Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Telling kids their IQ score?

Apologies in advance if there was a thread on this. Perhaps I'm not searching the archives properly as I wasn't able to find a similar discussion.

Do you or don't you tell your child his/her IQ score? Why or why not? I'd love your thoughts.

Background: we may be getting DS8 tested soon. He is very keen on IQ testing. But I'm not sure I want him to know the score. He's quite mature for his age so possibly he will understand when I ask him to keep it to himself. I think what I'm concerned about is that he may start "defining" himself and what he can or cannot do based on the number. I really don't want that to happen. He reads a lot about brain research etc so he has a good level of knowledge about IQ scores, learning styles etc. I am anxious about how he will use the knowledge and how it will affect his self-esteem etc especially if he has certain expectations of himself.

Here's some discussion points if you decide to:
http://www.iqtest.com/whatisaniqscore.html
Skip the top part and scroll down to the heading "defining intelligence".

And a good talk about Carol Dweck's theory.
http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol8no3_feature.html
Wether she's right or not she makes a good analogy.

I have more than one child. Unless they somehow end up with the same exact score, one's higher, one's lower. I'm not going there.

I am a believer in telling kids their IQ scores. I don't feel that I have a right to hold that information and not pass it on. Having said that, I haven't told dd, but she's only 5. She knows she is gifted though. But not in a 'wow, you're so special because you're gifted' kind of way, but in a if you find yourself feeling misunderstood this could be the issue, here are the great things about it, here are some things you might find a challenge kind of way. She was visibly relieved to have that information, even at 5. Some expert, I can't remember who, said that they felt that info would be appropriate to share once the child had a mental age of around 12. I am sure others will disagree and will have very valid reasons for doing so. I don't know that it's a straightforward decision. I guess from my perspective it feels disrespectfully to have that kind of information about a person (any person) and keep if from them. Though when I do discuss it with dd it will be within the context of it only being meaningful in particular ways.

I have not given my kids the test scores - only assured them that they are bright. I think an 8 year old is especially young to fully digest what the scores may or may not mean. In both my children'a cases they have wide scatter, and both the neuropsychologist and I have explained to them their strengths and weaknesses. (ie your verbal and non verbal "thinking" skills are quite high. What this means is....... You have a bit more difficulty processing information quickly - speedily taking it in and spitting it back out . You probably see this when....... What this means is.........). My son is now 14 and is invited to IEP meetings. He will be there the next time he is evaluated (age 16) and we discuss the report and the numbers - IQ and others. I feel uneasy about this, but I do believe he should have access to the "numbers" as he moves toward adulthood. And, he will have the maturity and sense of self to keep the data in perspective. But, even at his last evaluation, (age 13) we did not give him the nitty gritty details.

My son has taken the WISC IV 4 times. His scores follow the same general pattern, but are NEVER the same. I agree with the Dottie that there are far too many variables that affect the "number" and therefore I don't want my kids to label themselves with an IQ score that seems to be a moving target. Plus, we talk about multiple intelligences. Since both my kids have learning disabilities, it is important for them to understand the other "gifts" they bring to the table. For instance, the WISC doesn't measure leadership, interpersonal savvy, "stick to it ness", and like-ability. Yet, these skills go a long way toward school and life success.

I'd like to help them think more broadly about what it means to be smart and successful. Admittedly, my perspective may be different since I have one average kid and one gifted, and the average one has it much easier in school.

I think a child should be told his precise IQ score when he has a sufficiently good knowledge of statistics to understand what the number means.

Here is a story. I was tested in elementary school, and let's call the score 140. It was explained to me as the quotient of mental to chronological age, and I remember when a school counselor told me "10 year olds are not ready to do XYZ" I shot back "my mental age is 14 because my IQ is 140". He thought this statement was arrogant and did not grant my request. I did not see the error in my reasoning.

LOL - this is a great answer. And I totally agree. I like Dottie's discussion too. I just talked to someone yesterday who has a Ruf tested child and Ruf said the final scores for her child were extremely low because the child played mind games and shut down during testing. Anytime you are talking about a young child's scores, you may not have the full picture for so many reasons.

Someday I'll hand my kids ALL the test data I have on them when I don't think they'll feel defined by it. The IQ scores especially are 1 number on 1 day and I think it's easy to lay quite a bit of significance into something that could be different with another tester, a better breakfast, a different mood etc.

I do also agree with this. Having the knowledge that I was gifted and the ramifications of that would have been a huge relief in elementary school. I really always thought something was wrong with me because I didn't fit. I do talk to my kids about it in this way.

I agree completely. Talking about giftedness and what that means to your children and how they feel about their world is probably one of the most important things we will do for them.

But giving them their exact number? I don't see any upside to it.

I think asking an 8 year old not to blurt is probably a mistake. I know that 8 year olds can be very cute, and mature seeming, but trust me, the hormones are right around the corner, and all that mature-seeming behavior can fly right out the window. 'nough said? For me, i did endup having some sort of discussion with my son around age 8, but only because there was a specific concern and worry.

He was attending a gifted summer camp for the first time and a very difficult year in school. He was quite vulnerable, and I just didn't think it was ethical to send him into a situation for OG kids, and risk that he's still feel left out and blame himself for not fitting in.

We talked about the bell curve, its shape and how every program has cutoffs. I explained that this particular camp had a cut off at 2SD, and that his scores were around 3SD. And we talked about that kids like him are rare even in groups like this, that are set aside for gifted. Turns out that he had a wonderful time and it was a thrill to pick him up every evening with color in his cheeks!

If you do decide to share scores, I would caution you, that IQ scores don't measure 'smartness' they measure rareness. So someone with a 140 IQ isn't 2x smarter than someone with a 70 IQ. IQ scores only rank folks -which has some clear issues- and give an idea of how unusually 'abnormal.'

In a world where there was no urge to codify what various age kids are ready learn, there would be no need to define 'normal' and no such thing as abnormal. Johnny would just have a readiness to learn profile at a particular moment, and adult would try various ways to get Johnny and the next skill on the list together.

It would be so cool if one could look at the DNA or brain scans of kids who love music or literature and see a consistient difference - but science just isn't there yet. I would do the IQ testing for educational placement purposes, but I wouldn't give an 8 year old a number. I would just share the 'relative rareness' and any bottlenecks, along with some stratagies to overcome them.

I will take a wild guess that your son might enjoy Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" if he wants to get more into what makes people suceed. Good for him for reading about brain research.

Enjoy,
Grinity