
IQ Tests: What Other Options are There?
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q:
My son scored 9.9 on all of the topics on the Terra Nova
except for Language. His overall approximate IQ was listed
at 141. Can you recommend another type of test so that we
can be sure of these numbers? If these numbers are correct,
should we will look into the gifted program in our school
system as it has been recommended.
A: His listed IQ is rather
high. There should not be a reason for any doubt for the
numbers especially since Terra Nova is a standardized
achievement test conducted by the school or someone
authorized by the school. And if it has been recommended
that he is suited for the gifted program, he should not be
held back.
There are intelligence tests (Terra Nova is an achievement
test) such as the WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children) which is an excellent IQ test, but it has a
general ceiling level for scoring in the 150 IQ range. A
WISC is made up of individual subtests. However, it is often
recommended that a Stanford-Binet L-M (another very good IQ
test) be conducted when a person scores at the highest level
in a number of WISC subtest scores. The Stanford-Binet L-M
does not have the same ceiling in scoring and is more
heavily weighted in the verbal skills in which the gifted
often score high. The results on these tests are often very
reliable. See an educational psychologist for further advice
on these tests or any other suitable IQ test.
|