How to get an IQ test

IQ is an acronym for 'Intelligence Quotient', is a total score derived from several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. IQ score is obtained by dividing a person's mental age score, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person's chronological age, both expressed in terms of years and months. The resulting fraction is multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score.

IQ scores are used for educational placement, assessment of intellectual disability, and evaluating job applicants. Even when students improve their scores on standardized tests, they do not always improve their cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention and speed.

Today i will show you how to get an IQ test, this article, is a continuation of my previous post named 'Facts about IQ'. On that article i explained about important tips you should know about IQ, to read that post CLICK HERE.

IQ TESTING

IQ tests come in many forms. They can help diagnose intellectual disabilities or measure someone’s intellectual potential. If you’re considering IQ testing, your doctor should be your first point of contact.

An IQ test may be the first step in diagnosing intellectual issues. If your child has a particularly low score, Your doctor may also order other tests accompanying with IQ tests. These tests include; Adaptive skills screening, Blood tests, Brain ultrasound, Full mental health screening and Prenatal screenings.

Prenatal screenings may help to detect potential intellectual disabilities before babies are born. This is especially the case for mothers who are 35 or older, or those who have used drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. If potential issues are detected at this time, your pediatrician may follow up with an IQ test in early childhood.

Intelligence quotient 'IQ' can be calculated by having the person take an intelligence test. The average IQ is 100. If you achieve a score higher than 100, you are smarter than the average person, and a lower score means you are less smart.

Types of IQ tests

There are a variety of individually administered IQ tests in use worldwide. The most commonly used individual IQ test series is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for adults and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) for Children for school-age test-takers. Other commonly used individual IQ tests includes the following;

1. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

2. Universal Nonverbal Intelligence

3. Differential Ability Scales

4. Peabody Individual Achievement Test

5. Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Disabilities

History of IQ testing

French psychologist Alfred Binet lived in France, during his period (in 1880s) he noticed that many children in school were struggling, but he didn't think it was due to lack of intelligence. So Binet made a very important distinction between two different things that might lead to poor school performance.

He said that some children will do badly because they simply aren't intelligent, so there's not much that can be done to directly help them improve their grades. However, he said that other children have plenty of learning ability and potential to do well, but they struggle simply because of life circumstances.

Also Binet said that these children, who have a high learning ability, should be distinguished from children who do badly in school because of low intelligence.

In the early 1900s French psychologist Alfred Binet created the first intelligence test. However, modern IQ testing in the United States stems from the work of Henry Herbert Goddard. Goddard was a psychologist who earned his doctorate in psychology from Clark University in 1899. He translated the Binet test from French to English. This test was used to test basic intellectual functions in U.S. school children and to support mental health diagnoses.

How to Get an IQ Test

IQ tests still remain inaccessible to many families, not all public schools use them. Some families may not have access to a doctor or psychologist who can administer the test. This can lead to missed opportunities for crucial testing especially during a child’s early years when treatment is vital.

Today i will show you how to get an IQ test by using Alfred Binet test (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale)

Everyone has an individual intelligence quotient 'IQ', which is a number indicating your inherent ability to learn instead of simply the knowledge you already have. If you have a high IQ, it means that you have the intelligence required to do well in school because you have the ability or potential to succeed.

Alfred Binet said that the way we can do to calculate IQ is to compare two things. First, we just need to know how old a child is, which known as 'Person's chronological age'. What's your chronological age? Right now I'm 33, so that's my chronological age.

Also Binet said that we need to know your mental age, which is your cognitive abilities relative to what others can do of different ages. Your mental age is what you are capable of doing, scaled to what the average people of different ages can do. If you're capable of doing what an average 23-year old can do, then your mental age is 23. If you can do what an average 11-year old can do, but not anything more advanced than that, then your mental age is only 11.

Now we have two scores; Chronological age and Mental age, therefore we need to compare them. If you are advanced, or very intelligent, according to Binet, then your mental age will be bigger than your chronological age. Let say you are 22 years old right now, but you can do what an average 30-year old can do, then you're 8 years ahead of schedule, which Binet would say makes you very intelligent.

Also maybe you're 22 years old, but can only do what the average 10-year old can do. Binet would say that you are cognitively delayed and therefore not intelligent based on IQ.

The IQ Equation

Alfred Binet created an equation so that we could calculate IQ scores easily that will indicates where we stand in comparing these two scores. The equation is as follows;

Intelligence quotient (IQ) = (Mental Age ÷ Chronological Age) × 100

We make a ratio of the two ages (Mental and Chronological ages), with mental age on top, and the only reason we multiply by 100 is to get a nice, round number instead of a fraction.

To understand well how to calculate IQ scores, checkout the following examples;

Example 1

If your mental age and chronological age are a perfect match, meaning you've Mental age: 22 years and Chronological age: 22 years, the results are as follows;

IQ = (Mental age ÷ Chronological age ) × 100

     = (22 ÷ 22) × 100

     = 100

The results shows that IQ score is 100, meaning a person is exactly where the average person would be, so an IQ of 100 will always mean average intelligence for IQ.

Example 2

If a person is mentally advanced, meaning you've Mental age: 30 years and Chronological age: 22 years, the results are as follows;

IQ = (Mental age ÷ Chronological age) × 100

     = (30 ÷ 22) × 100

     = 137

The results shows that IQ score is 137, it is higher than 100, meaning the person is more intelligent than the average or extreme intelligent. There is a rumor that Albert Einstein had an IQ of 160!.

"Albert Einstein" flickr photo by Pe_Wu  shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

Example 3

Let's say we have a person who is a little bit developmentally delayed, meaning he or she might have Mental age: 10 years and Chronological age: 22 years, the results are as follows;

IQ = (Mental age ÷ Chronological age) × 100

     = (10 ÷ 22) × 100

     = 45

The results shows that IQ score is 45, it is lower than 100, meaning a person mental abilities are not as good as the average person of his or her age group.

IQ test result

From the above examples, it shows that we've three categories of IQ scores; Average score, High scores and Low scores, Both these three scores have explanations below;

1. Average score

A score of 100 is considered average.

2. High scores

A high IQ score over 100 is typically associated with high intelligence. Extreme intelligence is 130 or above.

3. Low scores

Lower scores below 100 is considered to have “below average” intelligence. Extremely low scores, below 70, are usually a cause for concern. They may indicate an underlying learning disability.

"Danmark Mensa IQ Test Results" flickr photo by rd76pag  shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

CONCLUSION

IQ scores can differ to some degree for the same person on different IQ tests, so a person does not always belong to the same IQ score range each time the person is tested. Therefore you need to use different IQ test to identity person intelligence test, don't rely on single IQ test.

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Posted by: Lusubilo A. Mwaijengo