I don't know my child's IQ - am I a bad parent?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:22:29 I agree with your point but 125 is not an average score. 100 is average.


Yes -- I said 125 was above average.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:... isn't so terrific when they actually report the score, though.


You think? I don't mind. I actually do see a difference between the kid who has an above average IQ test score of say 125, and once who is up around 145 -- or higher! There is a big difference in the way the two kids think and learn, and it helps me picture the intellectual situation for lack of a better way to describe it. Same thing if parents are talking about their children with mental handicaps/retardation but one has a child with an IQ score of 75 and the other, 55.


But do you need a test to tell you that? Can't you just see it in them?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
But do you need a test to tell you that? Can't you just see it in them?


Not if I am reading about someone's child on an internet forum. I find it a useful descriptor. I certainly don't see it as bragging about one's child, if a parent mentions it in some kind of academic or learning related contaxt, anyhow.
Anonymous
What people fail to remember is that you have issues when your IQ is too high. Dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disabilities effect those with normal to high IQs.
Anonymous
I have a high IQ and do not learn math like everyone else. It was problematic for years, basically until I figured it out on my own or paid a tutor to explain it differently. I can see how knowing a child's IQ would be helpful if public or private schools would change the way they present the materials.

I think they test on those in the specials needs programs. The information could be useful for any students not in the "normal" range.
Anonymous
Newsflash:

IQ's "up around 145" are extremely rare. IQ tests are scored on a bell curve, after all. Only 2.2% of the population has an IQ over 130. So take it with a grain of salt when people tell you their kid's IQ is in the 140's.

A child with an IQ of 125 is not just "above average" but actually bright.

Anonymous
I don't know my kid's IQ score but I know her times in swimming and scores in gymnastics.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Newsflash:

IQ's "up around 145" are extremely rare. IQ tests are scored on a bell curve, after all. Only 2.2% of the population has an IQ over 130. So take it with a grain of salt when people tell you their kid's IQ is in the 140's.

A child with an IQ of 125 is not just "above average" but actually bright.



Yes -- so if a parent says her child has an IQ of 145, that tells me important information.

And for the DC area, and the DCUM posters in particular, I don't think a 145 is as rare as it is in the general population. And an IQ score of 125, while "quite bright" is about average for the population many people are talking about.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:... isn't so terrific when they actually report the score, though.


You think? I don't mind. I actually do see a difference between the kid who has an above average IQ test score of say 125, and once who is up around 145 -- or higher! There is a big difference in the way the two kids think and learn, and it helps me picture the intellectual situation for lack of a better way to describe it. Same thing if parents are talking about their children with mental handicaps/retardation but one has a child with an IQ score of 75 and the other, 55.


So, according to what you stated above, if you had two kids with very different IQs, you'd treat them differently - one as the dumb bunny, the other as the king/queen of gifted and talented?
Anonymous
@8:51 I wonder how accurate that is? it would be interesting to know, from a statistical perspective, how skewed the average is vs. the regular population.

Not that it's important, just interesting.

About the "IQ in the 140's" thing -- I think people often say their kid's IQ is in that range when they don't actually know. Even if there are more relatively bright kids in this group, a score in the 140's is such an outlier score that I can't imagine there are a lot more here. I could be wrong though.
SAM2
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:@8:51 I wonder how accurate that is? it would be interesting to know, from a statistical perspective, how skewed the average is vs. the regular population.

Not that it's important, just interesting.

I've also been thinking about that same question for a while now with only moderate success. I did some analysis a while back with the Department of Education data on standardized tests, and posted it somewhere on DCUM. I think the result was that the top 10% scoring DC/MD/VA students had average scores that were somewhere in the top half of the states, but certainly not anything particularly impressive. I think I also once found some nice reports on the College Board SAT website that compared the SAT scores for different states, and perhaps even the 25th and 75th percentile scores. I seem to recall that report also suggested that DC/MD/VA students are somewhere in the middle of the pack. I did not save a copy, but I'm sure the data is still out there somewhere. My vague recollection is that Massachusetts really did well in both of those studies.

I think it's all very hard to analyze because the data is mostly statewide, and that lumps together poorly performing students with really strong students. That's why I looked at the DOE data on just the top-10% scoring students, so I could cull out data from others.

If others want to investigate further, I'm happy to supply you with what research I found previously.
Anonymous
How does an adult go about testing their IQ? As a child I was tested and scored reasonably high, but nowdays, I really can't imagine being that much above average. Could my IQ have lowered? And no, this is not a fake post. I'm seriously curious.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:If you need a test to figure out whether your kid is smart, he's not that smart.

If you want a test to see how smart your obviously smart kid is, the issue is with the parent's vanity.

Intelligence testing is best used for assessing children who may have problems, not to measure how smart a smart child is. Really smart people are outside the range of an intelligence test anyway.


Agree with this, we have never had our daughter testedd and really do not need to. We may apply to a private middle/high school in which case I think we may have to but I could not care less about the actual score.
Anonymous
I was in G&T, honors, AP, whatnot, and at some point they tested us, but my mother wouldn't find out the score, or didn't tell me if she did. I learned about it later and she said she thought it would make me (more) obnoxious.
Anonymous
How can you be "bragging" on an anonymous forum? I was the original poster on the raising a bright kid question. Yes, I know my child's IQ because of testing we did for many reasons, including school admission. Listen, when you have a child who seems off in some way, it is helpful to get the full picture. Transitions are hard for my child, not because of intelligence, but if I can play to his intelligence it helps me with other things. It's just one piece of the puzzle. It certainly does not define, in whole, who my child is or is going to be.

FWIW, I also knew my IQ before I went to college because of school testing. My parents did not want to tell me, but I found it on some records in my "memory box" that my mom was keeping. It helped me in some ways to know. I didn't feel as intimidated as I might have leaving a small town in the Midwest to go to a "big name" school. I knew I could likely keep up with most of the students and do well there. Likewise when I started my career. But IQ is certainly not everything. Hard work, street smarts, writing ability, etc. are huge indicators for external success. And of course happiness and personal well-being are far removed from IQ. Just my two cents for the day.

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