Intelligence / IQ testing

What are the best intelligence tests for children? Do online IQ tests have the same properties as professional tests? Two of my daughters have taken IQ tests as part of comprehensive batteries and their results have been quite good.

I do not believe that online tests provide accurate IQ levels.

I don't even see a purpose for testing for IQ unless your child is gifted and you'd like them to be in a gifted program, in which case the schools would/should notice and proceed accordingly.

just some info......iq tests are also important if the child has a learning disability or a condition that may involve a disability...iq is part of the information needed to get the child extra resources they may need in school....

Thanks butterfly,

When properly administered IQ tests do much more than provide just a number. My 9 year old daughter was found to have weak working memory that impacts her ability to remember what she reads. What was formerly known as dyslexia is now known in different terms and can be detected by an IQ test. They can also determine how gifted a student is: there is a very significant difference between the student with a 125 IQ and the student with a 150 IQ. I’ve searched using terms like “IQ test” all over the web, including this site, and I’ve found little to give the impression that internet IQ tests can measure up to a professional’s advice.

I was just wondering if there are any online sites that can be safely and anonymously taken at home to check progress. One professional site run by psychologists stated that the best online IQ test isn’t even very good.

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just some info......iq tests are also important if the child has a learning disability or a condition that may involve a disability...iq is part of the information needed to get the child extra resources they may need in school....

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But you wouldin't need to do an online IQ test for that as your doctor would/should be aware and arrange for appropriate testing.

IQ tests are often administered in schools around 3rd grade or so. Earlier if a learning issue is suspected. IQ tests only tell part of a child's situation - a snapshot in time. My children have taken the Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence or WPPSI for short - I don't think it is available on-line. It is very helpful to have a professional test the child and then offer an overview or interpretation or opinion concerning the results.

I'm guessing that you must suspect a problem ?? If you are interested in learning progress then perhaps what you really need are achievement type tests - which measure knowledge learned. IQ tests measure different areas and so it would not make sense to take that test more than every three or four years.

Hope this helps

Be careful putting too much stock into IQ tests, online or even professionally administered. There are so many different kinds of intelligence, and IQ tests pretty much only look at verbal and analytical or mathematical types of intelligence. There's also emotional intelligence, and spatial, musical, social, ... You might want to search or read books on emotional intelligence and multiple inteligence. The main authors to look for are Daniel Goleman and Howard Gardner. There is just so much more to it, and it's a shame when kids are limited or pigeon-holed by the results of a test. And I'm a quiz addict myself. Here are some websites to look at:
Use All Your Smarts
Integrating Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence
Emotional I.Q. and Multiple Inteligences Links

You can find E.Q. tests on the internet too - they are interesting, and, well, I'm a quiz junkie so I play with them. Probably not a good inicator of anything either, but it's another perspective anyway. Queendom.com has lots of tests about just about anything, and I feel that I've learned quite a bit from taking them, whether or not they have a great deal of validity (some may, and others definitly are just for fun).

Thank you for your “intelligent” replies.

I must agree that IQ tests such as the WPPSI do not tell the whole story. A psychologist told me that that test was especially poor for children with language delays. IQ, as measured by intelligence tests at least, isn’t formed until at least 8 years of age. At that point emotional intelligence can have a profound effect on the child’s development.

Because one of my daughters experiences significant reading comprehension delays, I referred her for an assessment to rule out lysdexia, er, dyslexia. To my surprise I discovered that it wasn’t a “phonics” problem per se but a memory problem. I thank the WISC for that.

Online tests seem to lack the professional touch; no one could have told me, in person, that my child had a memory problem based on a limited IQ score. Those who malign IQ scores are correct to the extent that it’s just a number. In the hands of a psychologist, however, it can be a powerful tool to help determine the cause of academic delays.

I too am a quiz junkie. I started with http://iqte.st which I found on this site and worked my way to http://www.highiqsociety.org/noflash...rs/iqtests.htm and also really liked http://www.mental-testing.com/.

I don't mean to malign IQs. You asked a simple question and I opted for a simple answer rather than spending time to explain the rights, wrongs, benefits, and negative outcomes of placing too much value in IQs. I was answering specifically in regard to ONLINE IQ tests. Most people that want to test online are out to prove something - which if something needs proving it should be left to pros.

I could say so much more but it seems these days everyone views everything I say in a highly negative context. With that said, my own IQ is over 160 and at least one of my children is gifted. All my children have had speech difficulties.

I won't be reading replies - you'll have to PM me if you think there is something I need to know.

I'm sorry to read the misunderstanding taking place here... Kalamity, I'm not sure anybody was disagreeing with you in the way you think they were! At least I didn't read it that way... Sorry you feel like someone was attacking you.

Everything in psychology must be taken with a grain of salt. IQ is a theoretical concept, a psychological construct, to help us understand something that is far more complicated than IQ could let us tap into. IQ tests can be very useful to help determine a problem in a person where everything else seems to be normal, or can be used to help place a gifted child into a more advanced class. In general mental health, they're often used to understand whether a person is mentally retarded or is having a language or emotional difficulty that is interferring with their intellectual capacity.

Having said all that, virtually all online IQ tests simply weren't designed and have had their psychometric properties tested in a way that makes them valid. They're fun to take (although some of them are extremely long), but I honestly wouldn't put much faith in their results. There are one or two online IQ tests (out of the hundreds available) that actually do have some validity, but I don't remember where they are offhand.

Since IQ tests look at a lot more than just vocabulary or general knowledge information (they require physical manipulation of blocks and other items), anything you take online is more than likely not pulling for just one aspect of IQ.

DocJohn

You should go and see a psychologist, he/she is the one who should test your daughters. Online IQ tests don't have the same properties as professional tests. So, the best thing to do is to talk to a pro.

Thanks Dr. John,

Intelligence tests certainly do encompass more than factual acumen. Mental manipulation and rotation also seem to be easily administered online. My daughter took the WISC and fondly remembers physical manipulation of blocks, pictures, and puzzle pieces. I haven’t seen that online yet.

I think the WAIS only measures up to 155 so a claim of >160 IQ might be a bit strident. In any case, I meant to state that were it not for a professionally administered IQ test I might be in the dark regarding my daughter’s reading problems. That’s it.

I've gotten two singularly unsupportive private messages about my posts in this thread. IQ testing isn't an easy subject to handle. Please reserve judgement until all the facts are on the table. When a hot topic like intelligence is thrown into an Internet forum cauldron, it's easy to lose one's perspective and get overheated. I simply ask that disucussions remain rational and on topic.

I agree about WISC and feel it is still fairly accurate for "basic" IQ placement. There are plenty of other tests available if you are searching for a possible solution to a problem, though. As for online, I haven't a clue.
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It's important to DO something with the information you receive though... when my IQ was tested (7th grade) due to problems in some classes, I tested genius. BUT no one told me and no one helped me compensate for my "symptoms" of boredom and exasperation when other students didn't "get it" and had to keep asking the teacher questions. It became a handicapp.

Both my sons are genius also, but in different ways. When the school found out about the younger one (who was having difficulty in class) they had wanted to place him in LD (they receive more federal money that way.) But after finding out his high IQ they decided to... DO NOTHING for him!!!! I put them both into private schools who catered to their needs. He has a high position protecting us now, the older son is region manager for a large electronics/audio franchise.

Hope you find the answers you need!