We will probably get an IQ test for our 7yo son this summer, administered privately (few MA schools have gifted programs). An IQ test takes a few hours, right? We will have to travel some distance to have him tested. After all that, he will certainly be very curious about his score afterward (I understand that scoring the test and writing up the results may take weeks), and I think he has a right to know what it is.
If you are getting a good quality assessment the end number shouldn't be the sum of the experience or the main piece of information from the experience. Personally I would not present to my child that the reason to get an assessment is to get an IQ number because for us that was not one of the most important pieces. Further, I think it puts unnecessary and unhelpful pressure on a child to present it that way.
Instead I'd present it as an opportunity to better understand how he learns and what he needs educationally. That's how we presented it and our child has never asked asked the end number. He is in DYS and has information about the range. However, getting that information AFTER participating in the program provides a context where it makes more sense because he's met other kids and has the comfort of knowing even way out there on the bell curve there are still many like you.
