What does low IQ look like? Are tests reliable at all?

[TXMomof4]

I'm just curious. A friend has a child that has been tested twice now - several years apart and shows to have a low IQ (60-80). What does that really mean? Are IQ tests in children reliable? What do you do in response to that? This child is 'off'. I would have sworn up and down there was autism of some scale, but the dr. was adamant that wasn't the case.

 

Just trying to process and see how to be helpful! TIA for any wisdom.

[Pamela H in Texas]

It really depends.

 

First, if this is a child she's had any length of time (birth, adopted years ago, etc), it is more likely it is fairly accurate. On the other hand, foster kids regularly test WAY differently than is true. For example, my daughter tested as low average when she got here. That summer, before Kindy, I taught her to read. Within the year, she was solidly (tested by PS) a 3rd grade reading level. Not likely if her IQ really was in the 70s. If she were tested today, she'd very likely test at least 100.

 

Second, assuming she's worked with the child and advocates for him also suggests its pretty close. Obviously, had my kids birth parents had them tested, then they would have come out lower so it isn't always true, but assuming the child is well taken care of in every way and hasn't had additional trauma (abuse, significant medical procedures, etc), it is more likely to be more accurate.

 

Third, though, a 20 point difference is a full standard deviation (15 or 16 points depending on the test). It does suggest one of them is not quite right.

Additionally, MORE telling would be subtests. Were there some that were extra low or extra high?

Edited September 11, 2012 by 2J5M9K

[Ottakee]

I would say sorta, somewhat accurate. I agree that if this child has had a stable home with great care and nurturing then it likely is quite accurate. I have 3 that test in that range.........well, one that tests in that range and 2 that test lower.

 

My dd with an IQ of 80 is more of a slow learning. She can learn but is slower. In 9th grade she is doing 5th/6th grade work.

 

My one with an IQ of 55 has great social skills but works at a 1st/2nd grade level and just doesn't "get" many things.

 

My one with an IQ that tests at 38 (severely mentally impaired) reads at a 4th grade level, is my most responsible one with chores, personal belongings, money, etc. I don't feel that score is accurate but her subtests range from 20-120 so a HUGE HUGE range. She was likely a shaken baby along with some genetic disorders.

 

Kids with IQs in the 60-80 range often top out about a 10-12 year old level in many areas.

[TravelingChris]

In children with issues, they are not reliable. My child with no LD issues tests very high as do I. My dd with bad LD issues but still very smart, tests as just slightly above average. Well, I know that isn't so-the test wasn't accommodated and her later testing shows she has a very different way of seeing and thinking and needs the accommodation. Yet, gets straight A's in college and got a full tuition scholarship because of her high ACT scores.

[TXMomof4]

This child is well loved but I wouldn't say her life has been stable. She is really smart in some ways but doesn't seem to get other things at all. She is completely capable of understanding (it seems) but doesn't have good recall or understand how to apply knowledge outside of the given situation. She's also been dxd with adhd. I don't know. I just wish I could give some meaningful help or advice but I have never experienced difficulties of this magnitude with a child. Different difficulties for sure, but nothing quite like this.

[Ottakee]

Could be some LDs or other needs or a true mental impairment. The "getting it" is tough for these kids.

 

Has she had a full neuropsych eval done which would consider LDs, the ADHD, and other issues in addition to just the IQ score? IQ can be very helpful but is often just 1 piece of the puzzle.

[Mom0012]

I think it depends. I know a child who tested at 65, but she has learning disabilities. So, many of her scores were in the normal range, but some of the deficiencies really pulled the overall score down. Professionals say that she does not seem like a child with that low of an IQ and the evaluator said that her score did not reflect her abilities. She presents as someone with more of an average IQ. On the other hand, she scored in the 2nd percentile on the SAT's and was not able to pass remedial classes at the local CC, so academically that score seems to be somewhat accurate.

 

Lisa

[Crimson Wife]

In children with issues, they are not reliable. My child with no LD issues tests very high as do I. My dd with bad LD issues but still very smart, tests as just slightly above average.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

My 2nd child had a speech & language delay and when he got an IQ test at 3 1/2 as part of the IEP assessment, he had a borderline-low verbal score and a high non-verbal score that resulted in a full scale just slightly above average. Fast forward several years and he has overcome his speech & language delay. He participated in a norming study for the revised WPPSI last spring, and while we haven't yet received his scores, the tester said that he did very well and appeared to have a pretty balanced profile.

[Dobela]

The younger the child is, the less reliable the scoring is as well. The scores of a child at 4 could be very different from a child at 12. Different tests are used by different evaluators sometimes and not all correlate well. Then, on any given day, there is a range of scores that could be possible. It should be on the report but isn't always. It may say something like IQ 85 (+/- 12) meaning the actual IQ could be 73 or 97, or somewhere in between.

 

My son had a psych eval completed several years ago. When he finished the psychologist told me verbally that the scores were likely inaccurate because the tests she used were very visually based and we knew that he was having significant visual tracking/convergence/processing issues. However, when we finally received the actual report, she didn't put that part in it.

[Candid]

IQ tests on children are the least reliable of all IQ tests: meaning as the child ages their IQ may change maybe even quite a bit.

 

However an IQ in the below 70 is two standard deviations away from the mean on the IQ test (100) which means that they are outside what we would normally consider the mass of most people. It's been a long time, but I want to say 80% (and maybe as high as 95%) fall within two (high and low) standard deviations of the mean on IQ test.

 

Wikipedia has a nice chart here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_reference_chart and for that matter the overall aricle on IQ is good. They say that in terms of confidence of scores that scores are within 3 points of the actual score. BUT I'm pretty sure that is not for children.

[Kathryn]

A lot depends on the tester and the child's personality also. We watched our son's test at 5y3m. He thinks it's funny to be wrong and did a couple of sections wrong on purpose. He refused to do whole sections of the test. and then there were some things that had more to do with acquired knowledge like left/right, north/south/east/west, math, reading, vocabulary, animal sounds, etc. he tested well above average even with the missing sections and purposeful incorrect answers, so you'd think his IQ would be super high. But, he doesn't seem at all advanced to me (I love him, just don't see a genius in there anywhere). Having watched it and known the child, I don't think it was all that accurate.