The science of intelligence
What does gifted mean?
Short answer
Gifted means performing, or being able to perform, well above others of the same age and background in one or more areas. There is no single IQ cutoff. The 1994 mainstream statement called IQ 130 often considered the threshold, while the National Association for Gifted Children calls the top 10 percent a good guide.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
The NAGC definition
The National Association for Gifted Children says students with gifts and talents perform, or have the capability to perform, at higher levels than others of the same age, experience and environment in one or more domains, and that they need changes to their education to reach their potential (NAGC). Three features stand out. Giftedness is relative to similar peers, it can show up in just one area, and it is defined partly by a need: these students are not well served by the standard program.
The Marland definition
A second definition comes from the Marland Report to Congress, dated August 1971 and often cited as 1972. It defined gifted and talented children as those identified by professionally qualified persons who, by virtue of outstanding abilities, are capable of high performance (Marland, 1971). It listed six areas, singly or in combination (Marland, 1971):
- general intellectual ability
- specific academic aptitude
- creative or productive thinking
- leadership ability
- visual and performing arts
- psychomotor ability
Only the first is what an IQ test mainly samples. The report said using these criteria would identify a minimum of 3 to 5 percent of the school population, and its conservative estimate was 1.5 to 2.5 million students out of 51.6 million (Marland, 1971).
Try one · Spatial Reasoning
Which option is the same shape, only rotated?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
Option 1 is the original figure turned a half turn.
How to solve it
- Pick a landmark: the marked cell or the end of the longest arm.
- Turn the figure in your head and watch where that landmark goes, and which side the other cells end up on.
- Turning the figure a half turn gives option 1.
- Each of the other options is a mirror image: flipping it over would match, but no turn does.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
So what IQ is gifted?
No single score is official. The 1994 mainstream statement put the share of Americans scoring above IQ 130, "often considered the threshold for giftedness," at about 3% (Gottfredson, 1997). NAGC says many consider the top 10 percent relative to a national or local norm a good guide for identification and services, while noting the number of gifted children is hard to estimate (NAGC). Because these reference points are percentiles, they can be placed on the IQ scale (mean 100, SD 15):
| Reference point | Share of people | IQ at that point |
|---|---|---|
| NAGC guide: top 10 percent | 10% | about 119 |
| Marland minimum: 3 to 5 percent | 3% to 5% | about 125 to 128 |
| Mensa: top 2 percent | 2% | about 131 |
| IQ 130 | about 1 in 44 | 130 |
The Marland and NAGC figures describe how many students to serve, not IQ cutoffs, so the IQ column only shows where those shares fall if IQ alone were used. Mensa accepts scores at or above the 98th percentile on an approved, supervised test (Mensa International). Schools and programs choose their own measures and cutoffs, which is why the same child can qualify in one district and not another. The IQ 130 and top 2 percent pages show the math.
The Terman study
The best-known study of high-ability children is Lewis Terman's at Stanford. It enrolled 1,528 participants: 1,470 California children with a Stanford-Binet IQ of 135 or above, plus 58 of their siblings, and restudied them at 5 to 10 year intervals over about 70 years (Terman Life-Cycle Study (Maelstrom)). A score of 135 is about the top 1% on today's scale, roughly 1 in 100.
Why one score is not enough
Any single IQ score carries measurement error, and clinical manuals report a confidence interval of often around plus or minus 5 points at 95% (Wechsler, 2008). A child measured at 128 and one measured at 132 may not differ at all. And a high score is not a promise: the 1994 statement said a high IQ "no more guarantees success than a low IQ guarantees failure in life" (Gottfredson, 1997). Creativity, another Marland area, is only weakly tied to IQ, as covered in creativity and intelligence. For the related labels, see what is considered a high IQ and what IQ is considered genius.
Sources
- National Association for Gifted Children. What is giftedness? (accessed 2026-10-21). nagc.org/what-is-giftedness
- Marland, S. P., Jr. (1971). Education of the gifted and talented, Volume 1: Report to the Congress of the United States by the U.S. Commissioner of Education. ERIC ED056243. eric.ed.gov/?id=ED056243
- Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Mainstream science on intelligence: An editorial with 52 signatories, history, and bibliography. Intelligence, 24(1), 13-23. doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90011-8
- Maelstrom Research. Terman Life-Cycle Study of Children with High Ability, study record (accessed 2026-10-21). www.maelstrom-research.org/study/tlcs
- About us. Mensa International. www.mensa.org/mensa/about-us
- Wechsler, D. (2008). WAIS-IV Technical and Interpretive Manual. Pearson.