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My IQ TestUS

How our IQ test is designed and scored

Our test samples four reasoning abilities with 40 timed items, converts your raw score to the standard IQ scale (mean 100, SD 15) and reports it as an estimate with a margin of about ±7 points.

What the test measures

Item types are modelled on well-studied formats from the research literature: syllogisms and analogies for logical reasoning, matrix and series completion in the tradition of Raven's Progressive Matrices, numerical series similar to those in the Wechsler and Cattell scales, and mental rotation and folding tasks for spatial reasoning. Each category has ten items arranged roughly from easier to harder.

From raw score to IQ

Your raw score is the number of correct answers (0–40). We compare it with an assumed adult distribution — mean 22, standard deviation 6.5 — then compute a z-score and convert it with IQ = 100 + 15 × z. Percentiles come from the normal distribution. Scores are capped between 55 and 160 because short tests cannot discriminate reliably at the extremes.

Limitations you should know about

  • The norms are provisional estimates, not a large representative standardization sample like those used for the WAIS-IV.
  • Forty items yield lower reliability than a 60–90 minute clinical battery.
  • Online conditions vary — distraction, device and fatigue all affect results.
  • The test does not measure crystallized knowledge, memory or processing speed directly.

Privacy by design

Scoring runs entirely in your browser. We never receive your answers; only your score is placed in the shareable results link.

Editorial standards

Articles are written by Dr. Elena Marsh (Cognitive psychologist, PhD) and reviewed by Prof. Daniel Okafor (Psychometrician). We cite peer-reviewed research, use hedged language where evidence is uncertain and update pages when new findings appear. Read more about the science in our introduction to IQ and the IQ scale.

Key references

  • Raven, J., Raven, J. C., & Court, J. H. (1998). Manual for Raven's Progressive Matrices. Oxford Psychologists Press.
  • Wechsler, D. (2008). WAIS-IV Technical and Interpretive Manual. Pearson.
  • McGrew, K. S. (2009). CHC theory and the human cognitive abilities project. Intelligence, 37(1), 1–10.