Is there a reliable IQ test out there?

[JamesU]

getting a ******* iq test

has anyone else found it this hard to get an IQ test? I tried my school counseler, who said that the only IQ tests she gave were for special ed. she said I should take an online test. I told her it wasn't accurate enough. so she cam up with her next brilliant Idea to take an IQ test online. so after so many times of explaining it. I just ended it with 'we're going to go now'

 

[rachmaninoff]

Why do you care?

 

[honestrosewater]

has anyone else found it this hard to get an IQ test? I tried my school counseler, who said that the only IQ tests she gave were for special ed. she said I should take an online test. I told her it wasn't accurate enough. so she cam up with her next brilliant Idea to take an IQ test online. so after so many times of explaining it. I just ended it with 'we're going to go now'

You expect someone to give you a free, professional IQ test just because you want one. Save your energy; I can give you an accurate score based on that information alone.

 

[Pengwuino]

You expect someone to give you a free, professional IQ test just because you want one. Save your energy; I can give you an accurate score based on that information alone.

How mean! *slaps you with a salmon*

As for the OP, a few universities conduct IQ tests along with various other institutions. I believe there are a few well known IQ tests... so just search for them :P. They'll have places where they are doing exams.

 

[rachmaninoff]

But why do you want an IQ test? Why is it important to you to know that result?

 

[Archon]

IQ tests are for the weak.

A second rachmaninoff's question: why do you really care what your IQ is? How will this knowledge influence your life? How will it make your life better/more fulfilling?

There's really no reason to take an IQ test, unless you hope you'll get a high score so you can lord it over your friends.

 

[Pengwuino]

hope you'll get a high score so you can lord it over your friends.

And there's a good benefit :D Id do it for that if i was still in high school adn the test took less then an hour and didnt cost me anything.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Don't listen to Pengwuino, you'll just end up losing all your friends, and you'll become a Neocon.

 

[Pengwuino]

Don't listen to Pengwuino, you'll just end up losing all your friends, and you'll become a Neocon.

Well that's what comes with being intelligent

 

[honestrosewater]

You guys don't value self-knowledge?
IQ tests can also determine your eligibility for programs suited to your abilities, which can have huge effects on your success.

 

[Archon]

You guys don't value self-knowledge?
IQ tests can also determine your eligibility for programs suited to your abilities, which can have huge effects on your success.

Self-knowledge is really the point. I know my abilities more or less accurately without some test either confirming this or telling me otherwise. If you do exceptionally well at academic things, are a strong thinker, etc, and the IQ test tells you that your IQ is average, how is this helpful. You don't become "average" because the test indicates that you are. The opposite is equally true. In other words, IQ tests have no value beyond perhaps placing you in the right programs. But if you're really intelligent, you should be able to challenge and interest yourself, right?

 

[rachmaninoff]

Well that's what comes with being intelligent

Yup. Intelligent people must inevitably take IQ tests, get wonderful results, lord it over all their friends until they have none, and then turn to neoconservatism. The tragedy.

 

[Pengwuino]

You guys don't value self-knowledge?
IQ tests can also determine your eligibility for programs suited to your abilities, which can have huge effects on your success.

like cheaper car insurance!

 

[Pengwuino]

Yup. Intelligent people must inevitably take IQ tests, get wonderful results, lord it over all their friends until they have none, and then
turn to neoconservatism. The tragedy.

Well like they say, if your 40 and not a conservative, you don't have a brain :D.

 

[rachmaninoff]

You guys don't value self-knowledge?
IQ tests can also determine your eligibility for programs suited to your abilities, which can have huge effects on your success.

I've never heard of any programs that consider IQ as an admission factor.

And what's "self-knowledge"? Is that something you know about yourself?

 

[rachmaninoff]

edited because the joke made no sense whatsoever.

 

[hitssquad]

I've never heard of any programs that consider IQ as an admission factor.

Gifted and Talented Education.
google.com/search?q=%22Gifted+and+Talented+Education%22

https://www.physicsforums.com/search.php?searchid=228859

 

[honestrosewater]

Self-knowledge is really the point. I know my abilities more or less accurately without some test either confirming this or telling me otherwise. If you do exceptionally well at academic things, are a strong thinker, etc, and the IQ test tells you that your IQ is average, how is this helpful. You don't become "average" because the test indicates that you are. The opposite is equally true. In other words, IQ tests have no value beyond perhaps placing you in the right programs.

I just chose 'ability' to refer to what the test measures; I realize 'ability' has other meanings, and this may be why I'm not sure what you're postion is:
You have other ways of measuring what IQ tests measure, so they have no value.
You think IQ tests (usually) fail to measure what they're supposed to measure, so they have no value.
You think IQ tests (usually) measure what they're supposed to measure, so they have no value.
Or something else?

But if you're really intelligent, you should be able to challenge and interest yourself, right?

I don't know. If this was referring to appropriate placement in classes/programs/jobs, you aren't always free to challenge and interest yourself in those situations. And I'm not talking about programs only for people with above average scores, but for people with average and below average scores as well. It's just a matter of appropriateness.

 

[arildno]

edited because the joke made no sense whatsoever.

I never saw that joke; you have left me very intrigued.
And now, I'll never know why the joke didn't make any sense..

 

[rachmaninoff]

I don't know. If this was referring to appropriate placement in classes/programs/jobs, you aren't always free to challenge and interest yourself in those situations. And I'm not talking about programs only for people with above average scores, but for people with average and below average scores as well. It's just a matter of appropriateness.

I don't think any measure of intelligence or potential (let alone IQ scores) should have any influence on what people can do; it smacks of elitism. I'm going to sleep, before my IQ falls any lower. Btw, have you seen the film 'Gattaca'?

 

[honestrosewater]

I've never heard of any programs that consider IQ as an admission factor.

In addition to educational programs for the gifted, there are educational programs for the mentally retarded. IQ testing is required to receive disability for mental retardation and is also used for various things in the justice system.

And what's "self-knowledge"? Is that something you know about yourself?

Yep, that's what I meant, especially insight into your 'nature', abilities, limitations, etc.

 

[rachmaninoff]

I never saw that joke; you have left me very intrigued.
And now, I'll never know why the joke didn't make any sense..

Alas, I forgot what it was. Such a great loss to humanity.

 

[honestrosewater]

I don't think any measure of intelligence or potential (let alone IQ scores) should have any influence on what people can do;

What do you mean? Test results shouldn't influence people's actions or decisions? (What would be the point of the test then?)
Or IQ scores shouldn't be used to admit or deny entrance into programs?
Or people shouldn't care about their own test scores?

it smacks of elitism.

Was that directed at me?

I'm going to sleep, before my IQ falls any lower. Btw, have you seen the film 'Gattaca'?

No, I don't think so.

 

[rachmaninoff]

What do you mean? Test results shouldn't influence people's actions or decisions? (What would be the point of the test then?)
Or IQ scores shouldn't be used to admit or deny entrance into programs?
Or people shouldn't care about their own test scores?
Was that directed at me?
No, I don't think so.

No, it wasn't directed at you - I was suggesting that a society which ranks people by a number such as IQ and apportions opportunities accordingly would be elitist. And I'm not talking about tests in general - I'm talking about tests which purport to measure absolute intelligence, and which define 'limits' to what a man or woman is capable of doing with his/her mind. This is not the scope of the IQ test; I doubt any test could be made which measures 'absolute' potential.

It's the difference between GREs - defining a person's acquired aptiude for a specific subject - vs. an Intelligence test with a capital 'I' - which tells people they are 'stupid' in a general sense and thus shouldn't aspire to anything.

 

[rachmaninoff]

I don't know. If this was referring to appropriate placement in classes/programs/jobs, you aren't always free to challenge and interest yourself in those situations.

Of course not everyone is eligible for any college course or any job, but this is not an issue of IQ - it's an issue of having taken the prerequisite courses, and having acquired the right aptitude by hard work and study.

 

[hitssquad]

Rose, here is a GATTACA teaser trailer:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/trailer.html?v_id=158677

It's about a society where almost all persons are, from conception, genetically tailored to perfection. Parents want the perfect kids. Society ultimately rejects the "naturals." G=Guanine, A=Adenine, T=Thymine, C=Cytocine, the DNA base chemicals.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Rose, here is a GATTACA teaser trailer:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/trailer.html?v_id=158677

It's about a society where almost all children are genetically tailored to perfection. G=Guanine, A=Adenine, T=Thymine, C=Cytocine, the DNA base chemicals.

The story, naturally, is about a guy who wasn't born perfect.

 

[honestrosewater]

It's the difference between GREs - defining a person's acquired aptiude for a specific subject - vs. an Intelligence test with a capital 'I' - which tells people they are 'stupid' in a general sense and thus shouldn't aspire to anything.

Okay, but your beef is not with the test itself; Tests don't tell you that you're stupid, people do. :groan: (Hey, where's that groan smiley I ordered?!)

 

[honestrosewater]

Of course not everyone is eligible for any college course or any job, but this is not an issue of IQ - it's an issue of having taken the prerequisite courses, and having acquired the right aptitude by hard work and study.

I was replying to what I thought Archon suggested: That 'truly' intelligent people should be able to excel regardless of their situation. This just isn't true, for obvious reasons. And even if it were true, I still think it's only fair that everyone should be given access to programs that are appropriate for them.

 

[Pengwuino]

Okay, but your beef is not with the test itself; Tests don't tell you that you're stupid, people do. :groan: (Hey, where's that groan smiley I ordered?!)

And they should do it more often. Stupid people need to be told they are stupid so they would stop acting so stupid.

Someone needs to tell me I am stupid right now for watching this stupid mockumentary on Discovery Times that's trying to convince me that buying high explosives is as easy as ordering pizza.

 

[hitssquad]

And there's a good benefit :D Id do it for that if i was still in high school adn the test took less then an hour and didnt cost me anything.

I don't know about the child version, but the adult version of the Wechsler battery typically takes about 1.5 hours. When I was administered it in 2002, it took me 3 hours to complete. The Stanford-Binet (I would imagine, since it is a similar type of test battery) probably takes about the same amount of time as the Wechsler. However, the person administering the test has the option of leaving out one or more of the subtests. Leaving out some subtests would save some time, though you would lose some amount of indication of your relative strengths and weaknesses.

Arthur Jensen was fond of using the Raven Matrices to test UC Berkeley students. Even giving students unlimited time to complete the test, it should be faster than the Wechsler. Instead of using a battery of subtests as the Wechsler and Stanford-Binet tests do, the Raven's Matrices only uses one type of item. That type of item looks something like this:

http://www.stuartbell.co.uk/ravens.gif

The Raven's Matrices do not provide an indication of one's relative strengths and weaknesses, so it might be inappropriate for use in learning-disability diagnostics. But it reduces the labor involved in testing. A student can simply be locked alone in a room with a paper copy of the test, or the test could be administered with a computer program. The computer would have an extra advantage in that it could be programmed to automatically zero-in on the subject's ability level and therefore save testing-time relative to accuracy, or increase accuracy relative to testing-time. E.g., if the subject gets 5 items in a row correct, he is moved up in difficulty-level to harder problems (that are worth more for the final score), and conversely if he gets 5 items in a row incorrect, he is moved down in difficulty-level to easier problems (that are worth less for the final score).

 

[Pengwuino]

What happens if you pick 4? Do they divide 0 by your IQ score to give you your results?

 

[JamesU]

You expect someone to give you a free, professional IQ test just because you want one. Save your energy; I can give you an accurate score based on that information alone.

I never said it had to be free. I wasn't expecting it. I needed an accurate IQ test So I could join MENSA, even though all of you think it sucks..I'll find out for myself...

 

[hitssquad]

I never said it had to be free. I wasn't expecting it. I needed an accurate IQ test So I could join MENSA, even though all of you think it sucks..I'll find out for myself...

Mensa does their own testing, also. Find your local group at the link below and contact them to find out when the next testing date is:
http://www.us.mensa.org/local_groups/overview.php3

Here is the how-to-get-tested webpage for the Mensa group nearest me:
http://www.oregon.us.mensa.org/02/join.php

It says the official in-person Mensa tests are $30 and that that is reasonable compared to the cost of "$200-$300 when administered by a psychologist in private practice." It also says the Mensa home test is only $18. However, the Mensa home test will not qualify you for Mensa since it is not supervised. Finally, the Mensa tests do not provide you with an IQ score. They simply tell you if you pass or fail.

 

[GCT]

Yeah, most psychologists these days don't administer IQ tests if not for a genuine clinical necessity. However, I would think that if your parent were to express an interest in having you tested, that they would comply.

 

[Archon]

I just chose 'ability' to refer to what the test measures; I realize 'ability' has other meanings, and this may be why I'm not sure what you're postion is:
You have other ways of measuring what IQ tests measure, so they have no value.
You think IQ tests (usually) fail to measure what they're supposed to measure, so they have no value.
You think IQ tests (usually) measure what they're supposed to measure, so they have no value.
Or something else?

I'm just saying that, unless it's for placement, I can't see the purpose of taking an IQ test beyond finding out what some number supposedly defining your intelligence is, and I can't see the purpose of knowing this number, since it shouldn't change your outlook on life or yourself.

I can understand wanting to take an IQ test so that you'll be challenged in school, but I can't understand taking an IQ test just so you'll know your IQ. I believe that if someone is really intelligent, they should prove it through their actions/thoughts/etc, not by telling me their IQ.

I don't know. If this was referring to appropriate placement in classes/programs/jobs, you aren't always free to challenge and interest yourself in those situations. And I'm not talking about programs only for people with above average scores, but for people with average and below average scores as well. It's just a matter of appropriateness.

I can understand this. I've often felt frustrated in school when we can't move quickly enough because the teacher has to make sure everyone understands the material first, and people keep asking what I see as simple questions.

But then again, I rather enjoy learning independently, so I doubt I would be satisfied with any sort of rigid curriculum, no matter how challenging. Sometimes, I just want to do something that's interesting to me, even when the curriculum says otherwise (like learning Group Theory in Calculus AB ).

 

[Art]

Mensa does their own testing, also. Find your local group at the link below and contact them to find out when the next testing date is:
http://www.us.mensa.org/local_groups/overview.php3

Here is the how-to-get-tested webpage for the Mensa group nearest me:
http://www.oregon.us.mensa.org/02/join.php

It says the official in-person Mensa tests are $30 and that that is reasonable compared to the cost of "$200-$300 when administered by a psychologist in private practice." It also says the Mensa home test is only $18. However, the Mensa home test will not qualify you for Mensa since it is not supervised. Finally, the Mensa tests do not provide you with an IQ score. They simply tell you if you pass or fail.

British Mensa provides you with your actual scores. You have to return the simplified home test to them for marking after which they inform you of your IQ score and if you are in the top 5 percentile they invite you to attend a supervised session which consists of a regular battery of tests. Once marked you receive a letter informing you of your score and if you are in the top 2 percentile you are invited to join Mensa.
BTW One interesting aspect of the supervised test is that there are a few timed sections where they will not tell you how long you have - nothing like adding a bit of extra pressure

 

[hitssquad]

Timed vs untimed administration of g-factor testing instruments

BTW One interesting aspect of the supervised test is that there are a few timed sections where they will not tell you how long you have - nothing like adding a bit of extra pressure

Jensen has written that adding a time factor tends to reduce the g-loading of a given instrument. For his research projects, he only uses untimed instruments (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices with unlimited time for completion (normally Raven's instruments specify a time-limit, though)). Failure to administer instruments in an untimed manner results in an extra factor — speed — being incorporated into the final (or full-scale) score.

 

[hhh79bigo]

I personally don't think that IQ tests actually show you intelligence. They simply show how you think! Intellect is varied with different proffesions. For example, you could be a good physicist yet be crap at Drawing etc. People are good at different thigs! IQ Ssimply looks at few things such as spatial awareness, your ability to read questions properly, your basic mathematical, grammatical, general knowlege. Rather than digging deeper into your actual specialistic subject.

To see how intelligent you are go on Mastermind!