What is the highest limit IQ can score to?

Question

For example, people always say IQ 180... And there is always IQ test that rate a person's IQ.

Answer 1

It depends on the IQ test you are taking, but theoretically there is no limit. Most tests have their highest scores in the 180-200 range, but most tests can also record theoretical scores higher than this. Every test is different and to get a feel for your true IQ you need to take more than one. For example, I have taken 4 and scored between 145 and 160 on each of them at different times.

Remember that every IQ test has some biases built in. It is virtually impossible to remove bias from testing of any kind (even SAT's and ACT's are biased to some degree). Early IQ tests in america were shamelessly biased toward white males, with black males often scoring 20-30 points lower just because of the built-in biases.

Even testing in and of itself is biased towards those who do well in tests (I love taking tests and often do better than I really "should", my wife hates taking tests and it affected her grades in college even in subjects she knew very well).

Also, any IQ test you take can only compare you to others who have taken the SAME TEST. They are really measures of how you did on that test compared to how others did on the same test. Statistically they attempt to build each test in such a way that the majority of test-takers will score 100, and the rest will score some number higher or lower such that the population's rest results will approximate a bell-shaped curve. However, each test is different and will likely give you different results.

In the end, "IQ" is a mediocre measure of intelligence at best, and virtually worthless as a measure of potential or performance in the real world.

Answer 2

In reality IQ has no upper limit; as far as we know there is no bound on human intelligence. However, in theory one should not be able to go beyond an IQ of 195 (Standard deviation of 15), as such would statistically be very unlikely given the current population of the Earth. The statistical probability of an individual scoring 195 is 1 in 8 billion.


I would also like to mention that the limit is also dependant on the test. An IQ test has a ceiling; I.E. it has a maximum score one can achieve. The majority of tests ceiling at around 150, and some can go as far as 170. However, there are no widely used tests that have been validated on numerous occasions able to test beyond the range of 170 (Again, SD of 15). As such, some have gone as far as to develop what are known as 'High range' IQ tests which exclude easier questions to allow room for much harder ones, thus raising the ceiling of the test. However, none of these tests as of yet are psychometrically valid; though they often have a decent correlation with other validated tests.


Kim Ung-Yong has the highest IQ ever professionally measured, though some think that William Sidis may have scored higher. He broke the ceiling and a group of psychologists sat down with him, allowing him to lay protracted seige at some ridiculously difficult questions. His IQ was estimated at 200 SD 15, with a childhood Ratio IQ of 260. This means he was approximately 2.6 times smarter than the average person his age. For the record, he was able to solve difficult Calculus questions on TV that he was not aware of before hand, at age 4.

Answer 3

your IQ is completly dependant on the test you take. The measure your IQ on how many people you did better than that took the same test. Whatever score they designate for your percentile is completly up to the people that made the test. I have taken two IQ tests. On 1 test i recieved a 133 when the IQ of a genius was 140. The other test gave me an IQ of 186 when the IQ of a genius was 200. There are set scales that the test makers use, and i believe the more common one is out of 140

Answer 4

there is no limit, theoretically. the iq test measures your deviation from normal intelligence levels, which is labelled as 100. a person who is smart enough may have an enormous deviation.

the difficulty is that when people get much higher than 180 or so, there are so few other people of that intelligence level with which they can be compared that the number ceases to represent an actual measurement, since we don't really understand that kind of intelligence enough to measure itin relation to standard intelligence. also, people off the charts on iq tests tend to have other problems, mentally, that complicate the measurement of their iq.

Answer 5

What Is The Iq Scale

Answer 6

there's no upper limit. the scores are on the normal curve - average is 100, standard deviation is 15. so to get 180, you'd hafta be in the top 4.8 x 10^-6 percentile of the population... which is like the top 0.0000048 percentile. so that's really really rare... but you can always get higher if. it jsut gets rarer and rarer.

iq is calculated by "how much you know" divided by "how much average ppl your age knows" so technically you can get infinite for your iq =)

Answer 7

There's no limit. Stephen Hawking's is supposed to be over 200, but no one knows for sure.

100 is the average; 160 is gifted.

Answer 8

I believe you can't go higher than 150 which is genius. But I am not sure if different tests score differently.

Answer 9

can u suggest a good website offering free IQ tests? thank you