Stanford-Binet 5
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
The Stanford-Binet is one of the oldest IQ tests, now in its fifth edition (SB5). Some psychologists choose it for children who may be very advanced, because its hardest questions go well above grade level.
Each of its five areas is tested twice: once with words and once with pictures and objects, which gives a verbal score, a nonverbal score and an overall score.
- Ages
- 2 to adult
- How it is given
- One-to-one with a psychologist
- How long
- Varies with age and how far your child goes; often about an hour
What it measures
- Fluid reasoning: working out a new rule
- Knowledge: words and general facts
- Quantitative reasoning: number sense and simple problems
- Visual-spatial thinking: shapes, patterns and directions
- Working memory: remembering and reordering what was just seen or heard
What you can do
- Explain that the questions get harder as they go and that stopping is part of the test, not a sign of failing.
- Talk about numbers in daily life: counting, sharing, comparing, simple money.
- Read widely and talk about new words.
- Do picture and pattern puzzles together, at a relaxed pace.
Practice for the same skills
None of these is the Stanford-Binet 5. Each one builds a general skill it draws on, in a short, friendly format your child can try at home.
- CogAT practiceVerbal, number and picture reasoning in three parts. Up to Grade 2, every question is a picture and is read aloud.Try it
- Matrices-style practicePicture puzzles: find the piece that completes the pattern. No words, no clock. Kindergarten to Grade 8.Try it
- OLSAT practiceVerbal and nonverbal reasoning, including following directions and word meanings. Kindergarten to Grade 12.Try it
- Word analogies lessonHow word pairs relate, step by step: a free lesson that builds vocabulary and verbal reasoning.Try it
- Free brain testTwenty puzzles with words, numbers and shapes for ages 5 to 13. No account needed, and not an IQ test.Try it
Practice the skills, not the test
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.
Other tests
- WISC-V
- WPPSI
- KABC-II
- KBIT-2
- RIAS-2
- WASI-II
- Woodcock-Johnson and WIAT
- Bracken (BSRA)
- SAGES-3
- Raven's
- Spatial Test Battery
- Torrance and CAP
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.