Legitimate IQ tests are crafted for a number of specific reasons. There is actually no fixed questionnaire to an IQ test. The basis of the quality that needs to be judged, these tests are designed. Suppose, if one wants to evaluate if a certain person has the ability to be a writer or not, the IQ test will be specific to that corresponding field. Or if one needs to judge a person’s ability in any particular type of field of study that is how the test will be designed.

Legitimate IQ Test Pointers

•           The average score of a legitimate IQ test is 100. If a person scores below 100, their IQ is considered less than average, and if a person scores greater than 100, their IQ is more than average.

•           The format of questions in an IQ test consists of multiple choice questions. The question generally has four possible choices out of which the person taking the test has to select the correct answer.

•           A legitimate IQ test will have various sections to determine abilities in a number of ways. Each division or section will have to be completed in a specified amount of time.

•           A legitimate IQ test that is used to judge general intelligence will not have questions related to history. IQ test are general knowledge based and factual memorization is actually not a part of it.

•           A legitimate IQ test will also inquire you for your personal details such as gender, age and sometimes even nationality.

Guidelines for IQ score interpretation.

(1) IQ does not mostly specify the actual value of an individual.

(2) It usually reflects a level of performance on a particular set of tasks.

(3) IQ scores from a test actually cannot be considered as the accurate measure of intelligence.

(4) IQ classification tables should be predicted and used to understand the level of people with different IQ scores.

(5) IQ scores with very large differences are usually more reliable and meaningful. The younger the child is, even less reliable will the IQ score be.

(6) Interpretation of IQ score should take place in the context of more broad assessment. It should basically be based in behavior, observation and interview by a psychologist or a team of mental and medical professionals.

(7) These tests are generally more accurate and reliable.

(8) IQ scores are mostly not closely related to other characteristics such as career achievement and happiness and other things.

IQ can also be expressed in terms of percentiles which is not exactly the same as that of percentage scores. Percentage here actually refers to the number of items or questions which a child answers correctly compared to the total number of items or questions. Whereas, percentile denotes the number of other test takers score that an individual’s score equals or goes beyond that.

1. You should learn to go through the test as soon as possible. Leave out questions you are not really sure of, and get back to them later. It is good to answer all the easy questions first. That way you don’t have to leave several questions unanswered due to the reasons that you spent too much time only on trying to get the answer that was difficult.

Always try to answer each and every question on multiple choice tests. When you have a doubt, first get rid of the answers that you know or suspect are wrong, and then select among the remaining. If you eliminate two out of four answers on a number of questions, then you’ll probably get half of those questions generally right on average.

2. Try to sleep well before you take the test, breathing deeply through your nose will also help. These are indications in improving performance on almost each and every test. Eat a lot of fish too. Recent research shows that eating fish speeds up the brain waves and hence increases your concentration.

If you have the opportunity to listen to music, then make use of it. If you are not allowed to have music during the test, listen to it just before to soothe your mind. In one of the studies, individuals who listened to music for ten minutes before an IQ test scored nine points higher than the ones who do not.

3. Try to exercise your brain on a daily basis. This is should be a long term strategy that actually assumes that you can permanently improve your brain function and also intelligence, and hence increase your average IQ score. Spend some time playing strategic games such as video games, chess, Sudoku such that it makes you think.

Different Types of Intelligence Tests

IQ can be tested in a number of ways which may comprise either one or more than one question. There is usually an overall score that is generated for each and every kind of test and the IQ of an individual can be established with the help of that. It basically has question/questions, which has to be solved in a given time. IQ tests comprise tests that measure qualities like verbal knowledge, short time memory, spatial visualization and also the speed of perception. The score can be measured by calculating the mean score of all the subtests conducted. Generally these IQ tests may be unsuccessful in measuring very low or very high intelligence levels but successfully measures that fall in the range of the average intelligence.

Factors that determine Intelligence

There are quite a few factors on which depends the intelligence of an individual based on the environment which effects in the long run, and also heritability, which is the basis of how, an individual starts adjusting to the environment. Prenatal environment also reported to have an effect on the intelligence of the child, which includes the maturity, and intelligence levels of the mother.

Intelligence Quotient or IQ is represented in the form of an index or a number of the intelligence of a person. In a standard IQ test, a person’s quotient of intelligence is compared and found out based on the scores of others on the identical test. IQ tests are being considered by educational institutes and corporate offices in combination with personality tests for various purposes. Intelligence Quotients are utilized by people to find out an individual’s mental age, understanding level and performance capabilities at a particular age. A Standard IQ test would comprise of duties that make use of mental ability and fluctuate on their difficulty levels. The test includes testing of memory, reasoning power, numerical capability, definitions.

Though it was mentioned earlier that a person’s IQ is dependent on his or her mental age, it is also necessary to be familiar with that it does only depend on the mental age; there are a number of factors involved. At first the IQ was actually determined and calculated by dividing the mental age of an individual by the actual age and then multiplying it by 100. IQ tests are being usually used by educational institutions such as schools, colleges, universities and even some business organizations. They use to identify how well an individual can withstand and improve under pressure or stress of work at school and work.

Here are some remarkable and quite a few interesting good IQ range guide:

O    IQ ranges from 0 to 250 is considered for kids

O    IQ ranges from 0 to 200 is considered for adults.

O    Individuals with low IQ below 75 are normally complex to train.

O    About 10% of the population has below 80 IQ.

The average score of a normal individual is considered to be 100.

A few facts and myths about IQ are mentioned below.

O    Breastfeeding has no correlation with an individual’s IQ levels.

O    Many researchers have told that the frontal lobes of the brain are very essential and critical for one’s intellect.

O    Usually, males and females have quite similar average Intelligence Quotient. However, it is noticed that there are more males with both extreme IQ levels than women.

O    Current researches and studies using MRI images have proved that the size of the brain has an association with IQ.

O    Good Intelligence Quotient range and its relationship with races have been controversial and not considered as a factor affecting the IQ.

O    Studies have revealed that there is some sort of connection between an individual’s structure of the cortex and his/her IQ scores.

Certain things can disapprovingly impact IQ score. These may include lack of nutrition in children, who are tested, and foetal alcohol syndrome, or maternal addiction. Mental retardation or circumstances that weaken the brain’s capability to memorize as in the case of Alzheimer’s disease which causes IQ scores to be poorer. People can also be trained to take up these tests, which can help them in amplifying the scoring. On the other hand, it is not well-known whether a person who scores higher due to preparation or repetitive testing is in point of fact more intelligent. It is demonstrable that the well trained person does better on the IQ test when compared to the person who is not trained at all. Recently there have been some studies which are being carried out on brain size and its development and IQ scores. In particular the frontal lobe of the brain likely seems to be the most suitable method for calculation of IQ scores. Larger frontal lobes generally are an indication of larger IQs. Both men and women appear to score more or less the same on IQ testing, though it is noticed that men exhibit a larger variance in testing, and have more very high and very low scores than do women.

To put it in a nutshell, IQ score is considered to be reasonably good interpreter for school performance and may also predict the point to which a person may be flourishing in occupation.

IQ, or intelligence quotient, is a sign of academic intelligence, more often than not measured as a wide variety in contrast to others in the same age group. Intelligence is part of cognitive development. Other parts of cognitive development include information processing, reasoning, memory and language development. Together they work so that a person perceives and interacts with the world and that cognitive development is the outcome of genetics and environment. Intelligence or cognitive development in children goes through a number of stages and is a dynamic method impacted by a variety of factors.

The average score generally depends on various factors such personal genetic history, environment in which he or she grows etc. Sometimes these scores also exhibit racial bias. However in general the average IQ score of a mentally sound person is 100.  The standard deviation of IQ scores is 15.  So, this indicates that half of the people have IQ scores ranging from 90 to 100. While 2.5% of them are highly superior in intelligence and 2.5% are either mentally impaired or retarded or deficient. About 0.5% of them are almost near to genius or genius. IQ could also be impacted by deficient of suitable education; usually the reasons may be due to discrepancy in educational funding. If these disparities are corrected, then IQ scores normally become higher than the existing level.

•           Spend less time on TV – in spite of the promises made by the best art house films or the most educational documentaries, watching TV really doesn’t utilize your mental capability in any functional way or even revitalize it. Spending so many hours by only staring at the monitor simply leaves you feeling exhausted, with aching and tired eyes. So it is better to resist the eagerness to just twiddle your thumbs in front of the box – have a chat with your friends or family instead, if you don’t think that you have the required amount of energy to read a book or indulge in any other creative activity.

•           Read more – it is advisable to select your reading material more wisely. Of course, it is important to relax and you should learn to enjoy your reading time with a lot of popular materials such as publications or magazines, comics and commercial fiction but if you really want to stimulate your brain, and then make sure that you also spend some time reading challenging literature. Classic novels can change the way you think and help you use more precise, elegant language. They will also help to build up your vocabulary and familiarity with other literary forms, such as allegory and metaphor, which exercise the deeper levels of your mind

The concept of intelligence has continued to evolve since a very long time. In 1983, Howard Gardner defined seven distinct intelligences. The concept of multiple intelligences benefitted in broadening the idea of “intelligence” from a mathematical perspective and verbal understanding, which had become paved into American culture through many years of national testing (i.e. the SATs). Gardner’s ideas have prepared their means into education, and are presently being utilized by many school districts. But the actual traditional intelligence and scholastic aptitude testing has been continued to gain recognition and oblige in U.S. education. In the present day, quite a few colleges turn down to acknowledge students below certain impressive scores on the SATs and many more private and the premier public schools accept students more or less exclusively on the basis of these test scores.