ISEE Quantitative Reasoning · Middle and Upper Level

How ISEE quantitative comparison questions work

Quantitative comparison questions appear in the second part of ISEE Quantitative Reasoning at the Middle and Upper Levels. Each one shows two quantities, Column A and Column B, and asks whether A is greater, B is greater, the two are equal, or the relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

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Last updated September 27, 2026.

The short answer

Quantitative comparison questions appear at the Middle and Upper Levels, in the second part of the Quantitative Reasoning section. The Lower Level does not have them.

Each question shows two quantities, one in Column A and one in Column B. Your child decides which is greater, whether they are equal, or whether there is not enough information to tell.

The four answer choices are the same on every question, so a student who knows them well can spend all of their time on the math.

Key facts

Quantitative comparisons on the ISEE
LevelsMiddle and Upper only (not Lower)
WherePart Two of Quantitative Reasoning, after the word problems
Section size37 questions in 35 minutes for all of Quantitative Reasoning
How many are comparisons14 to 17 of the 37, per ERB's What to Expect guides
Answer choicesThe same four (A to D) on every question
CalculatorNot allowed
Wrong answersNo penalty, so answer every question
On the score reportQuantitative Reasoning results are listed as Word Problems and Quantitative Comparisons

Sources: ERB's What to Expect on the ISEE guides for the Middle Level and the Upper Level. Some questions show only the two quantities. Others give a sentence of information first, such as "x is a positive number." That sentence applies to both columns, so read it before you look at either one.

The four answer choices

Every quantitative comparison question uses these choices, in this order:

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

Choices A, B, and C each claim that one relationship is always true. Choice D means the relationship can change. If one possible value makes Column A bigger and another makes Column B bigger, the answer is D.

When D is the answer, and when it is not

D is right only when the information allows more than one relationship. When both columns are plain numbers, such as 38 × 26 and 37 × 27, each column has one exact value, so the answer is A, B, or C. D usually comes up when a column contains a variable, or when a word problem leaves something open, such as a total cost without the price of each item. A common mistake is choosing D because a problem looks hard to calculate. A long calculation still has one exact answer.

Methods that work

1. Simplify both sides first

Treat the two columns like the two sides of a balance. You can do the same thing to both sides, such as subtracting the same number or dividing by the same positive number, and the comparison stays the same. Be careful: multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative number flips the comparison, so avoid it unless you are sure of the sign.

2. Compare without computing everything

You only need to know which side is bigger, not the exact values. Look for a shared part you can ignore, round to check whether the difference is large, or rewrite one side to look like the other. ERB's own guides suggest estimating when a full calculation is not needed.

3. Plug in numbers when there is a variable

Pick a value that fits the information given, work out both columns, and note which is greater. Then try a very different value. Good ones to try, when the problem allows them, are 0, 1, a negative number, a fraction between 0 and 1, and a large number. These are the values that most often change the result.

The rule: if two allowed values give different results, stop. The answer is D. If every value you try gives the same result, the answer is probably that result, and it helps to check the reasoning behind it.

Try this: each time you practice a comparison with a variable, test at least two values from this list before you answer: 0, 1, −1, 1/2, and 10.

Middle Level examples

These three questions are original and written in the ISEE format. Try each one before opening the answer.

Column A: 38 × 26    Column B: 37 × 27

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (B). Write 38 × 26 as 37 × 26 + 26, and 37 × 27 as 37 × 26 + 37. Both columns share 37 × 26, and 37 is more than 26, so Column B is greater. (The values are 988 and 999, but you never need to find them.)

Theo bought 5 packs of stickers and 3 markers for $14 in all. Column A: the price of one pack of stickers    Column B: the price of one marker

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (D). Many prices fit the total. If a pack costs $1, a marker costs $3, so B is greater. If a pack costs $2, the markers cost $4 together, about $1.33 each, so A is greater. Two possible prices give different results, so the relationship cannot be determined.

Column A: 3/5 of 40    Column B: 2/3 of 33

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (A). 3/5 of 40 is 40 ÷ 5 × 3 = 24. 2/3 of 33 is 33 ÷ 3 × 2 = 22. Since 24 is greater than 22, Column A is greater.

Upper Level examples

Upper Level comparisons use the same four choices with more algebra, exponents, and roots.

Column A: √0.49    Column B: 0.49

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (A). √0.49 = 0.7, because 0.7 × 0.7 = 0.49. Since 0.7 is greater than 0.49, Column A is greater. For any number between 0 and 1, the square root is larger than the number itself.

x is a positive number. Column A: x    Column B: 1/x

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (D). Plug in values. If x = 2, Column B is 1/2, so A is greater. If x = 1, both columns are 1, so they are equal. If x = 1/2, Column B is 2, so B is greater. Different values give different results, so the relationship cannot be determined. Testing only whole numbers would have led to the wrong answer.

Column A: 520 − 519    Column B: 4 × 519

  1. (A) The quantity in Column A is greater.
  2. (B) The quantity in Column B is greater.
  3. (C) The two quantities are equal.
  4. (D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Show answer

Answer: (C). Factor 519 out of Column A: 520 − 519 = 519 × (5 − 1) = 4 × 519. The two quantities are equal, and no large numbers were needed.

Common traps

Try this: after each practice set, sort your missed comparisons into two groups: "I picked D when it had an answer" and "I missed a value that changed the result." The bigger group tells you which method to practice next.

How ISEE Coach helps with this

ISEE Coach has quantitative comparison practice at the Middle and Upper Levels, with the same four answer choices and the Column A and Column B layout. In the score report, Quantitative Comparisons is its own subskill, so you can see your child's accuracy on comparisons apart from word problems and the rest of the section. The report from the free full-length diagnostic shows accuracy by section and subskill. Our guide to ISEE scores explains how the ISEE itself reports results.

When your child misses a question, ISEE Coach walks through the likely mistake step by step. The free plan includes five ISEE Coach explanations. Full Access ($149 for 90 days, no auto-renewal) includes unlimited walkthroughs and a similar problem after each miss, so your child can check right away that the idea has stuck.

An Upper Level math question in ISEE Coach with the student's wrong choice marked, the correct answer marked, and an ISEE Coach explanation below with a Try a similar problem button
After a missed question, ISEE Coach explains the likely slip and the correct steps, then offers a similar problem to try.

For the full picture of each level, see the Middle Level guide and the Upper Level guide.

Common questions

Are quantitative comparison questions on the ISEE Lower Level?

No. The Lower Level Quantitative Reasoning section is word problems only. Quantitative comparisons appear at the Middle and Upper Levels, in the second part of Quantitative Reasoning.

Can D be the answer when there are no variables?

Only when the information is incomplete, such as a total cost without the price of each item. If both columns are plain numbers, each has one exact value, so the answer is A, B, or C.

Do you have to calculate exactly on quantitative comparisons?

Usually not. You only need to know which quantity is greater. Simplifying both columns, ignoring a shared part, or estimating is often faster than finding exact values, and no calculator is allowed.

How many quantitative comparison questions are on the ISEE?

ERB's What to Expect guides list 14 to 17 quantitative comparisons out of the 37 Quantitative Reasoning questions at the Middle and Upper Levels. The rest are word problems.

Should my child guess on a quantitative comparison they cannot solve?

Yes. The ISEE has no penalty for wrong answers, so a blank and a wrong answer both score zero. If time is short, your child should pick an answer, mark the question, and come back if time allows.

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