Introduction

You give your child an IQ test and get the score back. You find out that your child’s IQ score of 150 puts him or her in the range of “highly gifted.” What’s the meaning of that? Before you can understand what it means for a child to be highly gifted, moderately gifted, or profoundly gifted, you need to know what IQ scores mean.

Getting an IQ Score

The word “IQ” means “intelligence score.” A person’s IQ is measured by their IQ score, which is mostly based on how well they can reason. The person’s ability to think things through is shown by how high their score is.

If we plotted everyone’s IQ score, we would see that they are spread out in a normal bell curve. That means that most of the scores would be in the middle of that bell curve. The score of 100 is right in the middle of the bell curve. This is where most scores should fall, or where they will cluster. 

As scores get farther from 100, we’ll find fewer and fewer of them. But for the numbers to mean anything, we need to be able to measure how different the scores are. This is why standard deviations are used. A standard deviation is just the average distance that scores are from the norm. Statisticians use a specific formula to figure out the standard deviation of data.

Different forms of IQ Intelligence

Once you know how these scores fit into a bell curve, you’ll have a better idea of the different types of giftedness. Why is a score of 115 to 129 considered mildly gifted? Why is a score of 145 to 159 considered highly gifted? On the bell curve, the answer is in the standard deviation of the spread of IQ scores.

 

The Wechsler IQ test and many other tests use a standard deviation of 15. About 70% of test scores fall between one standard deviation below 100.2 and one standard deviation above 100.

The average score is between 85 and 115. Those scores are in the “normal” or “average” range for intelligence.

The farther a score is from 100, the fewer people with that score we will find. If we move one standard deviation below 100 and one standard deviation above 100, about 25% of the scores will fall in those two ranges. In other words, about 25% of the population has an IQ between 70 and 85 or between 115 and 130.

That means that only about 5% of the population will have scores that are more than two standard deviations from the average.

About 2.5% of the scores will be below 70, and about 2.5% will be above 130.

Different Types of Talent

People tend to think that all gifted children have the same needs and want to put them all in the same group. The opposite couldn’t be more true. One way to see how the needs of these different groups of children are different is to look at how far they are from the average of 100:4.

Average talent: 115 to 129

Mid-level talent: 130 to 144

Very talented: 145 to 159

Extraordinary talent: 160 to 179

Deeply talented: 180+

If you look at the scores for each group, you’ll see that each category is one standard deviation from the norm. Take a look at the scores below 100 to see how much of a difference one standard deviation can make.

One standard deviation on either side of 100 is in the normal, or average, range. If you drop one more standard deviation, you enter the range of borderline intellectual functioning (70 to 84). 5 kids with scores in this range are eligible for extra help in school.

When we move down another standard deviation, we enter the range of mild intellectual disability (55 to 70).

The more a child’s score is out of the ordinary, the more help they will need in school.

Now move away from 100. Normal, or average, is an IQ score that is up to one standard deviation above 100. If you move up one standard deviation, you are in the range for people who are mildly gifted. That means that a child with a score of 120 is just as different from a child with an IQ of 100 as is a child with an IQ of 80, which is a score that qualifies a child for special services.

Adding another standard deviation puts us in the range of “moderately gifted” (130 to 144). On the other side of 100, the same range is for people with mild intellectual disabilities.

No teacher would think that every child with an IQ below 70 needs the same help in school as every other child in the same range. The standard deviations that are less than 100 are important. They still mean the same when they are over 100.

Some Things to Know About IQ 

The science of IQ testing is not exact. Sometimes it seems that way, but it’s not. Scores on tests are really just estimates based on how well someone did on that test on that day. There is always some room for mistakes. The iq test score could be a little higher or a little lower, but it’s still within the margin of error.

But it’s also important to keep in mind that the score won’t change much. That is, a child who gets a score of 140 did not get that score because she was having a “good day.” The best way to figure out a child’s IQ is to look at the score they get the most (within the margin of error). 7 Normal kids can’t get that high of a score just because they had a good breakfast and felt good that day.

FInal Words

IQ tests tend to put kids into groups, but it’s important to remember that every child is different. Also, it’s important to remember that IQ scores are not meant to predict what a child will do now or in the future.

Even though you might be happy or sad about the results, try to keep them in the context of your child’s overall growth and his or her own learning needs. Have a look on real iq test online to get your intelligence score.