Is there a reliable IQ test out there?

[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!