What are the ISEB Common
Pre-Tests
The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are online, adaptive exams increasingly being used by the top senior independent schools across the UK. They form the initial stage of the admissions process with all applicants required to sit the Pre-Tests before those who perform best are invited to interviews and further internal examinations
Format of the ISEB
Adaptive
Questions get harder or easier depending on how a student is performing
Navigation
The next button only appears when an answer is selected and students cannot go back to a previous question
Progress
A timer is visible in the top corner and students can track their progress within an exam
The tests are taken online, usually in the child’s current school and consist of multiple-choice tests in four subjects:
40 minutes
National Curriculum topics taught up to the end of Year 5
40 minutes
Consists of reading comprehension, cloze sentences, spelling and punctuation questions
25 minutes
Questions include common words, antonyms, letter codes and letter transfer
30 minutes
Questions include shape analogies, matrices and classes unlike
What are the BIG changes
coming to the exam in 2022/23?
There is an improved platform with a completely different look and feel for the exam
Accessibility
Accessibility features have been added to support the
child’s experience. They can now select a colour
overlay to help with visibility of questions and adjust
the font size.
Timing
The time for all four subjects has been changed to allow for an overall shorter exam experience.
APTO ensures your child practises with the most current ISEB Pre-Test timings. This provides them with the best possible practise for exam day.
The English comprehension section no longer requires children to click through several images. The whole text can now be read by scrolling with the answer options at the bottom of the page.
There is also a new section within the English exam, "Shuffled Sentences", where children have to rearrange words to make a meaningful sentence and find the word which does not fit.
APTO have implemented all these changes to create the most realistic mock exam experience for the ISEB Common Pre-Tests.
Access to one full mock exam
Includes Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Key metrics such as SAS, Percentile Rank and Stanine immediately visible
Detailed Apto Results Analysis to highlight strengths and weaknesses
Access to three full mock exams
Includes Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Key metrics such as SAS, Percentile Rank and Stanine immediately visible
Detailed Apto Results Analysis to highlight strengths and weaknesses
Follow up call with specialist to discuss results including bonus insights
Access to one full mock exam
Includes Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Key metrics such as SAS, Percentile Rank and Stanine immediately visible
Detailed Apto Results Analysis to highlight strengths and weaknesses
