# Are IQ tests generally administered? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932 "2017-05-18T16:07:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/1 "2017-05-18T16:07:11Z")
I hear a lot of people mention their IQ (particularly here and particularly when they are high!). I have no idea what my IQ is, and more to the point, I have no idea if it was ever tested. Are IQ tests regularly given at some point in the course of normal education, and I just don’t remember it? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/2 "2017-05-18T16:22:04Z")
Standard IQ tests like the Stanford-Binet and The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and Adults are individually administered generally by a psychologist, require several hours and cost hundreds of dollars a piece. So no, they have never been administered to most students. In schools, they are generally used to identify students suspected of having special needs on both the high and low side. The are sometimes used as a qualifier for Gifted and Talented programs as well as Special Ed curriculum for people with disabilities. I have taken them and administered them a number of times because I took a lot of psychometrics courses in undergraduate and graduate school but that is somewhat unusual. Most people have never taken a true IQ test or really even understand what one is. They are usually referring to a conversion chart from some other test or just an online version that they took during lunch for kicks one day. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/3 "2017-05-18T16:23:00Z")
Well, not in Canada, that I’m aware of. I recall doing one from a magazine, Omni, I think. I’m pretty sure a lot can be found on-line now. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/4 "2017-05-18T16:33:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m pretty sure a lot can be found on-line now. Wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/5 "2017-05-18T16:44:17Z")
When i was in high school the entire school took the Lorge-Thorndike IQ test. This was a standardized test taken in a group setting (fill in the circle with a #2 pencil), so likely rife with cultural bias and other flaws. I went to a private high school, so I don’t know if it was common across all schools. ETA: neither of my kids took a standardized IQ test in school, but they both had ones administered by Psychologists - one for special needs purposes (needed a measured IQ below a threshold to qualify for state services) and one for qualifying for the gifted program. If you average their results it comes out right around 100… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/6 "2017-05-18T16:45:53Z")
Most of the people bragging about their IQ got it from inaccurate online tests that skew high. It is often tested in children but not always reported to them as a number. I’m sure I was given one (probably truncated) at some point but have no clue what number is associated except that I don’t have to worry. If asked, I would say my IQ is high enough to realize that IQ is a BS measure (offline even). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/7 "2017-05-18T17:02:19Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > When i was in high school the entire school took the Lorge-Thorndike IQ test. This was a standardized test taken in a group setting (fill in the circle with a #2 pencil), so likely rife with cultural bias and other flaws. I went to a private high school, so I don’t know if it was common across all schools. I vaguely remember taking a standardized test in high school that purported to return an IQ score; maybe it was the same one you’re talking about. > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I hear a lot of people mention their IQ (particularly here and particularly when they are high!). You know you can’t always trust what people post when they’re high, right? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/8 "2017-05-18T17:48:36Z")
They use to do IQ tests in schools. I believe this is a thing of the past. But in the early 70s they still were in public schools. Oh and I fully agree IQ tests show mostly that people excel at taking tests. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/9 "2017-05-18T18:23:39Z")
Below is a link to a survey on the opinions of actual experts in the field of psychometrics, which is quite at odds with the consensus here: > **[Survey of Expert Opinion on Intelligence: Causes of International Differences...](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00399/full)** > > Following Snyderman and Rothman (1987, 1988), we surveyed expert opinions on the current state of intelligence research. This report examines expert opinions on causes of international differences in student assessment and psychometric IQ test... ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/10 "2017-05-18T18:28:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > They use to do IQ tests in schools. I believe this is a thing of the past. But in the early 70s they still were in public schools. Oh and I fully agree IQ tests show mostly that people excel at taking tests. Given that the purpose of Mr. Binet’s test was to identify those who would excel at school (which often is measured by test-taking), that’s pretty much what one would expect. But the Stanford-Binet test isn’t given like a “test” in the normal sense of the word. It’s the result of a one-on-one interaction with the person who administrates it. I have only one vague recollection from when I was tested for IQ (for purposes of determining if I qualified for what is now called a Gifted and Talented program): I recall having to determine how many diamonds would be cut into a sheet of paper when folded a certain number of times before a triangle was cut along the common fold line. The question was how quickly the subject picks up on the fact the number doubles with each fold. As I recall, I missed 4, but got 8. Nothing else from that testing sticks in my brain. The whole concept of course, is dependent upon everyone agreeing upon what the desired outcome of learning should be…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/11 "2017-05-18T18:29:17Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Below is a link to a survey on the opinions of actual experts in the field of psychometrics, which is quite at odds with the consensus here: > > [Frontiers | Survey of Expert Opinion on Intelligence: Causes of International Differences in Cognitive Ability Tests](http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00399/full) What do you think that article is saying? What do you think the consensus is here? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/12 "2017-05-18T22:29:00Z")
There are no IQ tests online. There are plenty of things online that claim to be IQ tests. On the most commonly-used one, last I checked, answering every question completely randomly still gives you a 104. I had an IQ test as a middle-schooler (between 6th and 7th grade) as part of a large battery of psychological tests, and all I or my mom remember about the results is that my score was an unspecified “high”. One question that I remember was “What do the numbers 121 and 169 have in common?” (I answered that they were both the squares of prime numbers). Another question was “Draw a picture of your mother”, but I don’t know if that was part of the IQ test or some other test (you can test IQ with that question; the key is in how much detail the test-taker puts in). Do IQ tests actually mean anything? Absolutely. There are many different kinds of IQ tests, using many different methods, which give results that are highly correlated with each other. That suggests that there really is some inherent quality, beyond just being “good at taking tests”, and that all of these different kinds of tests are measuring that quality. But is that quality that’s measured anything that’s worth worrying about? That’s harder to say, and depends on what you’re worrying about. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/13 "2017-05-18T22:40:50Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Wrong. It’s not wrong. You can indeed find a lot of IQ tests on line. I never vouched for their veracity, but they’re there. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/14 "2017-05-18T23:13:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There are no IQ tests online. There are plenty of things online that claim to be IQ tests. Who certifies whether something that claims to be an IQ test really is? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/15 "2017-05-18T23:17:54Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s not wrong. You can indeed find a lot of IQ tests on line. > I never vouched for their veracity, but they’re there. > > Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk And the fact that I used, their, they’re, and there correctly in one sentence makes me a fucking genius anyway. 😉 Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/16 "2017-05-18T23:26:54Z")
Online tests score you instantly. Real IQ tests (I have a WAIS IV sitting in my lap to check!) have an extensive interpretative book, as there are several subscales that don’t really have right answers. Even the most accurate test online is still covering a less holistic definition of IQ. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/17 "2017-05-18T23:32:14Z")
Mensa will (or did in the 90’s) accept GRE scores as fairly accurate analogs to a formal IQ test. No idea if they do it these days. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/18 "2017-05-18T23:41:43Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > They use to do IQ tests in schools. I believe this is a thing of the past. But in the early 70s they still were in public schools. Oh and I fully agree IQ tests show mostly that people excel at taking tests. I took at least one IQ test (at least that’s what they called it) when I was in grammar school in the 1950s-1960s. They never told us our scores, though. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/19 "2017-05-18T23:43:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I took at least one IQ test (at least that’s what they called it) when I was in grammar school in the 1950s-1960s. They never told us our scores, though. Though if you were soon told that you’d take the shorter bus to school, you get a good inkling about your score 😃 > [@astro](#): > > Mensa will (or did in the 90’s) accept GRE scores as fairly accurate analogs to a formal IQ test. No idea if they do it these days. [Only ones taken before September 30, 2001 apparently](https://www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/). ---
**Author:** ![Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pilgrim_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932/20 "2017-05-19T00:40:38Z")
I’ve taken three IQ tests. I took the WISC when I was 13. I took two others as part of a general battery of psych tests. One when I was 18, another when I was 33. My scores were in the high superior range, except for the math/visual part which was hampered by my learning disabilities. It’s frustrating to be smart and stupid at the same time! I think – could be wrong – that for an IQ test to be legitimate, it needs to be administered one-on-one by a psychologist licensed in the field of psychometrics. I would be very surprised if you could take one online that the experts would call legit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iq-tests-generally-administered/786932.md?page=2)