Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Have the parents themselves done IQ testing?

I know that this may seem like a rehash of another thread on the forum, but that thread is 3 years old now, so I made this one as a continuation of the aforementioned thread. I became interested in IQ about 2 years ago, so I tried to find something in my elementary school files other than report cards that would show I took some test. It turns out that I did take a group screener (CogAT), but my scores were below the requirements. Interestingly, I have heard many people to report that our school's gifted program did not help at all; however, most of the folks who went through that program tend to make excellent grades, a stereotype that is commonly referred to as "antithetical" for a gifted child (here, a gifted child commonly gets bad grades due to not doing the work, but scores high on tests). Meanwhile, one of my friends (clearly gifted, but possibly did not qualify with CogAT) kept receiving OK grades (mainly due to homework), but scored a 710 on the English portion of the PSAT and a 560 on the math portion (this score truncated by forgetting that there was a backside of the page with 8 more problems) in the 9th grade, totaling a 1270; clearly a score that indicates HG+ (I may be wrong, though), and in my opinion seemed opposite to what I had expected (I'd expected that since I got better grades than my friend, I'd get the higher PSAT score; this was before I knew anything about giftedness). I apologize if this took a large tangent, but my question is to the parents: Have you done childhood IQ testing (individual, screener, achievement test)? What was your PSAT score later on (middle school if taken for talent program, or high school if not)? How did testing (and gifted classes, if you qualified) affect your K-12 education?

I took the Miller Analogies Test for fun alongside an old girlfriend who was trying to get into a masters program. I had read that scores on this test would correspond to IQ scores. I was was curious how I'd fare since I seemed to recollect my mom explaining to me as a 2nd grader that I had a lot of "potential". My girlfriend got into her program, which at the time required 40 correct answers out of 100. I think I got pretty close to 80 correct, which got me into Mensa. That relationship nosedived soon after, but that could be another story. I thought the test was fun, actually.

I don't think I could sit down for a private IQ test now.

Flash forward 25 years and my wife and I end up having a (according to Hoagies site) a HG kid. I'm 60 now, so you can imagine the handful.

No. It is expensive and there would be no benefit. I did do a test for a job once that was probably a screener of some sort - analogies, logic puzzles etc. The person who reviewed the test said my 58/60 was the highest he had seen but scoring that high cost me the job. Apparently anybody in the past who scored over 40 tended to get bored quickly.

For future readers of this thread, the old thread referred to is:
Results from your childhood IQ test
(Feb 2016 - General Discussion)


Some people may be hesitant to share their testing experiences and subsequent education modifications as these details may reveal an individual's identity, especially when combined with information shared in other gifted communities.

I was assessed with an individual IQ test through my public school for qualification into the G&T program when I was 8 and got a 145; unfortunately I (and my parents) don't know what test was used or any of the subtest scores. The cutoff for the program was 130. In any case, I think the score is pretty accurate - I feel HG, but not quite PG. I later took the PSAT when I was 14 and got a 1400. My splits were 700/700, which I was surprised by because I'm more of math person. I believe I underperformed on math, based on my scores on other standardized tests. I was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.

As a student, I was pretty lazy but also a perfectionist; this meant I did the bare minimum to achieve As and 100s. I should note that I grew up in a neglectful/abusive home and was certainly extrinsically motivated (to try to please my parents) when it came to academics. My elementary school had a gifted pullout program in 4th and 5th grades for a half day each week, which I enjoyed. I spent the rest of my time in school bored (but quiet) and worked ahead on homework/reading/workbooks, etc. I remember faking stomachaches from time to time because I really did not want to go to school. In 4th grade, my teacher tried to have me formally work ahead in math and sat me at the back of the class while he did his normal lessons, but I hated that. I barely tried because I wanted to fit in and I also wondered what in the world I'd do when February rolled around and I was done with the textbook. Middle school was a mixed bag and I was definitely more into my social life (but still got As), a trend which continued into high school. I was in an very good school district and was able to take 10 AP classes and all honors classes otherwise. I didn't feel particularly challenged, but did somewhat enjoy school because of all the socializing, lol. My favorite classes were BC Calc and AP Physics, but felt too much of the learning was by rote with little emphasis on truly understanding the underlying theories/principles that informed the problem-solving procedures.

I ended up going to an Ivy for undergrad where I had to really work for my grades for the first time, but my laziness won out in the end - I changed my major a few times and ultimately graduated with a double major in two subjects that I chose more because they came easily to me rather than because of the passion they sparked. I then went to Oxbridge and another Ivy for graduate degrees. I'm now a SAHM but have many regrets regarding my career because I didn't have the gumption or work ethic to pursue my true passion (physics).

Anyway, sorry for the tome! I'm not sure if that was helpful, but I also figure some of these details might be useful for any parents whose kiddos are experiencing similar things in their school/life journeys.

I remember taking one somewhere around 4th or 5th grade, but my parents never told me the results. I suspect they were low, as it was quite an introverted kid and remember being very uncomfortable with the test/examiner, just wanting to get done and leave as soon as I could. Based on my pre-95 (Mensa-accepted) SAT, GMAT, and the Mega test back in the '90s, I think I have a decent estimate.

DD14 had the same issue when we tested her in 1st grade. While she scored high enough to get into the gifted program at school, the report noted that it was likely the score underestimated her actual capability due to her lack of engagement in the testing. Later SET/DYS memberships have shown this to likely be true, though she hasn't had another formal IQ test.

From what I have gathered, we were given some kind of screening test. No one of my siblings sat for an individual IQ test. Even if you scored well on the test, if you were shy, they said you could not be in the gifted program.

I have the report. It's actually several reports that document my mom's efforts to identify any learning disabilities. I've tried to organize it back into chronological order to help understand it as events in my life. The conclusion is essentially that I did have some identifiable learning disabilities, but because I wasn't actually falling behind in terms of achievement, then the school system wouldn't do anything.

The report went on to be used to get various accommodations in other school systems. (We moved a lot.) Essentially in each new school system it became a short cut to establish that I did have learning disabilities that would allow for things like taping lectures, or typing assignments.

While the numbers are interesting (WISC-R), what was more interesting were comments. For instance, there was a note that when asked to recall a nonsense sentence, I kept rearranging the words until it made sense and only recalled the rearranged version. There's also an undercurrent between the lines of the school being a bit frustrated/humoring my mom.

If I took the PSAT, I don't remember it and don't have those results. I never took the SAT. I took the ACT to apply to colleges. It had the benefit of not having to compare SAT scores to anyone .