IQ Scale

Have you ever taken an IQ test and then wondered what your score meant?  IQ is your “intelligence quotient”; basically, it is a number that signifies how intelligent you are.   If you fall into a one IQ score range you can be considered a genius, while if you fall into another you could be considered mentally handicapped.

Intelligence is often considered to be defined as how smart a person is.  This is not totally incorrect but it is not just about being smart.   Intelligence has to do with problem solving, adaptability and mental flexibility.  Being smart, alone, will not qualify you as a genius and being less smart will not automatically mean that you are mentally retarded.

Two men named Simon and Binet originally came up with the idea of an IQ and created a scale that could be used to categorize people based on their intelligence, since then, it has been the most commonly used measure of a person’s intelligence.  Then, in 1916 Lewis Terman revised their scale. His is currently the most commonly used.  Below is the IQ scale that he developed:

Over 140   Genius or near genius

120 – 140   Very superior intelligence

110 – 119   Superior intelligence

90 – 109   Normal or average intelligence

80 – 89    Dullness

70 – 79   Borderline deficiency

Under 70   Definite feeble-mindedness (later called, “Mental retardation”)

What is your IQ score range?  Are you  a genius or “feeble-minded”?   Chances are good, of course, that you are average.  If you or a loved one are at the higher or lower end of the scale, you may be interested to know that within the categories of genius and mental retardation, there are degrees.

IQ Scale, Degrees of Genius:

115-124   Above average
125-134   Gifted
135-144   Very gifted
145-164   Genius
165-179   High genius
180-200   Highest genius

IQ scale, Degrees of Mental Retardation:

Below 20   Severe Mental Retardation

20-34   Profound Mental Retardation

35 – 49  Moderate Mental Retardation

50-69 Mild Mental Retardation

70-84   Borderline Functioning

Now that you have found yourself on the scale and have a basic idea of your intelligence you may be wondering:  “What does it mean in relation to the rest of the population?”  Do you want to know if you are smarter than your friends and neighbors?  Take a look at the distribution of IQ scores to get an idea:

50% of IQ scores fall between 90 and 110
70% of IQ scores fall between 85 and 115
95% of IQ scores fall between 70 and 130
99.5% of IQ scores fall between 60 and 140

***Only 2 % of people are geniuses or mentally retarded***

Obviously, most people fall into the average range.  By the very nature of the term, “average” it will encompass most people.  Although it may not seem glamorous, if you fell into the average range, don’t feel badly.  Being “average” isn’t so bad.  Many geniuses are just as crippled by their gifts as mentally retarded people are crippled by their handicaps.  Being a genius is not a sure indicator of success and many, many successful artists, entrepreneurs, businessmen and politicians are of average intelligence.   By the same token, people with lower IQs are certainly not doomed to lives without meaning, value or success.