Where to Get an IQ Test in Person?

February 22, 2007 2:35 PM

My mom (in her late 70s) wants to, for the 1rst time in her life, be tested to find out what her IQ is. She's not linked to the net to do this online, so to who or where could she go in person that would be reliable and reasonably priced to test her IQ ?
posted by Kellyu to Education (16 answers total)

Most shrinks can do it. Also check on the MENSA website, they test your IQ before joining so she could try it there.
posted by PowerCat at 2:37 PM on February 22, 2007

Psychologists will be able to do it. You could probably get a DIY test from a psych. prof. at the local college or university.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 2:45 PM on February 22, 2007

Most bookstores will have books similar to this available if she just wants a rough guide.
posted by drezdn at 2:59 PM on February 22, 2007

I think University Psychology Depts. may be the place to look.
Grad Students often have to practice giving them - so she might be able to get herself in as a guinea pig.
posted by heh3d at 3:22 PM on February 22, 2007

Even at a university, it's expensive. I had it done by a psychology grad student last year and it cost me $500-- and I had to have a referral from a physician and a valid reason for wanting the test, and even then I stayed on a waiting list for several months. Having it done by a real psychologist or psychiatrist will cost at least $1,000.

Really, just get one of the books from Amazon... all you really need is a rough estimate.
posted by chickletworks at 3:40 PM on February 22, 2007

I'm a former school psychologist and I used to do them for $120. Call your school district and get a school psych on the line. They don't make much money, so they'll help you for cheap.

Yes, they can do adults - they just have to pick up a different testing box on their way out the door.
posted by crapples at 4:17 PM on February 22, 2007

I had one done by graduate students at a local university completely free, although it was several years ago. I would check with a university.
posted by btkuhn at 5:07 PM on February 22, 2007

Does your grandmother never visit your house, where presumably you are connected to the net? I guess what I'm saying is, why not have your grandma come visit you and let her do it online. You'll earn massive brownie points too, I imagine, especially if you throw in some tea and cake etc.
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:38 PM on February 22, 2007

Sorry, mother, not grandmother. Same advice applies, however.
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:40 PM on February 22, 2007

Do you think she could be seeking reassurance that she is not developing dementia (alzheimers, most likely)?

If so, finding a way of gently raising the issue with her and then laying it to rest as much as possible may save everyone a lot of grief.
posted by jamjam at 6:34 PM on February 22, 2007

The Scientologists will be happy to give anyone a free IQ test at the nearest Dianetics center. Free personality test also. And LOTS of advice on how to improve both, or course!
posted by Etaoin Shrdlu at 6:35 PM on February 22, 2007

I guess what I'm saying is, why not have your grandma come visit you and let her do it online.

Online tests are not proper psychometric instruments. Tests like the Ravens and Wechsler are carefully designed and calibrated by psychologists and are not the same thing as those novelty Tickle tests.

I would look online to see if local universities were looking for volunteers for studies that might include this measure. Cognitive ability tests are frequently given to older people in aging-related studies (e.g. Alzheimer research) and they might even pay her to get her IQ tested.
posted by dgaicun at 6:42 PM on February 22, 2007

The distance between chicago and new york is 8000 miles? I have absolutely no idea if that is true or not! That's because IQ tests are culturally biased, and such silly things could artificially reduce your IQ.

I remember a question on an IQ test I took - what tree uses all the vowels of the alphabet. Whatever the answer was, I had never even heard of this tree!

Tell your grandma this, and tell her that very smart people can score badly on IQ tests. She should not do it, it's a waste of money.
posted by markovich at 1:17 AM on February 23, 2007

MENSA looks like it would be $30 for the test and $30 for the evaluation of the test results. MENSA practice "intelligence quiz" for free and a rough idea -- it's internet based, maybe you could print it out and send it to her?
posted by KAS at 6:47 AM on February 23, 2007

Response by poster: The idea that my mom (not grandma, who's been long deceased) might be needing reassurance about her mental abilities as a reason for doing this *never* occurred to me, yeow! She has had some memory problems, sometimes her short-term memory seems pretty sub-par. Makes me realize this needs further looking into than I originally thought, as I just thought before she was seeking to do this on a mere whim.

Some excellent suggestions here, thanks very, very much!
posted by Kellyu at 6:55 AM on February 23, 2007

Kellyu,

Find a local university that holds classes on intelligence testing. Usually these classes are a part of school or couseling psychology programs. Students in these classes have to adminster IQ tests for course credit, and they are usually desperate for people to test.

Whatever you do, do not be satisfied with a test that does not include a battery of subtests with different items, or one that is very short. Good IQ tests like the WAIS derive a score from a wide variety of tests and are long enough to be free from error. Many of the above posters have recommended tests that are very short, include limited item types, and have dubious norms. These tests will tell you little more than whether you are high, medium, or low.

IQ scores get all of their meaning from the norming sample. 100 IQ is simply the average score in the norming sample. Acquireing good norming samples is extremely expensive. Therefore, cheap tests cannot really give you an accurate score.
posted by Paladin165 at 4:41 PM on November 15, 2007