IQ Test for Seniors

Yes and no. On a properly normed test, your IQ compares you with people your own age, so it tends to stay fairly stable. Your raw reasoning speed does change.

The Lothian Birth Cohort studies in Scotland showed this directly. People who sat the Scottish Mental Survey at 11, in 1932, were traced and retested at around 79. Their childhood and later-life scores correlated at roughly 0.6 to 0.7: people largely kept their place relative to their peers, even though everyone's raw scores had shifted.

Different abilities age differently. Vocabulary and general knowledge often hold up well into the 70s, while speed on unfamiliar timed puzzles declines gradually from early adulthood. The Seattle Longitudinal Study, which has followed adults since 1956, found little reliable decline in most abilities before about 60, with clearer declines for most abilities from the late 60s and 70s onwards.

On a standard IQ test the average at 60, 70, 80 or 90 is 100, because scores are calculated against people of the same age. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the most widely used clinical IQ test, has norms up to age 90 for exactly this reason.

What changes is the raw performance behind that 100. An average 75 year old solves fewer timed puzzles than an average 25 year old, so the same number of correct answers counts for more at 75 on an age-normed test.

Important: our score is not age-adjusted. Everyone is scored on the same scale, so a 75 year old is not being compared only with other 75 year olds. If your result is lower than you expected, that is a large part of the reason.

• The 12-minute timer is the same for everyone. There is no extended-time mode, so treat the clock as a guide and answer what you can. When time runs out, the test finishes with the answers you have given.
• The puzzles are diagrams. A tablet or laptop screen makes them easier to see than a small phone.
• You can go back and change an answer before time is up.
• If you refresh the page by accident, your progress is kept.

It tests reasoning, which is one kind of cognition, but it is not a cognitive screening test and it is not medical. It cannot detect dementia, memory problems or any other condition, and a low score does not mean something is wrong.

Screening tools that doctors use, such as the MoCA or the Mini-Cog, are different. They check memory, orientation and attention, and they are given and interpreted by a trained professional.

If you or someone close to you has noticed changes in memory or everyday thinking, the right step is to talk to a GP or doctor. Use this test for what it is: a challenging set of puzzles and a rough picture of how you reason today.