ISEE Scores / GHill odds (Howe: middle school, versus, best)

[ktxbuttrfly17]

My son is applying to GH for middle school (not the 5th grade expansion year) for the 2022-23 school year.

He got 6-6-9-9 on his ISEE. (6's on verbal, 9's on math).

Do these seem like strong enough scores to get into GH? He has straight A's at his current school.

Thanks in advance for any input. We are new to this process and biting fingernails waiting until March 11.

[JTC Mom]

Those scores are good and IMO definitely high enough to be in contention. Of course there is no score high enough to guarantee acceptance. Good luck.

[ktxbuttrfly17]

Thank you very much for answering!

[Waterdragon8212]

I agree with JTC that those scores are high enough for him to be considered. The bigger issue will be that you are applying for a non-expansion year, which makes the competition even fiercer. Anecdotally, I've seen more admissions in 7th over the years versus 6th or 8th. Best of luck to you! I remember how excruciating the wait is even though it's been forever since I last did it!

[simonsek]

My son is also applying to GH for high school 9th grade for the 2022-23 school year.

Waiting for the decisions to come out is very nerve wracking. Good Luck for us!

[Madmax0710]

My Son has also applied to 9th grade GH this year. Anybody have any idea of what ISEE scores would have a decent chance? Have seen folks saying everything from all 9's to total of 25...

[Bluffview Parental Unit]

I don't know the answer and I doubt any data is publicly available. However, if they only selected students with all 9's they would barely find enough enrollees to fill a classroom. That is incredibly hard because the ISEE is graded on a curve. I think only 4% of students can score a 9 on any portion of the exam. I do think you should be aiming for 7s or higher. That puts you in the 80ish percentile. But again, it depends not only on the rest of your application but also on the quality of the other kids applying.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Bluffview Parental Unit

I don't know the answer and I doubt any data is publicly available. However, if they only selected students with all 9's they would barely find enough enrollees to fill a classroom. That is incredibly hard because the ISEE is graded on a curve. I think only 4% of students can score a 9 on any portion of the exam. I do think you should be aiming for 7s or higher. That puts you in the 80ish percentile. But again, it depends not only on the rest of your application but also on the quality of the other kids applying.

Right, 4% of test takers per subject will earn a 9. It's not so much a grading-curve but raw scores yield positions under a "normal" bell curve. IIRC making a 9 requires something close to 96-100% correct answers.

I'm not explaining myself well but it's not like a particular test taker sets the curve per subject per test.


Scroll down about 1/2-way to a bell curve........

https://www.piqosity.com/2020/12/14/...od-score-isee/

[Bluffview Parental Unit]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Right, 4% of test takers per subject will earn a 9. It's not so much a grading-curve but raw scores yield positions under a "normal" bell curve. IIRC making a 9 requires something close to 96-100% correct answers.

I'm not explaining myself well but it's not like a particular test taker sets the curve per subject per test.


Scroll down about 1/2-way to a bell curve........

https://www.piqosity.com/2020/12/14/...od-score-isee/

Yes, I found it interesting that they use the previous three years worth of test takers to set the bell curve. So unless the current year is significantly smarter you won't have many kids score four 9's. And I know we're not talking probabilities here, but if we were it would be very low to score a 36. I only write this because searching the Internet for information about scores results in a lot of "my kid scored 9,9,9,8 -- is that good?" type posts which drive me crazy.

[gsoy]

Originally Posted by Bluffview Parental Unit

Yes, I found it interesting that they use the previous three years worth of test takers to set the bell curve. So unless the current year is significantly smarter you won't have many kids score four 9's. And I know we're not talking probabilities here, but if we were it would be very low to score a 36. I only write this because searching the Internet for information about scores results in a lot of "my kid scored 9,9,9,8 -- is that good?" type posts which drive me crazy.

My kid scored 9,9,9,8 and I knew it was good! That got her into Hockaday