ISEB pre-test practice
Practice for the four ISEB Common Pre-Tests, at the real tests' times and with no going back to a question, as on the day. Each paper is marked the moment it ends.
Pick a test
Mathematics
36 questions · 40 minutes
Number, fractions, measures, shape and data. No calculator.
English
32 questions · 40 minutes
Reading comprehension, then spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Non-verbal reasoning
36 questions · 30 minutes
Shapes, patterns, codes and folding.
Verbal reasoning
36 questions · 25 minutes
Words, codes, letter series and logic.
How the pre-tests work
The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are four online multiple-choice tests that many independent senior schools use for entry. Children sit them in Year 6 or Year 7, at their own school or a senior school, any time from October to June. One sitting is shared with every school a family applies to.
| Test | Time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 40 minutes | Arithmetic and problems on the curriculum to the end of Year 5 |
| English | 40 minutes | Reading passages, then vocabulary, punctuation, grammar and spelling |
| Non-verbal reasoning | 30 minutes | Shapes, patterns and codes, and shapes in 3D |
| Verbal reasoning | 25 minutes | Letters, words, codes and the meaning of words |
The real tests are adaptive: each answer sets how hard the next question is, so the number of questions differs from child to child, and there is no going back. Ours are fixed papers at the same times, with the same rule of no going back, so a child gets used to answering each question before moving on. Our non-verbal papers do not yet include the 3D shape questions.
Scores and answers
ISEB reports age-standardised scores, where 100 is the average for a child of that age. Ours shows the number of questions answered correctly and never turns it into a standardised score, because only the real test can.
Your first finished paper shows the answers and working for its first ten questions. Full answers for every paper will come with our UK practice packs.
Questions parents ask
- Who sits the ISEB pre-tests?
- Children in Year 6 or Year 7 applying to independent senior schools that use them, for entry at 11+ or 13+. The school your child applies to says whether it uses them and when to sit.
- Is this ISEB's own practice?
- No. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by ISEB, and every question here is written by us. ISEB's own guidance for families is on its website.
- Why can't my child go back to a question?
- The real pre-tests have no back button: once a question is answered, it is final. Our papers work the same way, so the rule is not a surprise on the day.
- How should my child practise?
- Sit one test at a time at its real length, then go through every question missed with the working. Getting used to answering each question before moving on matters as much as the content.