In the article they referred to this other child as "genius", and said her tests scores (IQ) were one point away from Steven Hawking and Albert Einstein!?! this can't be correct?! Surely the likes of Steven Hawking must be off the charts?? like a 199 or something.
You're correct. The scores of Hawking and Einstein come from comparing their performances to those of others in their age groups, and the score of the 4yo is calculated by comparing her with other 4yos.
There's also the Flynn effect, which notes the changes on the general intelligence of the population based on factors like improved nutrition and access to stimulating materials. As general intelligence rises, tests have to be re-normed from time to time, or else they give results that are misleadingly high. I'm not sure there are enough 4yos taking IQ tests to give them an adequate sample for re-norming for that age group very often.
composite intell...159 (%ILE>99.99;SEM=153-161, 90%confidence interval)
I would especially love to understand what the gibberish in the ( ) after composite is telling me? that there could be an error with the test?
What this gibberish is giving you is a measure of just how accurate/inaccurate this test has been for your child.
%ILE>99.99 - Pretty straightforward, this says your daughter outscored more than 99.99% of her age peers.
SEM=153-161 - SEM stands for Standard Error of Measurement. It's indicating that the true score may lie somewhere within the given range.
90% confidence interval - Self-explanatory.
Overall, these numbers say you can be very confident in the results of this test. On a different test, on a different day, with your DD in a different mood, the scores will shift somewhat, but you should be able them to land pretty much in the given SEM range.
I would also love to hear if others here share with their children their test scores, or the truth about being gifted. Obviously if in gifted they must have some clue, but like the child in the article, at some point (if not already) she will know exactly what her IQ is and what that means compared to others. Is this a good/bad/or neither thing for children?
thank you.
I do not have any intention of giving my daughter her score.
1) I don't want her using it as a social measuring stick among the gifted kids.
2) Based on the SEM and %confidence info discussed above, you can see that the number isn't particularly useful.
But otherwise, I'm completely open to my DD about the fact that she is gifted, and what that means. She already knows she's different anyway, so the information helps her process exactly how she differs, and how to deal with it.
Besides, the only accommodation we've been able to get for her at school is enrollment in a class that's openly labelled "gifted," so keeping it from her wouldn't serve any point.
