IQ Test for 12 Year Olds

Giving bright 12 year olds a test designed for older students has a long history. In 1971 Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University began the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, which gave 12 and 13 year olds the SAT, a test meant for students applying to college.

Tests built for older students have more headroom, so they can separate children who would all hit the ceiling of a test built for their age. The study followed thousands of these children for decades.

The difference is that talent searches compare each child with other 12 year olds who took the same test. We do not. Our scoring is the same for everyone and is not adjusted for age.

• Let them take it alone, in one go, somewhere quiet. Helping changes the result.
• The 12-minute timer runs for everyone. Running out of time is normal and not a sign of anything.
• The first puzzle in each set is easy and the last is hard. Most people of any age miss some of the hardest ones.
• Talk about the result as a puzzle score, not a verdict.

On a normed test like the WISC-V, which psychologists use for ages 6 to 16, 100 is average for a 12 year old and about two thirds of children score between 85 and 115. Many UK secondary schools use CAT4 around the start of Year 7, which reports a standard score on a similar scale.

Because our test is not age-normed, a 12 year old will usually get fewer questions right than an adult with the same relative ability. A modest result at 12 is expected, not worrying.