Everyone is born with a level of intelligence. Intelligence allows you to acquire information and gives you the capacity to learn. Intelligence also helps you apply information and use abstract reasoning. While many ways exist to define a level of intelligence, one of the oldest and most commonly known is the test that measures IQ, or intelligence quotient.
Identification
Your Intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a measurement of your capacity to learn. It is not a measure of how "smart" you are, even though many use the terms "intelligence" and "smart" to mean the same thing. Intelligence measures potential, while smart defines results you get from developing your intellectual potential. The way to determine an IQ is through a standardized IQ test. This test compares your results against an average to produce an IQ score that can run from zero to 175; scores vary, depending on the test version.
History
IQ testing began in the early 1900s with an intelligence test developed by Alfred Binet to test for mental retardation in children. In 1916, a Stanford University psychologist, Lewis Terman, modified the test so he could use it with adults and changed its name to the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Terman developed the concept of the IQ quotient using test results that determined a person's chronological age and a formula that compared the person's mental age against chronological age. While this formula did work when testing children, it did not work when testing adults. Today, the score you achieve on an IQ test uses comparisons against a standard score of 100 and scores from others in your age group to interpret results.
Versions
There are many versions of intelligence tests available today. The American Mensa Society, an organization "for individuals of higher intelligence," accepts scores from approximately 200 versions of standardized intelligence testing. While the version used generally depends on the agency administering the test, common examples include the Stanford-Binet, Wechsler, ACT and SAT tests. Agencies that administer these tests include school districts, college preparatory agencies, private psychologists and, in some cases, the military.
Characteristics
While each version uses a different scoring method, they all share the same general characteristics. These include standardization, norms and percentile scores, standardization samples, reliability and validity. Standardization sets specific requirements for the test environment, and for administering and scoring intelligence tests. Norms provide a standard of average performance used to compare test scores. Psychologists develop norms by administering the intelligence test to a standardization sample, or a large group of people, used to represent the test-taking population. Percentile scores show how your test scores compare with others in your age group. The reliability of an intelligence test allows it to produce the same results when given multiple times to the same group of testers. Validity is the ability of the intelligence test to measure what the developer intends for it to measure, such as the potential for good academic performance.
Scoring
Determining your intelligence quotient requires testing in areas that include verbal and non-verbal reasoning. For example, the Wechsler intelligence test includes 11 areas such as arithmetic, vocabulary, comprehension, picture completion and object assembly. Scoring places you in one of approximately five to eight categories of intelligence, depending on the test. In general, scores at or near the top of the scale indicate extraordinary genius, genius, gifted, above average, average, below average, challenged and severely challenged. Approximately 68 percent of the population falls in the average category, according to the IQ Test website.
