How we make our tests
A score is only as good as the questions and the arithmetic behind it. Here is how LifeScore writes, checks and scores every test, and the plain list of what each score cannot tell you.
By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Reviewed
Pick a test
- IQ test25 visual puzzles: how the score is made, and its margin of error
- CCAT practice testHow the questions are made and the percentile is estimated
- Wonderlic practice testHow the questions are made and the percentile is estimated
- ASVAB practice testHow the questions are made and the AFQT is estimated
- TEAS practice testHow the questions are made and the ATI level is estimated
- Reasoning practice testHow the questions are made and why there is no universal pass mark
Five rules every test follows
- 01
We show the working
Every test has a page that sets out how its score is calculated, with a table made by the same code that scores you. If the code changes, the page changes with it. - 02
An estimate is called an estimate
Percentiles and AFQT or ATI levels from a practice test are estimates. We say what each one assumes and where it stops being reliable, on the page where you see it. - 03
Original questions, one right answer
We never copy questions from a published test. Every question has one keyed answer, and automated checks run on every change to the site. - 04
We say what we have not done yet
The IQ test has not been normed on a test-taker sample, and the practice tests have not been compared with real exam results. The table below keeps score. - 05
Mistakes are fixed in public
Corrections are logged in the change log, and anyone can report one through the corrections policy.
What we have checked, and what we have not
Updated whenever one of these changes.
| Check | IQ test | Practice tests |
|---|---|---|
| Every answer key checked | Yes, 9 Sep 2026 | Generated: re-solved by code. Hand-written: keyed and explained |
| Automated checks on every change | Yes | Yes |
| Questions original to LifeScore | Yes | Yes |
| Scale fitted to a sample of test-takers | Not yet | Not yet |
| Reliability measured (retest study) | Not yet | Not yet |
| Compared with an established test | Not yet | Not yet |
| Reviewed by an outside expert | Not yet | Not yet |
The "not yet" rows are why every LifeScore result is described as an estimate. They are the work that would turn a good practice tool into a measured one, and this table will show it as it happens.
IQ percentiles and rarity
Score pages use the conventional IQ scale: mean 100 and standard deviation 15. Percentiles come from the cumulative normal distribution; rarity uses the relevant upper or lower tail. Values are rounded model estimates. A real result should also name the instrument and report its confidence interval, because norms and test ceilings differ.
Try it with the percentile calculator, read about confidence intervals, or see an exact score example. Converting SAT, ACT, GRE and other scores to IQ has its own method page.
Historical IQ estimates
Historical profiles are historiometric interpretations, never recovered test scores. Each page states whether a verified result exists, publishes a cautious range, assigns an evidence-confidence label, links sources and lists limitations. Achievement can support an inference of exceptional ability in a field, but it cannot establish an exact full-scale IQ.
Career cognitive-demand benchmarks
Representative IQ averages are not available for most occupations. LifeScore's career number is an editorial comparison benchmark derived from role-demand ratings and broad research on cognitive ability and work complexity. It is not an occupational average, hiring rule or minimum score. Career pages prioritise tasks, education, experience, personality fit and work context.
Personality and self-report quizzes
The personality test uses the Big Five (five-factor) model, the trait framework most widely used in personality research. Self-report quizzes describe how you see yourself today. They have no right answers, they are not normed against a population, and they compare your areas with each other rather than with other people.
Responsible use
Every LifeScore test is for learning, practice and self-reflection. None is a medical, psychological or educational diagnosis, and none should decide anything important about you on its own. If something is affecting your daily life, talk to a doctor or a qualified psychologist.
What's your IQ?
LifeScore is a 25-question online visual reasoning test. It is not a clinical assessment and is not administered by a psychologist.
25 questions · about 12 minutes