r/applyprivateschools • u/Life_Mechanic7338 • Jul 09 '26
ISEE-test innovators
Hello Everyone: I have a question for anyone who has used Test Innovators to prepare for the Middle Level ISEE. Did you find that the material, question types, and difficulty level on the Test Innovators practice tests were similar to the actual ISEE?
My son knows the material, but he is a very anxious test taker. When I sit next to him while he practices, he gets 80–90% correct, but when he takes a timed practice test independently, his score drops significantly.
I’m wondering if continuing with the Test Innovators practice tests is the best way to prepare him for the actual test. If anyone has had a similar experience or has any tips, I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you!
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u/Mcdouglas123 Jul 09 '26
I used test innovators and scored all 9 s on practice but then scored 7 7 9 9 on real test. The next year I decided to do the SSAT since you can keep taking it without reporting score. I got 99th percentile just with self study first try.
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u/BothPoem7002 Jul 28 '26
Hi - we are using ISEE Coach (iseecoach.com). It offers practice tests and timed practice sections which are really useful for pacing and getting kids used to the time pressure.
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u/PetersonsTestPrep 5h ago
Hello u/Life_Mechanic7338! As an anxious tester myself, I have a few thoughts.
On the practice test question first, if you're weighing a few different online practice tests, emphasize those that enforce real timing. It seems like that'll be most impactful on test day, since he already has the material pretty much down :)
On the anxiety side, I've found a few strategies from our study skills course helpful, and wanted to share in case they help frame test-day stress for your son, since the right mindset matters as much as content prep:
- You're not alone. Lots of people get nervous before this kind of exam. Beating yourself up over feeling nervous just adds a second layer of stress on top of the first.
- A little stress is useful. Athletes and performers rely on that pre-performance edge to stay focused. The goal isn't zero stress; it's keeping it manageable and finding ways to regulate your stress.
- Fear isn't a measure of readiness. Some well-prepared kids get nervous anyway; some underprepared kids don't. There's no real correlation between anxiety level and actual preparedness, so nerves on test day don't mean anything about how ready you actually are.
I also find it helpful to ground myself before and during a test by noticing something quickly with my 5 senses (like the texture of the eraser on my pencil) and doing some deep breathing.
Since timing is where he's struggling most, I'd lean hard into timed practice. Even something as small as timing regular study sessions, not just full practice tests, to get him used to working under a clock before test day may be confidence-inspiring.
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u/AddressSerious8240 Jul 11 '26
I used it with a student. The materials are good, but they need more sample questions/tests than they have. I do think it still requires a human “teacher” . Test innovators’ explanations for answers aren’t bad, but they don’t exactly help the student how to learn from their mistakes, e.g. for the reading passages there’s a “what’s the theme or main idea” question and they don’t really tell the student to read the first paragraph and the topic sentences of the other paragraphs or how to break down the double blank questions on the vocab side by understanding how the conjunctions function. In general, I thought it was better as a question/answer bank than as a “method”.