Intelligence Quotient, or IQ, tests have been used in schools and medical facilities for quite some time. The first IQ test was developed by Alfred Binet with assistance from Theophile Simon in 1904 under commission from the French government. The test was designed, at the government's request, to measure the intelligence of "normal" children versus those who had less intelligence to allow those not deemed normal to be placed in separate schools. Today, there are several such tests in wide use.
Kaufman-ABC
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, or Kaufman-ABC, is an IQ test for children ages three to 18. It is published by American Guidance Service. The test is broken into five areas in which children are queried on various items. The first section focuses on simultaneous identification, such as face recognition, block counting, pattern recognition, story completion and conceptual thinking. The second focuses on sequential thinking with number and word order recall. The third looks at story completion for older children and pattern reasoning. The fourth section concentrates on learning and the fifth includes verbal knowledge, riddles and expressive vocabulary.
WPPSI
The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, published by Harcourt Assessment, focuses on younger children. The test looks at the intelligence of these younger children in areas such as verbal, in which they are tested with general questions, defining words and figuring out words from several clues. The next stage of testing focuses on performance such as designing geometric patterns based upon viewing a picture or model, finishing designs where pieces are missing and image concepts. The next stage tests how fast a child can process information. For example, test subjects may be asked to find a symbol in rows of symbols and copying designs.
WAIS
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, also published by Harcourt Assessment, is designed to test the intelligence of people ages 16 to 89. There are five main stages of the test with 14 sections between them. The first, with six subtests, is verbal. The first subtest focuses on information learned from life experience. The second tests short-term memory. The third tests a person's vocabulary while the fourth focuses on math. The fifth looks at how much knowledge has been comprehended, while the sixth measures verbal relationships. The other four major categories include performance such as detail, nonverbal reasoning and the ability to produce abstract designs based on a model, creating a story from a puzzle, completing abstract puzzles, putting in order numbers and letters and testing attention, speed and accuracy.
Stanford-Binet
The Stanford-Binet test, updated since the original created by Alfred Binet, is published by Riverside Publishing. It measures the IQ of people ages two to 85. It works by the person taking the first subtest, which determines at which of the six levels the person should be tested at. The test considers five areas: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing and working memory.
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