IQ testing

[Night Elf]

Dd13 is asking for an IQ test. What is the benefit of knowing her IQ score if it doesn't have anything to do with her high school courses? We do not get any type of services from the school. She really just wants to know if she is considered gifted and if so, just how gifted. I looked online and found a couple of places that might offer testing, but I haven't yet called. I'm scared the cost is going to be really high and I don't know if I can justify the expense if the test doesn't benefit her in some way.

 

And if I call, what do I ask for specifically? My ds15 was tested when he was 6 years old with the WISC, I think. Are these tests administered verbally, written, or a combination?

[matilda]

I would try to go through the school first. In some states, if the parent asks for their child to be tested, then the school will have to do it and it will be free for you. If your state doesn't have a law like that, you may hit some resistance. Secondly, you can try to find a psychologist to do the testing. That will cost upwards of $1000, depending on the local market and what other services the psychologist offers you.

 

Another cheaper/easier option might be to use a talent search. Then she would take the ACT/SAT and while this is not an IQ test, it would give her a national number and perhaps satisfy her curiosity.

[JeanM]

I would try to go through the school first. In some states, if the parent asks for their child to be tested, then the school will have to do it and it will be free for you. If your state doesn't have a law like that, you may hit some resistance. Secondly, you can try to find a psychologist to do the testing. That will cost upwards of $1000, depending on the local market and what other services the psychologist offers you.

 

Another cheaper/easier option might be to use a talent search. Then she would take the ACT/SAT and while this is not an IQ test, it would give her a national number and perhaps satisfy her curiosity.

 

:iagree: I would second the suggestion for a talent search. If your dd really wants an IQ test though, check the psych department of any universities near you.

 

I think the WISC is a combination of written and verbal, but I'm not sure about that. My ds took the younger version WPPSII or something like that, a long time ago, and I think there was some writing in addition to the talking.

[Lasthenia]

Try to search for abstract IQ tests. There are valid and certified ones on the Web.

[2smartones]

Mensa has a mock test on their website. It's not a real measure of anything, but it'll tell you if it's worth your time to try the test for inclusion in Mensa.

[pioneergirl]

I am familiar with several of the tests mentioned. Cost obviously is a factor...

First - I'd approach the school psych and ask that she be tested for any challenge or gifted/talented program. This will be free of charge to you; and sometimes they will ask thata recommendation be generated from a teacher (so you might have to approach that way). This testing usually starts with some "lower" level test - which I forget the specific names -- but the identify a threshhold of giftedness and IF they meet this threshhold then they move onto administering the WISC IV IQ test which has both written and verbal portions. this is what my experience has been in the schools where I live. At highschool, though, where I live, there is no longer a "GT program" so to speak, the option is to take honors or AP courses - which anyone can do so long as they take prerequisite courses.

 

Second - Independent test at a psychologists office. usually not covered by insurance as it is educational testing - but I bet you could ask to get pre-certified to see IF they would cover??? But would probably cost $600 dollars to cover initial intake mtg (1 hr), testing/report (approx 5 hrs), recap mtg (1hr). Let's put it this way, I recently had some independent testing done for my son (one of which also included an IQ test and it cost me approx $1,500 give or take).

 

Third - Are there any accelerated or specialty (math & science) public schools in your district? or area? sometime these types of schools are test based to get into. You could schedule a test date (after filling out forms and providing materials requested) with them for free. The one my son tested for administered what I believe to be the ACT test, although, I didn't actually see it WAS the ACT test. I asked for sample questions so he could get an idea and they forwarded me a link to the ACT website -- so I put the 2 together. Anyway, he tested into the school and was placed in the chohort program where his scores put him. This was all free. He attends the school for half the day - goes on his high school transcipts; it's public.

 

Talent Search - we recently had those handed out in our GT classes and you pay approx $100 to have your kid take an ACT or SAT test to just know where they stand. In my humble opinion, this has no reflection on IQ at all. But, I suppose you could find out where she needs improvement for future testing when it really counts for college. I passed on these tests for my children - one is in 5th grade doing accellerated work - one is in 7th grade - doing h.s. courses. I know where they would approximately place acadmecially speaking.

 

Then, there's the mensa, challenge! sounds like fun. For her age group, if you were seriously considering paying for the testing, I think it would be fun for her to test in this manner. I like the other responder's input. This is a nice thing to do for your daughter.

[Carpe]

If she's just curious the International High-IQ Society has an online test http://www.highiqsociety.org/iq-tests.php which is $3.99 and accurate, in their opinion.

[DandelionMom]

I recommend a center that specializes in gifted children and can administer the Stanford Binet- LM, which has higher ceilings and can tell her just how high her IQ is. Other tests have a ceiling of 160 and even 140, but can block highly and profoundly gifted children from really knowing their real IQ.

 

We told our oldest about her IQ after she was tested at the Gifted Development Center in Denver (outstanding place), but my husband and I have wondered ever since if we should have kept it from her. I say this because one of her highest levels was in math (abstract conceptual), but after she found out, she refused to do math for years. I don't know if they are related, but I suspect that they are.

 

We also had our youngest tested and decided not to tell her the score. She does know that she is PG, like her sister, but not knowing the score I think is better at her age.

 

A high schooler, though, may be ready to fully understand what the score means and know how to handle it better than a child, IMO.

[Iucounu]

Note that the Stanford-Binet L-M is extremely old and out of date by intelligence test standards, and also that it doesn't give the same sort of numbers as modern IQ tests, which are normed not only so that results from one test are (hopefully) similar to results from others, but also so that 15-16 points are used for each standard deviation from the mean (this means that modern IQ test scores are measures of rareness in the population).

 

By contrast, the SB L-M numbers represent something completely different, called a ratio IQ score, that's no longer in use today, and essentially obtained by comparing the "mental age" (as estimated by the test) against chronological age. Higher numbers can be obtained by testing with the SB L-M, yes-- but they correspond to lower numbers on other, more modern tests. In addition, the SB L-M is so old that many schools and programs do not accept it, and administrators may not even have heard of it.

 

Comparing numbers from the old SB L-M and newer standardized tests can amount to guesswork. Here's a rough estimate by Dr. Ruf of how scores might be compared between the SB L-M and Stanford-Binet 5 (pp. 7-8):

http://www.assess.nelson.com/pdf/sb5-asb3.pdf

Edited December 19, 2011 by Iucounu

[DandelionMom]

I understand, and agree that the form L-M is old and not widely used, but I feel it better represents the real breadth of the IQ, whereas the current tests only test to a certain level. The current tests prevent knowing the ceiling of the score, and only give the top number that they can, often times 140 to 145. They do not score higher than that because they can't.

 

Here is an article from the Gifted Development Center on why using the Stanford Binet L-M is important...

 

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What_is_Gifted/sblm.htm

 

 

They give the Stanford Binet L-M as a supplementary test when the tester has hit the ceiling of a standard test. You are right in saying that people often require an additional test along with the Stanford Binet L-M, but it is an invaluable test if you want to know what your child's real IQ range is.

[Iucounu]

It looks like that article was published in 2002, so it's fairly old news. Again, an SB L-M score corresponds to a lower score from a modern test-- it's just out of date, there are no recent norms so the numbers are suspect, and the scores likely won't be accepted anywhere.

 

In addition, it's not true that modern tests can't measure intelligence in the upper ranges. The WISC-IV and SB5 both offer standard IQ scores up to 160, which correspond to much higher numbers on the SB L-M. Extended scoring is also available on the WISC-IV which reaches higher, and the SB5 similarly offers EXIQ (EXtended IQ) scoring with a theoretical upper limit of 225. One just needs to find a tester familiar with extended scoring, or request that it be performed-- it's fairly common for testers to simply not know of the availability of extended scoring, because the need for its use is so rare.

 

Applying this to the OP's situation, her daughter, if tested with the Form L-M, wouldn't get any information on how rare her intelligence is within the population. She wouldn't be able to use it for comparison purposes with any more modern info on intelligence testing. And she'd probably still pay quite a bit to be tested with the SB L-M. I just don't see any benefit to using the test.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Iucounu

[catz]

For a 13 year old, I'd definitely do a talent search. IQ can be interesting, but not really as a stand alone number and not particularly at age 13 unless you're looking to join Mensa or Davidson. I'd plan on doing a talent search and/or ACT or SAT every year until she goes to college. That could be useful information for planning and could lead to scholarships. And doing it ongoing will give you some perspective.

 

My son has done a bunch of testing over time (he's only in 5th). He's been through the NNAT, SCAT, EXPLORE, Peabody K-12 Achievement, and a couple other shorter assessments. We have NOT done full blown IQ testing because that would run me about $2000 locally. Which could be put to much better purposes. But having all those scores over time has been much more information and helpful than a single IQ score on one day. If you are going to do the IQ, I still would probably partner it with ongoing achievement scores and make sure she understands the numbers are not carved in stone.