How come my IQ was high and then decrease as i get older?

Question

My IQ was 124 when i was 12, raised to 139 when i was 15, decreased to 131 when i was 17, and got as low as 118 when i was 18.. Can someone explain why?

Answer 1

IQ tests are standardized. In a perfect world, if you tested at 124 when you were 12, then you should test around 124 when you are 18. IQ tests include confidence intervals, either 90% or 95%. This is a range of scores that should include your actual score 90-95% of the time. So, if you have an IQ of 120 and you read a report that says, "There is a 95% chance that his true FSIQ is between 114 and 124", then that means that your true IQ should fall somewhere in that range 95% of the time.
Your IQ jumped a lot when you were 12 and 15. This could be due to practice effects. Some of the subtests on IQ tests are susceptible to practice effects, in which your performance improves the more you take the test. So, if you've taken the same test more than once, chances are, your performance will improve, especially on visual-motor and perceptual tasks. That could explain why your IQ inceased 15 points in 3 years (which is one standard deviation and a little unusual).
I'm curious as to why you had to take so many IQ tests and if they used the same one. Its common practice to vary them, especially if its been around a year. So, if you took the WISC-IV when your were 12, they may give you the KABC-2 or Stanford Binet when you are 13.

Answer 2

Intelligence Quotients are a standardized measure of your ability to memorize, reason and learn. Different tests will yield slightly different scores but should be within 5% for standardized tests. Some loss with aging is normal but 139 to 118 is a significant swing and would call into question the validity of at least one of the scores, high or low. BTW 100 is norm.

Answer 3

Theoretically, an I.Q. of 100 is the average expected of a person at the age you are taking the test. A 12-year-old with an I.Q. of 100 knows what be expect a 12-year-old to know. An 18-year-old with an I.Q. of 100 knows what we expect of an 18-year-old, so if you were a quick learner while you were young, you would have an extremely high I.Q. number (somewhere over 100), but it's hard to maintain that as you get older because the expectations are going up, so what happened is perfectly normal.

Answer 4

Actually you IQ is based on your knowledge, not what you are actually capable in achieving. Outside factors such as the type ot the test, and stress can change the result. Many tests are targeted to specific group, and your knowledge background and age can effect the result. Since you are no longer 18, the result for test taken now, will be very likely different than the others. In addition, as you grow, your comprehension, and reasoning will very and it took can vary in the result.

If you plan to take it again. Make not to stress over it, that will improve the grade considerably. You can always take it again.

Good Luck :)

Answer 5

IQ is relative, and therefore the extremes cannot be calculated precisely. It depends on which test you take, and the people that have taken that test. The average will end up being around 120, despite what it might say for another test.

Answer 6

an IQ test for a 12 year old is easy. An IQ test for an 18 year old is much harder. That's why.

Answer 7

IQ scores on a test can vary from day to day depending upon how tired you are, what you ate, etc.... All of those scores are well above average, so you should be proud.

Answer 8

i'm not really sure why that is. But i can tell you that an IQ test doesn't test your intelligence or knowledge of information really, but more so your potential to learn.

Answer 9

You weren't studing as much.