
IQ Test Results
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q:
My son has just been given a psychological test at school.
He is eleven years of age and just started Year Six in
primary school. The test put his IQ at 147.5 (Standard
score) and 99.9 (Percentile Rank). Is this significant? What
does it mean in layman's terms? How best should I support my
son in his education? I look forward to your response.
A: Depending on whether the
IQ test is a standardized one, the results are significant.
Chances are that the school would use a standardized test
which would give significant results. In this case, since
the IQ score is in the highest percentile rank, you son is
definitely on the high end of the continuum, which show
above average achievement. Therefore, in layman's terms, he
is possibly gifted and may be placed in a gifted program to
further develop his abilities.
At 11, he is probably at an age where he would rather do
things that he enjoys and may not want to be forced to take
up anything that he is not interested in. At this stage,
parents should be the guides rather than instructors. Access
to educational materials that he enjoys would make learning
more enjoyable for him. You should observe and find out what
his needs are. If he is placed in a gifted program, he would
need your support especially to fit in and socialize with
similar ability students. In fact, he may not even want to
be placed in such a program in fear of losing his peers.
This is where he would need a lot of support and
encouragement to help him develop his abilities.
You may also want to have a good relationship with his
teachers to make sure that he is coping well at school
whether he is placed in a gifted program or not. You may
also want to speak to the school psychologist/counselor or
any teacher familiar with the test report to find out the
areas of strengths (or weaknesses) and focus on what is
needed at this stage. They may be able to advise you better
based on the test report. Good luck.
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