What are IQ tests?

The ultimate goal of an “IQ test” is to generate information that helps to understand the learning needs of a child who may be in need of assistance with schoolwork.

“IQ tests” or intelligence assessments are a source of much confusion and concern for some parents.  Most people have heard of IQ tests, but few people outside of psychologists truly know much about them.  This article offers a brief explanation of “IQ tests”.

The goal of any IQ test is to measure how “smart” or intelligent an individual is.  There are many aspects to intelligence, which can include the ability to understand emotions, to recite facts or the ability to assemble a complex object just by looking at a picture of it.

The way in which intelligence is measured is with normed and standardized tests of cognitive (thinking) abilities.  When an intelligence test is described as “standardized” it means that the same instructions are given each time and the same questions are asked in a same order each time.  There are clear limits on how help may be given to the child taking the test.  In general NO extra help is given to the child, aside from a beginning example. 

To “norm” a test, the questions and their order are developed during a lengthy and complex procedure of trying out hundreds of questions on thousands of children from a range of ages (e.g., age 6 to 16), from many backgrounds, regions and economic conditions in the United States and Canada.  Those questions that are found to be unclear or simply not useful are discarded and the best questions remain as part of the test. Having been tried on thousands of children, we then are able to determine what a “normal’ set of responses would be for any particular age group of children.

The process of developing or updating an intelligence test is complex, lengthy and expensive.  Most IQ tests are updated every decade or so.  The best tests on the market are in their third, fourth or even fifth edition.  Each time they are changed, they are improved and the tests become better predictors of intelligence. Thus, IQ tests have been refined over many years. The most respected and common IQ tests are the Wechsler series (e.g. WISC-IV) and the Stanford-Binet.  Also included in this group of well respected IQ tests are the Woodcock-Johnson, the Kaufman and the Differential Ability Scales.  All of these tests are good at determining a person’s intelligence.

The advantages of the best IQ tests, in addition to being normed and standardized, is that they are administered in a one to one fashion.  In other words, it is one child working with one psychologist.  Thus, not only are the child’s responses recorded by the psychologist, but the child is also observed working in a controlled and standardized environment, where their best performance can be obtained. Individually administered intelligence tests provide a wealth of objective data about a child, both from the actual test and also from the observation of their behaviour during the testing procedure. Individually administered IQ tests are the most accurate, valid and reliable of all tests of cognitive assessment.  Group administered tests (such as the current province wide testing) have their place, but they lack the accuracy of standardized IQ tests.  In simple terms, group tests are like a “shotgun” approach to testing, it may hit the target, but it will also miss what you are aiming at.  Standardized IQ tests are the rifle shot which will hit the target each time giving a precise measure of a specific child. 

The process of scoring is relatively straight forward, although quite time consuming.  The most important part of the IQ test lays in the hands of the psychologist; the interpretation of data - figuring out what the scores actually mean or tell us about a child’s intelligence or ability to think. This is where the years of training and experience of the psychologist comes into play.  So while many persons may be able to administer an IQ test, it is the skill of the psychologist to figure out what all the results really mean and how to make use of the results.

If your child is experiencing difficulties with school work, an IQ test may be important towards understanding the problem and sorting out the solution. While the thought of an IQ test sounds scary to some people, truth is many children actually find the process enjoyable once they are in it. Certainly identifying learning problems can lead to better solutions to improve school performance and in the end this usually makes for happier children.

So what’s an IQ test really? It’s a way to understand a child’s learning needs who may have been experiencing difficulties, so that learning can be made more rewarding.

Estes Moustacalis, Ph.D., C.Psych.  (Dr. “M”)

www.oakvillepsychologist.com

info@oakvillepsychologist.com

905 617-8308

Providing psychoeducational assessments and consultation on behalf of children with learning difficulties.