Question
What IQ is above average?
Short answer
Any IQ above 100 is above the average, because 100 is the mean by design. By the WAIS-IV labels, the Average band runs from 90 to 109, so 110 is the first score labeled above average (High Average). On the statistical view, 115 and above is more than one standard deviation above the mean.
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Three ways to draw the line
Above the mean: over 100
The simplest answer. 100 is the middle of the scale, so 101 is above it. But 101 and 99 are the same score for any practical purpose, because every test has a few points of error.
Above the Average label: 110 and up
The WAIS-IV calls 90 to 109 Average and 110 to 119 High Average (Wikipedia: IQ classification). So 110 is the first score a report would describe as above average. About 16.6% of people score in the High Average band.
Above the typical range: over 115
About 68% of people score between 85 and 115, within one standard deviation of the mean (the 68-95-99.7 rule). A score above 115 is outside that typical range, higher than about 84.1% of people.
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 2 is the original figure turned a quarter turn counterclockwise.
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 quarter turn counterclockwise gives option 2.
- 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.
Scores above average, at a glance
| IQ | Higher than about |
|---|---|
| IQ 105 | 63.1% |
| IQ 110 | 74.8% |
| IQ 115 | 84.1% |
| IQ 120 | 90.9% |
| IQ 125 | 95.2% |
Why the line is blurry
Every score carries measurement error. A score of 108 on one day could be 112 on another, which would cross the line into High Average without anything real changing. That is why it helps to read a score as a range and to look at the percentile, which tells you more directly how you compare. It also matters which scale a test uses: on a test with a standard deviation of 16 or 24, the same position on the curve prints as a bigger number, so a score that looks above average on one test may simply be on a wider scale. The guide to why scores differ explains the conversion.
For a softer question, read what is a good IQ score. For the full set of labels, see the guide to IQ classification.
Sources
- IQ classification. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_classification
- 68-95-99.7 rule. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/68%E2%80%9395%E2%80%9399.7_rule