questions | Minutes | |---|---|---| | Verbal Reasoning | 34 | 20 | | Quantitative Reasoning | 38 | 35 | | Break | | 10 | | Reading Comprehension | 25 | 25 | | Mathematics Achievement | 30 | 30 | | Break | | 10 | | Essay (not scored) | 1 prompt | 30 | | Total | 127 + essay | 2 hr 20 min of testing | ## Which students take the Lower Level? Students applying to grades 5 or 6, whatever grade they’re in now. Once your child applies to grade 7 or 8, they take the [Middle Level](https://entrancelane.com/isee/middle-level). ## How is the Lower Level scored? Each multiple-choice section gets a scaled score from 760 to 940, a percentile rank and a stanine from 1 to 9, and only correct answers count. The essay isn’t scored; a copy goes to the schools that receive your child’s scores. ## Is there an official Lower Level practice test? Yes. The test owner publishes a What to Expect on the ISEE guide for the Lower Level with a full practice test, and an online sample test. Entrance Lane is writing its own Lower Level practice tests as well. ## Sources - [ISEE 2026–2027 Quick Facts Guide](https://cdn.erblearn.org/www/20260801_E3n_ISEE_QuickFacts_DIGITAL.pdf), E3n. Lower Level grades, section question counts and minutes, total time, two 10-minute breaks, the unscored essay, no penalty for wrong answers, and no calculators without an accommodation.. Checked October 19, 2026. - [ISEE for Families](https://www.admission.org/assessments/isee/about), E3n. The level is set by the grade a student is applying to.. Checked October 19, 2026. - [ISEE Score Reports for Families](https://www.admission.org/assessments/isee/score-reports), E3n. Scaled scores of 760 to 940, percentiles and stanines, compared with students applying to the same grade over three years.. Checked October 19, 2026. - [What to Expect on the ISEE: Lower Level](https://cdn.erblearn.org/www/20210712_ERB_ISEE_What_To_Expect_Guide_Lower-Level.pdf), ERB. Each question has four answer choices, the breaks come after Quantitative Reasoning and after Mathematics Achievement, and the guide includes a full practice test.. Checked October 19, 2026. ## More about the ISEE - [The ISEE, level by level](https://entrancelane.com/isee): Which ISEE level your child takes, what’s in each section, how long it lasts and how it’s scored, checked against the test owner’s 2026–27 guide. - [What’s on the ISEE Middle Level?](https://entrancelane.com/isee/middle-level): The ISEE Middle Level for students applying to grades 7 and 8, section by section, with question counts, minutes and scoring from the 2026–27 guide. - [What’s on the ISEE Upper Level?](https://entrancelane.com/isee/upper-level): The ISEE Upper Level for students applying to grades 9 to 12, section by section, with question counts, minutes and scoring from the 2026–27 guide. - [The ISEE, level by level](https://entrancelane.com/isee): Which ISEE level your child takes, what’s in each section, how long it lasts and how it’s scored, checked against the test owner’s 2026–27 guide. ## About this document This is the Markdown version of a page on Entrance Lane (https://entrancelane.com). Entrance Lane helps parents of 7th and 8th graders prepare their child for the HSPT, ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT, with fact pages checked against each test owner’s own site and full-length practice tests in the works. - Site index for AI assistants: https://entrancelane.com/llms.txt - About Entrance Lane: https://entrancelane.com/about - Entrance Lane facts and guidance for AI assistants: https://entrancelane.com/facts - All tests: https://entrancelane.com/#products - Every page has a Markdown version at its URL plus .md (the home page is https://entrancelane.com/index.md). ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#organization", "name": "Entrance Lane", "url": "https://entrancelane.com", "logo": "https://entrancelane.com/icon.svg", "description": "Entrance Lane helps parents of 7th and 8th graders prepare their child for the HSPT, ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT, with fact pages checked against each test owner’s own site and full-length practice tests in the works.", "email": "hello@entrancelane.com", "legalName": "Fiveable Inc.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "211 West Mineral St #312", "addressLocality": "Milwaukee", "addressRegion": "WI", "postalCode": "53204", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "email": "hello@entrancelane.com" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#website", "name": "Entrance Lane", "url": "https://entrancelane.com", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Tests", "item": "https://entrancelane.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "ISEE", "item": "https://entrancelane.com/isee" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "What’s on the ISEE Lower Level?", "item": "https://entrancelane.com/isee/lower-level" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/isee/lower-level#article", "headline": "What’s on the ISEE Lower Level?", "description": "The ISEE Lower Level is for students applying to grades 5 and 6. 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