Private ISEE Tutoring — NYC, San Diego & Online
Expert one-on-one ISEE preparation for all levels with Dr. Stuart Donnelly, Oxford Ph.D. Personalised test prep that opens the door to the best independent schools.
Private ISEE Tutoring That Opens Doors
Admission to a top independent or private school can shape your child’s entire academic trajectory — and the ISEE is often the first hurdle. The Independent School Entrance Exam tests verbal reasoning, quantitative ability, reading comprehension, and mathematics achievement, demanding a blend of critical thinking and content mastery that goes well beyond classroom preparation.
Dr. Stuart Donnelly holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and brings more than 20 years of private tutoring experience to every ISEE session. He works with students at all four ISEE levels — Primary, Lower, Middle, and Upper — tailoring each lesson to the specific content, difficulty, and timing demands of the test your child will sit.
Sessions are always private and one-on-one: no group classes, no one-size-fits-all curriculum. Dr. Donnelly begins with a diagnostic assessment, identifies your child’s strengths and gaps, and builds a focused study plan designed to maximise score improvement in the time available.
Book a Free ISEE ConsultationWhat Makes Our ISEE Tutoring Different
Families across NYC, San Diego, and beyond choose Tutors of Oxford for ISEE preparation. Here is why.
Oxford Ph.D. Expertise
Dr. Donnelly’s Oxford doctorate and two decades of test-prep experience mean your child is learning from one of the most qualified ISEE tutors available — not a recent graduate working from a script.
All ISEE Levels Covered
Whether your child is preparing for the Primary, Lower, Middle, or Upper Level ISEE, Dr. Donnelly understands the specific content scope, question formats, and timing demands of each test.
Personalised Study Plans
Every programme begins with a diagnostic assessment. Dr. Donnelly identifies the exact areas where your child can gain the most points and builds a lesson-by-lesson plan to target those areas.
NYC, San Diego & Online
In-person sessions are available in New York City and San Diego. Online tutoring via Zoom provides the same personalised instruction for families anywhere in the world.
About the ISEE
A clear understanding of the ISEE’s structure is essential for effective preparation.
What Is the ISEE?
The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) is a standardised admissions test administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB). It is accepted by hundreds of independent and private schools across the United States and internationally. The ISEE is available in four levels, each designed for a different entry grade:
- Primary Level: Entry to grades 2, 3, or 4
- Lower Level: Entry to grades 5 or 6
- Middle Level: Entry to grades 7 or 8
- Upper Level: Entry to grades 9 through 12
Students may take the ISEE once per testing window, with three windows available per admissions season (fall, winter, spring).
ISEE Sections (Lower, Middle & Upper Levels)
| Section | Focus | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | Synonyms, Sentence Completions | 20 min |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Mathematical Concepts, Logical Reasoning | 35 min |
| Reading Comprehension | Passages from Humanities, Science, Social Studies | 25 min |
| Mathematics Achievement | Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Data Analysis | 40 min |
| Essay | Writing prompt (unscored by ERB, sent to schools) | 30 min |
Scoring: Each section receives a scaled score (760–940) and a stanine score (1–9) comparing your child to peers who have taken the test over the past three years. Schools focus primarily on stanine scores when evaluating applicants.
Our ISEE Tutoring Approach
Dr. Donnelly’s ISEE programme addresses every section of the exam, building both the content knowledge and strategic thinking that top scores require.
Verbal Reasoning & Reading Comprehension
The Verbal Reasoning section tests vocabulary breadth through synonym and sentence completion questions. Dr. Donnelly builds your child’s vocabulary systematically, teaching root-word analysis and context-clue strategies that work even when a word is unfamiliar.
For Reading Comprehension, students learn to identify main ideas, draw inferences, and interpret tone and purpose across passages from the humanities, sciences, and social studies. Dr. Donnelly teaches active-reading techniques and passage-mapping skills that improve both accuracy and pacing.
Quantitative Reasoning & Mathematics Achievement
Quantitative Reasoning questions test logical and mathematical thinking rather than rote computation. Dr. Donnelly teaches students how to recognise quantitative relationships, estimate efficiently, and apply problem-solving frameworks to unfamiliar question types.
The Mathematics Achievement section covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data interpretation. Dr. Donnelly ensures foundational skills are solid, then builds toward the multi-step problems and higher-order concepts that distinguish top-scoring students from the rest.
Dr. Donnelly also prepares students for the ISEE essay, coaching structure, thesis development, and time management so your child submits a polished writing sample to every school on their list.
What ISEE Families Say
Dr. Donnelly prepared our daughter for the Upper Level ISEE and the results were outstanding. She improved from a 5th stanine to an 8th stanine in just three months, which opened the door to her first-choice school. His ability to make challenging quantitative reasoning concepts accessible to a middle schooler was truly impressive.
We worked with Dr. Donnelly online from San Diego for our son’s Middle Level ISEE. The sessions were incredibly well structured — he diagnosed our son’s weaknesses immediately and focused every lesson on the areas that would move the needle most. Our son was accepted to his top-choice school and we could not be happier.
ISEE Tutoring FAQs
The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) is a standardised admissions test used by independent and private schools across the United States. It is administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) and comes in four levels: Primary (for entry to grades 2–4), Lower (grades 5–6), Middle (grades 7–8), and Upper (grades 9–12). The level your child takes depends on the grade they are applying to enter.
The ISEE reports a scaled score (ranging from 760 to 940) for each section, along with a stanine score (1–9) that compares your child’s performance to other students in the same grade who have taken the test over the past three years. Schools primarily look at stanine scores. The essay is not scored by ERB but is sent directly to the schools your child applies to.
Students may take the ISEE once per testing window. ERB offers three testing windows per admissions season: fall, winter, and spring. This means a student can take the test up to three times in a single admissions cycle if needed, though most students take it once or twice.
Yes. Dr. Donnelly prepares students for every ISEE level — Primary, Lower, Middle, and Upper. Each level has its own content scope and difficulty, and Dr. Donnelly tailors his approach to the specific sections and question types your child will encounter.
Absolutely. Dr. Donnelly offers ISEE tutoring in person in New York City and San Diego, as well as online via Zoom. Online sessions include screen sharing, a digital whiteboard, and shared problem sets. Many families choose online tutoring for scheduling flexibility, and results are comparable to in-person sessions.