Guides for parents
IQ and gifted tests a psychologist gives
Private schools and some gifted programs ask for a test your child takes one-to-one, outside the classroom: an IQ test like the WISC-V, a short screener, or a test of creativity or spatial thinking. Here is what each one measures, the ages it covers and how it is given.
We do not sell copies of these tests, and the next section says why. Each guide links to our practice that builds the same general skills: reasoning, vocabulary and spatial thinking.
Before you start
Should my child practice?
These tests are given in person by a trained examiner, and their questions are kept private: publishers do not sell them to families, and nobody can lawfully offer the real items. Nothing on this site is taken from them.
Drilling a child on copies of the questions would not help either. A result is only meaningful if the questions are new to your child, so a rehearsed score can place them in a program that does not fit, and a psychologist may set it aside.
What does help is ordinary and good for any child: knowing what the day will be like, a rested start, reading and talking about words, and puzzles that build reasoning and spatial thinking. Our practice boards below are built for exactly that.
The tests
IQ tests
Full tests of thinking and reasoning, given one-to-one by a psychologist.
- WISC-VAges 6 to 16The most widely used IQ test for school-age children, ages 6 to 16.Read the guide
- WPPSIAges 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 monthsThe Wechsler IQ test for preschool and early primary, ages 2 and a half to 7.Read the guide
- Stanford-Binet 5Ages 2 to adultAn IQ test from age 2 to adulthood, with a verbal and a nonverbal half.Read the guide
- KABC-IIAges 3 to 18An IQ test for ages 3 to 18 that can be given with very little language.Read the guide
Short IQ tests
Quicker tests that give an overall estimate, often used to decide whether a full test is needed.
- KBIT-2Ages 4 to adultA short IQ test of about 20 minutes, from age 4 to adult.Read the guide
- RIAS-2Ages 3 to adultA quicker IQ test from age 3 to adult, with an even shorter screening form.Read the guide
- WASI-IIAges 6 to adultThe short Wechsler IQ test: four tasks in about 30 minutes, age 6 to adult.Read the guide
Achievement and readiness tests
What a child has learned so far, or is ready to learn, rather than how they reason.
Gifted screeners, creativity and spatial tests
Tests some gifted programs use beside, or instead of, an IQ test. Several can be given to a group.
- SAGES-3Ages 5 to 14A gifted screener for ages 5 to 14, mixing reasoning with school subjects.Read the guide
- Raven'sAges About 5 to adult (a colored form for younger children)Picture puzzles with no words: find the piece that completes the pattern.Read the guide
- Spatial Test BatteryAges Grade 5 and upAn online test of spatial thinking from Grade 5, used by the Johns Hopkins CTY talent search.Read the guide
- Torrance and CAPAges Torrance: Kindergarten to adult. CAP: 6 to 18Creativity tests: drawing and idea tasks with no single right answer.Read the guide
Questions
What parents ask
- Should my child practice for an IQ test?
- Not with the test's own questions: they are restricted, and a child who has seen them gives a result that no longer means what it should. Getting familiar with the setting and building general reasoning, vocabulary and spatial skills is a different thing, and it helps a child show what they can really do.
- Who gives these tests?
- A licensed psychologist gives the full IQ tests. Some shorter tests can be given by a trained school psychologist or examiner, and a few gifted screeners and creativity tests are given to a group by a teacher. Your school or program can tell you which test they accept and who may give it.
- What will my child do on the day?
- Usually they sit at a table with one adult, who reads the questions, shows pictures and blocks, and writes down the answers. The questions start easy and get harder, and each part stops when they get too hard, so missing some is expected. Short breaks are normal.
- Is a practice score from your site an IQ?
- No. Our boards show how many questions your child answered correctly. We never give an IQ, a percentile or a prediction of any test score.
Test names belong to their publishers and to the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them, and nothing on these pages is taken from a test. Ages and times are the publishers' published ranges; editions change, so check the details with the person giving the test.