# Educators: questions about I.Q. testing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2000, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educators-questions-about-i-q-testing/38114 "2000-10-24T15:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duck\_Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/91b2a8/32.png) [@Duck\_Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Hook)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educators-questions-about-i-q-testing/38114/1 "2000-10-24T15:17:58Z")
As I progressed through the public school system, my classmates and I were given standardized tests at various times. Were these I.Q. tests? I’m not aware of ever “officially” taking an I.Q. test. Is I.Q. testing reserved for potentially gifted students? If so, how is that determined? Do adults take I.Q. tests? How much weight should be given to the standardized tests I mentioned earlier? I recall rushing through them and not really being too concerned with accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![LazarusLong42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@LazarusLong42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LazarusLong42)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educators-questions-about-i-q-testing/38114/2 "2000-10-24T17:39:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Hook \* > **As I progressed through the public school system, my classmates and I were given standardized tests at various times. Were these I.Q. tests?** Likely not. There are many batteries of standardized tests, IOWAs, MATs, etc. Not to mention college entrance exams. > [@](#): > > **Is I.Q. testing reserved for potentially gifted students? If so, how is that determined? Do adults take I.Q. tests?** No; by standardized tests; yes. > [@](#): > > **How much weight should be given to the standardized tests I mentioned earlier?** IMO, effectively zero. They fail to account for people who do not perform well on standardized tests. Thus, doing well means you’re very likely intelligent, but the inverse is not true. You can be very intelligent and do poorly on standardized exams. LL ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educators-questions-about-i-q-testing/38114/3 "2000-10-24T17:52:44Z")
A psychologist can better elucidate on this matter, but this is what I know. There are different IQ tests given depending upon your age. The WISC-R is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Revised. The WAIS-R is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised. There is also now a WAIS-III. These standardized tests are supposed to be very accurate, plus or minus 5 points. A performance IQ is measured upon actual performance and a verbal IQ is taken also. From those two, the full scale IQ is calculated. A person with an average IQ of, say, 100 can obtain only a 50, but he’d have to be bluffing to do it. These are very sophisticated and accurate tests. To test validity, there is another test, called the MMPI, which standa for something that I don’t recall, but it is something like the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory. That test is supposed to screen out malingerers based on the answers to various questions. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educators-questions-about-i-q-testing/38114/4 "2000-10-24T20:06:50Z")
This is a duplicate thread. I’ll close this one, and refer everyone to [its twin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=43435), which has more responses.