Registration is completed by parents and guardians via the ISEB Pre-Tests Guardian Portal. Testing for 2023-24 will begin in October 2023.
Further information for parents or guardians
Further information for schools
Our popular ISEB Pre-Tests are online and adaptive, and are designed to give senior schools information about prospective pupils’ attainment and potential, to support the application process. They are usually taken when a pupil is in Year 6 or Year 7, and include four tests; mathematics, English (reading comprehension and grammar), verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. The four tests can be taken together or at separate times, either in the pupils’ own school or at the senior school they are applying to. The standard test time for the four tests is 2 hours 15 minutes.
The ISEB Pre-Tests are a ‘shared assessment’ which provides a set of four online entrance assessments that a wide range of senior schools accept, allowing pupils to sit the tests once and have their results shared with all of the senior schools they have applied to.
Visit our ISEB Pre-Tests Admin Portals to access your senior school, invigilation centre or guardian account.
Wellbeing: Pupils applying to multiple schools only need sit the tests once and their results are shared with all the senior schools. This means that they do not have to miss lesson time to sit separate tests or prepare for a range of differing tests.
Results: Pupils anywhere in the UK and overseas can sit the ISEB Pre-Tests, meaning senior schools can make comparisons across all applicants. Senior schools are able to compare results from all of their applicants, no matter where or when they sat the tests, as they are ‘common’ to all pupils. The results are standardised against a sample of pupils applying for independent school admission, giving consistency across each cohort of pupils.
Flexibility: The tests can be taken anytime between October and June of that academic year. Senior schools can set their deadlines to ensure they see the results in time and if they do have late applicants who have already sat the ISEB Pre-Tests they do not need to make additional testing arrangements. If a late applicant has not already sat the ISEB Pre-Tests, this can be arranged and, as the results are age-standardised, they can be compared with the rest of the cohort.
Our ISEB Pre-Tests are designed to give senior schools information about prospective pupils’ attainment and potential. Senior schools can use the tests for entry into Year 7, or for deferred entry into Year 9. Find out more about the features of the tests and how they are administered.
Families with pupils applying to senior schools may be required to take the ISEB Pre-Tests as part of their admissions process. Find out more about what parents and guardians need to know about supporting children with the tests.
An invigilation centre is the place where pupils take the ISEB Pre-Tests. Find out more about what invigilation centres need to know including our partnership with VICTVS.
The system is very user friendly, and you and your team have been fantastic! It (the ISEB Pre-tests) has given me the ability to work at a quicker pace and being able to check candidates accounts has been extremely helpful when I have needed to help parents. Libby Willett Assistant Registrar, Wellington College
The system is very user friendly, and you and your team have been fantastic! It (the ISEB Pre-tests) has given me the ability to work at a quicker pace and being able to check candidates accounts has been extremely helpful when I have needed to help parents.
Assistant Registrar, Wellington College
"We have found the ISEB Pre-Tests to be a really child-friendly and effective way of pre testing pupils. We have great links with the senior schools who buy the Pre-Tests and they are easy to organise in our ICT suites. They are demanding yet do not totally faze the children. It also means no stressful trips to senior schools. If only every school used them..." Adrian Downie Director of Studies, Ashfold School
"We have found the ISEB Pre-Tests to be a really child-friendly and effective way of pre testing pupils. We have great links with the senior schools who buy the Pre-Tests and they are easy to organise in our ICT suites. They are demanding yet do not totally faze the children. It also means no stressful trips to senior schools. If only every school used them..."
Director of Studies, Ashfold School
"At Headington we have been impressed with the accuracy and level of fine detail that the Pre-Tests provides us with. We have been particularly delighted with the flexibility and ease of arrangements of taking the tests and Prep schools have been increasingly keen to work with us on a time frame that is mutually convenient to both schools." Caroline Jordan Headmistress, Headington School
"At Headington we have been impressed with the accuracy and level of fine detail that the Pre-Tests provides us with. We have been particularly delighted with the flexibility and ease of arrangements of taking the tests and Prep schools have been increasingly keen to work with us on a time frame that is mutually convenient to both schools."
Headmistress, Headington School
To access a range of support articles, videos and FAQs about using the Admin Portals, registering pupils, and administering the tests, visit our ISEB Pre-Tests Knowledge Base. You can also contact us with any queries you might have by submitting a ticket.