We received two requests this week for ISEE test prep for students with dyslexia. Unfortunately, we had to turn both of these requests down. There is no way a student with dyslexia can prepare for a test as difficult as the ISEE in a few short months.
The ISEE is a very challenging test! Students with advanced skills struggle with the test material. In 17 years of offering ISEE test prep I have only had 1 student score 100% on our ISEE reading comprehension diagnostic. Even strong readers rarely score higher than 70% on the reading diagnostic.
The ISEE reading section features boring, non-fiction passages focused on social studies and science topics. Students have 6 minutes to both read a passage and answer 6 questions. The questions are not straight forward. The reading section focuses on main idea, definition-in-context, opinion, inference, and organization questions.
Students need to have more advanced and sophisticated reading skills in order to be successful in answering these questions. They also need to be able to focus when the material is boring, and they need to do all this quickly. This takes time and practice in order to master.
Another area on the ISEE in which students with dyslexia struggle is on the two math sections. The math sections of the ISEE contain a lot of word problems. The word problems are not straight forward and are often phrased in confusing ways. Students have about a minute to complete the math problems, and the problems are often multi-step. Students need to read carefully and be very clear about what is being asked of them before they go off and attempt to solve the problems.
We have worked with students with dyslexia in the past, and they have been successful in gaining admission to exam and independent schools, but these students need more time and support to master the content on the test.
We recommend students with dyslexia start at least 15 months prior to their test date.
Anne Yount Boston ISEE Prep 617-553-8083 www.bostoniseeprep.com - Test Prep for the ISEE & Latin School Exam Boston Tutoring Center 617-553-8083 www.bostontutoringcenter.com - Tutoring Grades K-12 Boston Private School Search 617-553-0540 www.bostonprivateschoolsearch.com - Your Resource for Private School Admissions Lighthouse Education, Inc. 617-553-0251 www.lighthouse-education.org - Changing Lives One Student at a Time Follow my blog at: www.privateschoolguru.com/blog Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Boston-Tutoring-Center https://www.facebook.com/Private-School-Guru