Award-Winning ISEE Tutors
serving Washington, DC
ISEE
Tutors in Washington
Private 1-on-1 tutoring, weekly live classes for academic support, test prep & enrichment, practice tests and diagnostics, and more to elevate grades and test scores.
Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
UniversitiesSchools & Universities
DeliveredHours Delivered
ProficiencyGrowth in Proficiency
Who needs tutoring?
No obligation. Takes ~1 minute.
The ISEE throws a mix of verbal reasoning, quantitative comparisons, and reading comprehension at students who are often encountering these question formats for the first time. Katherine breaks each section into repeatable strategies — like eliminating trap answers on synonym questions and setting up equations for word problems — so test day feels familiar rather than overwhelming. Her background in both math and writing analysis means she can coach across every section without switching tutors.
I am passionate about helping students. I believe that we all are learners and teachers. all of us are readers and writers. I have the ability to share my passion for learning with others, and one of my greatest strengths is building relationships with students which is the corner stone to successful learning and teaching. I believe that there are no bad kids or bad students, it's just that we all have different paths and ways of learning, we all have a different pace. As a teacher i strive to acknowledge that and find ways to support all students, adapting to their needs and paths, meeting them where they are at. It is my job to believe in every single student and help them believe in themselves. When I am not teaching or engaging with students, I like to read, walk, hike, travel, explore, work out, watch my favorite shows. I enjoy playing and watching ice hockey, and I try to go home to visit my family in Italy once a year.
I am about to graduate from Brown University with a B.A. in Education Studies. I love working with students one-on-one and helping them feel like they can tackle challenging material. In the past I have tutored elementary school students in English and Math, middle school students in English as a second language, and helped peers in an informal context. My experiences teaching visual art and dance classes have also helped me develop creative and engaging ways to present information. While I tutor many different subjects, I am particularly excited about working with students on writing and French. I have studied French for 11 years and lived abroad in a Francophone country, and I am a total geek when it comes to French grammar. Similarly, I love playing with and examining the English language, whether in preparation for the reading section of a Standardized Test or for a college essay. I believe that students learn best when they are able to uncover the "why," not just the "what," and it is my goal to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. In my free time, I enjoy making pottery, swing dancing, and experimenting in the kitchen.
I am originally from New York City and am a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science, Economics, and Psychology. Having gone through high school and the whole college process within recent memory, I am at the unique intersection of having a very current understanding of the challenges, and of having gained experience and perspective from college. I started tutoring as soon as I had real knowledge to share, which for me was in the eighth grade. In the way a six-year-old might feel an unwavering sense of duty and pride from being charged with returning scissors to the desk, I felt the true significance of the job I had been given. Tutoring has never lost this importance for me and I continue to approach each student with the same level of preparation and commitment as I did all those years ago. As both a nationally-ranked swimmer and a student I learned meticulous organization and time management. I have seen success in my own pursuits and in those of the students I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. I am invested, reliable, and capable. I look forward to meeting you!
I am a second-year student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. I am double majoring in Cognitive Studies and Psychology with a minor in Computer Science. I have tutored high school and middle school subjects, standardized test prep, and helped students build college applications in Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT. I have tutored in a range of subjects but particularly enjoy helping students gain both the skills and confidence needed to excel at essay writing. In my free time, I like to read non-fiction in a variety of subjects, SCUBA dive, and have recently taken up knitting. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals!
I am a senior physics major at Yale, and I have been tutoring non-stop since high school. I have three years of formal, test-prep tutoring experience with top companies in the New York City area. I absolutely love to help people out -- the most important thing I can do as a tutor is to find a new way of explaining something that just makes it click for you!
I'm a rising junior at Brown University studying biomedical engineering. I have lots of experience in middle school through college level instruction in STEM and SAT/ACT prep. My goal is to provide a fun and productive learning environment by only teaching subjects that I am passionate about.
I'm a recent graduate of Northwestern University, a native New Yorker, and a recent addition to Varsity Tutors. I grew up in Westchester County, where I volunteered as an assistant creative writing teacher in high school. After high school, I moved to Evanston, Illinois for school. I studied a wide variety of subjects in college: from Medieval Literature to Buddhist Psychology. I moved back to New York after graduating to pursue a career in the arts. I currently work as a reader for the literary director of an Off-Broadway theatre company.
I am a graduate from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Biology. I have three younger siblings, so I have had experience helping children with their homework from a pretty young age. Throughout college I participated in several tutoring and mentorship programs, helping students who were behind in math and reading raise their test scores and grades. As an instructor I have worked with students in every age level in all kinds of academic subjects, from math and physics to brainstorming and re- drafting English essays, and am truly passionate about helping students achieve their potential.
I am an avid classical pianist, EMT, swimmer, and tinkerer. I love explaining things and paying forward my knowledge to those around me!
I am no stranger to people getting tutors in order to succeed. An ambition to accomplish any academic goal was encouraged all my life; thus, I am accustomed to studying hard on top of participating in countless extra-curricular activities. I graduated highs school and received a diploma from the extremely rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) program, and began attending an Ivy League college, the University of Pennsylvania, in 2016. With all this said, I am confident that I will be able to teach clients effective ways to solve any problems they have.
I am a very patient tutor who tries to understand exactly where the student is struggling and how they can improve. Outside of the classroom, you can often find me baking or drawing!
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Frequently Asked Questions
The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) requires a different approach than standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. It's specifically designed to assess readiness for independent schools, with distinct sections for verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, and math achievement. In Washington, DC's competitive independent school landscape, personalized 1-on-1 instruction allows tutors to focus on your specific strengths and gaps—whether that's mastering analogy patterns in the verbal section or building confidence with word problems. This targeted approach is more effective than classroom test prep, where teachers must move at the pace of the group.
The ISEE is scored on a scale of 760–940 across four sections, with stanine scores (1-9) that rank your performance against other test-takers at your grade level. Each independent school has different expectations, but competitive schools in Washington, DC typically look for stanine scores of 6-9 (above average). Your actual target score depends on the specific schools you're applying to and your grade level—the ISEE is offered at four levels (Primary, Upper Level for grades 5-6, Middle Level for grades 7-8, and Upper Level for grades 9-11). Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who understand these score benchmarks and can help you set realistic, achievable goals.
The verbal reasoning section tests your ability to find relationships between words and complete analogies—a skill that doesn't always get focused attention in regular classroom instruction. Many students struggle because analogies require both vocabulary knowledge and pattern recognition. With personalized tutoring, you'll work through a variety of analogy types, learn strategies for breaking down word relationships, and build the specific vocabulary that appears on the ISEE. Tutors can also help you understand why wrong answers are traps, which is as important as knowing the right answer.
The ISEE quantitative reasoning section covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and word problems, often at a faster pace and with trickier wording than students encounter in regular school. Common trouble spots include percentages and ratios, coordinate geometry, and multi-step word problems where students need to extract the right information. Because Washington, DC schools vary in their math curricula and pacing—especially across different grade levels—your gaps might be unique. A tutor can assess exactly where your math foundation is weak and rebuild those skills before moving to test-specific strategies.
ISEE reading comprehension passages are shorter and denser than what you might see on other tests, and they often come from unfamiliar topics—literature, science, history, and current affairs. The key difference is that you must answer questions based strictly on what the passage says, not on outside knowledge. Many students struggle because they infer too much or rely on prior knowledge instead of text evidence. Personalized tutoring helps you develop a strategic approach: how to preview questions, annotate efficiently, and distinguish between what the passage explicitly states versus what you need to infer.
Most students benefit from starting ISEE prep 3-6 months before their test date, depending on their starting level and target schools. If you're in grades 5-6, many Washington families begin preparation in the fall for winter/spring testing. The timeline also depends on your baseline skills—if you need significant work on foundational math or vocabulary, starting earlier gives you time to build skills without rushing. Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who can help you create a realistic prep timeline based on where you are now and when you need to test.
The ISEE tests very specific skills—analogy logic, quantitative reasoning patterns, and reading strategy—where one-size-fits-all instruction often misses the mark. With personalized 1-on-1 instruction, a tutor can identify whether your verbal reasoning struggles come from vocabulary gaps or logical reasoning gaps, then build a plan accordingly. You also get immediate feedback on why you chose wrong answers, which accelerates learning far more than reviewing answers in a group setting. Research on learning shows that personalized instruction produces significantly better outcomes than classroom instruction, especially for standardized test preparation where every point matters for independent school admissions.
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