Vocabulary is an important part of the ISEE and TACHS — and one of the hardest to build in a hurry. The students who do well have typically been at it for months, a little bit at a time. That's exactly what Vocab Smarts is designed to support.

*Vocab Smarts — free at* *citysmarts.net/vocab-builder-for-isee-tachs*

What It Is

Vocab Smarts is a free vocabulary study tool built around 1,000 high-frequency words drawn from ISEE and TACHS prep materials. It lives on the City Smarts website and requires no login — just open it, and start learning.

How It Works

Five new words arrive each day as flippable flashcards. Day 1 words include Prescient, Forage, Gregarious, Capricious, and Solvent.

Over 100 days, students work through 500 curated words at a sustainable pace. The remaining 500 are always accessible for students who want to get ahead.

The Study tab offers two modes: flashcards for self-paced review, and multiple choice for quiz-style practice closer to test conditions. Both use spaced repetition, which means words you struggle with come back more often, and words you've mastered fade into the background. Sessions run 15 words at a time.

The Progress tab shows exactly where every word stands — from Learning all the way to Mastered.

Who It's For

Students in grades 7–9 preparing for the SHSAT, ISEE, or TACHS. It's also a strong general vocabulary builder for any student working toward stronger academic language.

A Work in Progress — We Want Your Feedback

Vocab Smarts is in active development. The core experience is solid, but we're still refining the word list and building out new features. If your child finds a definition that seems off, a word that feels misplaced, or a feature that would make it more useful, we want to know. Early feedback from real students and parents shapes what we build next.

Reach us at brett@citysmarts.net or through our contact form.

Try Vocab Smarts — Free

Progress saves automatically in the browser. No account needed. If you'd like to discuss how it fits into a broader test prep plan, get in touch — we're happy to help.