# Is there such a thing as an official IQ test? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819 "2022-05-02T16:44:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/1 "2022-05-02T16:44:58Z")
If so, who administers it? If not, why does it continue to be a reference in popular culture? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/2 "2022-05-02T16:52:16Z")
There is no such thing as an “official” IQ test. There are a [number of tests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Current_tests) which are considered reliable tools for measuring certain traits. They are usually administered as a component of a broader psychological evaluation. They’re used in popular culture because it’s an understood shorthand for “this person is smart/dumb, but in an objective sciencey way and not in a subjective way.” ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/3 "2022-05-02T16:57:36Z")
There are certainly intelligence tests which are conducted **for an official purpose** , but without knowing more what one means by “official intelligence test” it is kind of hard to answer. In the United States we have a long history of offering various treatments to the intellectually disabled, much of it taking the form of various government funded programs, special education and other things. The Stanford-Binet series of IQ tests have been used for decades as part of the assessment process in diagnosing someone with an intellectual disability. It is probably the most frequently used test for this purpose, but there are many others, so you couldn’t say Stanford-Binet is the “official” IQ test, but it is probably the IQ test most frequently used by government agencies to accept diagnosis of an intellectual disability and enroll a person in various special programs related to said diagnosis. The Stanford-Binet is also frequently used in the K-12 school system to evaluate students for “Gifted” programs at a young age. With intellectual / development disabilities, it’s an ever-changing field and it is rarely as simple as “kid scores low on IQ test, then X happens”, usually the IQ test is one part of a larger assessment, and with most cases of intellectual / developmental disability, there have already been several rounds of evaluation of the child because they frequently are manifesting various problems that their parents report to doctors. Frequently things like not verbalizing at the expected age, verbalizing at a much stunted level versus the norm, failing to meet various other developmental milestones etc. There are many things that can lead to those symptoms, and an intellectual disability obviously isn’t the only one, but that will sometimes be the case and the IQ tests are used as part of determining that. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/4 "2022-05-02T17:00:42Z")
The WAIS IV is widely used in evaluations I see. > **[Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Adult_Intelligence_Scale)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents. The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale, released in 1939. It is currently in its fourth edition (WAIS-IV) released in 2008 by Pearson, and is the most widely used IQ test, for both adults and older adolesce... ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/5 "2022-05-02T17:29:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The WAIS IV is widely used in evaluations I see. WAIS is for adults, and the equivalent for children is the WISC. > **[Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children)** > > The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) is the most recent version. > The WISC-V takes 45 to 65 minutes to administer. It generates a Full Scale IQ (formerly known as an intelligence quotient or IQ score) that represents a child's general intellectual ability. It also provides five primary index scores, namely Verbal Comprehension Index, Visual Spatia... The full Wechsler tests can take an hour or more to administer, so there are several short versions of both. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/6 "2022-05-03T02:34:03Z")
Yup, WISC-V is what is used here for evaluation for special services in school (at both ends of the spectrum). It is part of a battery of tests. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/7 "2022-05-03T05:08:03Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > If so, who administers it? If not, why does it continue to be a reference in popular culture? From a certain point of view, I suppose that the Mensa entrance test would be the closest thing we have to an official IQ test. The rub is that Mensa accepts scores from multiple tests. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/8 "2022-05-03T23:29:22Z")
I don’t recall if I was told the specific name of the test, but in middle school I was made to take a _genuine_ IQ test by the administration. It took two hours. However, it wasn’t going to be used in any “official” capacity, like advanced placement. They were just trying to figure out why/how I could ace tests while never doing homework. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/9 "2022-05-05T19:52:37Z")
When I was in 7th school, we had something called Iowa tests. These were basically just reading writing and arithmetic. In high school I was given a test that was more on logic and perception. thinking now that may have been an iq test. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/10 "2022-05-05T20:05:14Z")
The Iowa is an achievement test–it measures academic domains. The Wexler, Naglieri, and CogAT are all aptitude tests, supposedly measuring cognitive ability. That said, I just administered the CogAT to a bunch of second-graders, and there’s a pretty significant amount of background knowledge required to succeed. I can’t give specific examples due to confidentiality, but similar background knowledge might be things like knowing what a gas pump looks like, or knowing that rabbits live underground. We think of these things as common knowledge, but a child who grows up relying on public transportation may not know what a gas pump looks like, and a child who lives in urban areas may never have seen a rabbit in the wild. I have (totally anecdotal) reservations about whether it’s really measuring cognitive ability, and not measuring background knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/11 "2022-05-05T23:39:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That said, I just administered the CogAT to a bunch of second-graders, and there’s a pretty significant amount of background knowledge required to succeed. I can’t give specific examples due to confidentiality, but similar background knowledge might be things like knowing what a gas pump looks like, or knowing that rabbits live underground. We think of these things as common knowledge, but a child who grows up relying on public transportation may not know what a gas pump looks like, and a child who lives in urban areas may never have seen a rabbit in the wild. I have (totally anecdotal) reservations about whether it’s really measuring cognitive ability, and not measuring background knowledge. In New Hampshire children who are in early childhood special education classes are administered an IQ test at age 6. While working in one such classrooms, I overheard one of the kids being given the test and was dismayed about how narrow the acceptable answers are. A little guy with down syndrome was asked what happens when you’re sick. The expected answer was along the lines of coughing, sneezing, throwing up. He said “I stay home with Mommy and watch TV.” A completely reasonable answer from a 6-year-old, in my opinion. Not acceptable to the test, however. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/12 "2022-05-06T12:53:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That said, I just administered the CogAT to a bunch of second-graders, and there’s a pretty significant amount of background knowledge required to succeed. Exactly. The very first example here ([CogAT Sample Questions Form 7 and Form 8 - mercerpublishing.com (2023 update)](https://www.mercerpublishing.com/cogat/sample-questions)) shows a visual analogy where the correct answer is an old-style telephone. What percentage of kids even know what that is anymore? Other examples I’ve seen require knowledge of farm animals or a variety of vegetables. Fortunately around here those standardized scores are just a component of the various identification processes for additional assistance. The downside is it makes the process more labor-intensive and time-consuming. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-official-iq-test/963819/13 "2022-05-06T13:50:33Z")
There’s no such thing as a culture-free I.Q. test: > **[Cole-2008-The-Illusion-of-Culture-free-Intelligence-Testing.pdf](https://quote.ucsd.edu/lchcautobio/files/2015/10/Cole-2008-The-Illusion-of-Culture-free-Intelligence-Testing.pdf)** > > 36.02 KB