ISEE Information
Applicants for Grades Seventh through Eleven
To simplify the admission process for parents and students, a consortium of local independent schools has joined with the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) to provide a common admission testing program. Students who seek admission to Oakwood in grades seventh through eleven will take the ERB Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE), thus enabling a student to take the exam once with the results available for multiple schools.
The ISEE Online Guide (available at www.iseetest.org) will provide you with information about the test and how to register your child on-line. You may call the ERB at 1-800-989-3721 to request a complete paper copy of the ISEE Student Guide if you do not have Internet access. In adopting the ISEE as a common testing instrument, the participating schools have agreed that:
1. Students must register in advance for the test.
2. We encourage students to register for the ISEE as early as possible. A student may take the test only once. The test will be administered at Oakwood on Sunday, December
13, 2015 and at other local independent schools on various dates from November through March. Students may take the test at any site. Students taking the ISEE after January 18, 2016 will not be considered in the regular applicant pool.
3. To have scores reported to Oakwood, enter Oakwood’s school code, 052146, on the registration form. ERB will mail test results to parents as explained in the Online Guide. Parents should decide whether or not to share test scores with students. Often, the percentile scores are quite misleading and cause children needless worry. In addition, test results may seem more important than they are when students discuss scores with their classmates.
4. Students should not require any special preparation for the ISEE; the test is comparable to tests administered annually in their classrooms.
Test results are just one factor we consider in gaining a clearer academic picture of each applicant. They serve to illuminate the school record and to provide us with a common denominator, given that students apply to Oakwood from many different schools and bring with them their own individual qualities. As the President of ETS, the group which devises and administers a number of standardized tests, once said, multiple-choice tests fail to "...assess the glint in a student's eye." We wholeheartedly agree with this statement.
We hope that by working together we can reduce some of the pressure that may occur in this process and assist you in your search for the most appropriate school for your child and your family.
11600 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601-3015 (818) 732-3150 Fax (818) 732-3564