Preparing for Entrance Exams

Advice for parents about ISEB Pre-Tests

What are the ISEB Pre-Tests and does my child need to take them?

The ISEB Pre-Tests are a set of online, adaptive, multichoice tests used by many senior schools as part of their admissions process. The tests assess children’s skills in mathematics and English, as well as their problem-solving potential through verbal and nonverbal reasoning tests. Senior schools will advise you if your child is required to take the PreTests, but if in doubt, you can always contact ISEB through our support portal.

Why do senior schools use the Pre-Tests?

Senior schools use the Pre-Tests due to the accurate and reliable information they give on your child’s attainment (what they have learnt and how they apply it) and their potential (how well they can use their knowledge to solve language and code problems).

What is an adaptive test?

Adaptive tests base the questions presented to each child on the answers given in the test so far.

Our adaptive testing algorithm is not only highly accurate, but also measures each child’s potential by asking questions around their ability level. These questions get harder or easier accordingly, without causing unnecessary stress like a traditional test might. Adaptive tests are also able to spot patterns of inconsistency, so if your child makes a mistake or encounters a tricky question early in the test, they can recover and still achieve a good mark. Families are sometimes concerned that if their child makes a mistake in the first few questions, they will not be given challenging questions and will therefore not get a high mark; this is not the case.

What is an age-standardised test?

An age-standardised test factors a child’s age at the time of testing into the results calculation. This means it doesn’t matter if your child takes the Pre-Tests earlier in the academic year than other children - there is no advantage to being slightly older when the tests are taken.

Where will my child take the Pre-Tests?

Your child’s current school will usually act as the ‘invigilation centre’. Most senior schools that use the Pre-Tests also hold their own test days. ISEB can help if you are having trouble finding an invigilation centre.

How important are my child’s Pre-Tests results?

The Pre-Tests are just one part of the admissions process for many senior schools. Schools are looking for a broad understanding of your child. Alongside the PreTests, a school may be looking to see how your child reacts in teambased situations, how they solve problems outside of a traditional test context and their attitude towards learning.

How do I register my child for the Pre-Tests?

You will need to register your child for the 2024-25 Pre-Tests session via our online Guardian Portal. Once you have registered your child, you will be issued with an Applicant ID, and you will then need to send this unique identification code to your child’s prospective senior schools so they can access your child’s results.

TURN BACK TO PAGE 24 for advice on choosing a Senior school

Should my child be doing any test preparation outside of their schoolwork?

The Pre-Tests are based on the national curriculum, so your child should be learning all they need to at school. If you would like to support this learning at home, we provide a range of resources in our Pre-Tests Admissions Toolkit for Families, at www.iseb.co.uk/ pretests-toolkit.

What about test practice platforms; should we be using them?

ISEB encourages families to adopt a balanced approach to test preparation to keep the experience as stress-free as possible. If you decide that using a practice platform is right for your family, we endorse Bond Online Premium Plus as it is the only platform that contains thousands of questions supplied by us, and it most closely aligns to the PreTests test framework.

You can currently get 20% off your first month by using the code ISEB24 (expires 31st December 2024).

Visit pretests.support.iseb.co.uk for more FAQs and to contact ISEB.

SOPHIE CRAWLEY Customer Success Executive pretests.support.iseb.co.uk

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Embracing sustainability

Sixth Form students at Putney High School GDST recently hosted a Recycled Fashion Show to raise awareness of the issues surrounding sustainability in fashion. Students from Year 12a key demographic as buyers of fast fashion - created outfits they had produced from recycled and sustainable materials in addition to re-worked, preloved items.

Putney has a popular Textiles department and students not only had fun channelling their creativity, but also spread the message about the importance of not purchasing garments that may only be worn once or twice before being discarded.

With the increasing threat of