There are many different types of intelligence tests, and they all measure something slightly differently. Those who take the test may be asked to solve problems or answer questions based on logic, math, reading comprehension, spatial orientation skills, and more. The result is a score that reflects how someone performs in these areas.
For instance: some people might have strong verbal abilities but not so much math knowledge while others excel at language arts but struggle with fractions. This blog post will cover nine of the most common intelligence tests to help you better understand what your strengths and weaknesses may be when taking them!
Are intelligence tests a definitive measurement of someone’s mental capacity?
They aren’t a definitive measurement of someone’s mental capacity, but they can serve as an indicator of their mental health and abilities. For example, we all know that the IQ test has a maximum total score and that nobody will generate a perfect score on any given test. It is also possible for people to administer inaccurate answers without knowing the correct responses “by chance.” This causes discrepancies and errors in results when comparing scores from different tests to each other – this makes it difficult to draw conclusions about scores with certainty because every context affects how well people do on these tests.
What Is an Intelligence Test?
An intelligence test is a standardized measure of intelligence. They are designed to assess various cognitive abilities, including problem solving, verbal reasoning, and spatial ability. Intelligence tests are used for a variety of purposes, such as predicting academic success, determining giftedness or disability status, and diagnosing intellectual disabilities.
There are a variety of intelligence tests available, but the most common one is the IQ test. The IQ test measures general intelligence and consists of a series of tasks that measure different aspects of cognitive ability. There are also many commercially available tests that claim to measure specific types of intelligence (e.g., creativity or musical ability), but there is little scientific evidence to support their validity.
WISC-4
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Fourth Edition) (WISC-IV) is an intelligence test, geared primarily toward youth. It is composed of ten subtests and gives three verbal and five performance IQ scores designed to produce age-based percentile rankings. The intended purpose of the WISC-IV’s subtests are to produce quotient or scaled scores that can be used in interpreting a child’s intellectual ability; scaled scores yield measurements for different aspects of cognition including verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and visual memory.
WISC-R
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Revised (WISC) is an intelligence test, often used to assess IQ in children 4-16 years old. It measures many skills including verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, quantitative knowledge and memory ability. The WISC-R was available in both American and British English forms (now called the U.S. Edition and the UK Edition respectively). A subsequent revision of the test ushered in a separate version for under age 6 referred to as the WPPSI matched items – comprising only items drawn from other Wechsler intelligence scales which are appropriate to each age group’s verbal level of understanding. There are some differences between WISC-4 and WISC-R. You can find further information here.
STANDFORD-BINET
The Standford-BINET intelligence test is a widely used intelligence test that measures skills in five areas: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, knowledge, working memory, and visualization.
The Standford-Binet is one of the most popular intelligence tests in use today. It is often used to identify intellectual giftedness in children, and to help diagnose learning disabilities. The test is also used to measure cognitive ability in adults.
WAIS
WAIS is a intelligence test in psychology that measures intelligence in people. The test is designed to allow individuals of different ages, abilities, and educational backgrounds to measure their intellectual strengths and weaknesses according to the current theory of intelligence. WAIS’s formulation is based on the general requirements for an IQ with increased emphasis on measuring verbal intelligence through word knowledge, comprehension skills, information retrieval skills, etc. This more recent focus distinguishes the newest version of WAIS from older tests like Binet IQ which used vocabulary questions (see Woodcock-Johnson IV).
CATTELL 2A and CATTELL 3A
CATTELL 2A is a intelligence test that meets psychometric analysis standards for an IQ test. Its purpose is to generate IQ scores in the classic 70-140 range, which has been used in all sorts of psychology research papers since the 1920s. It differs from other IQ tests in generating three different types of data through modular items in order to give a more precise identification of intellectual abilities.
The CATTELL 2A model builds upon this early work and extends it with interactive components and information processing models derived from cognitive science; these new features make it possible to represent core psychological processes involved at various levels and offer new insights on intelligence and cognition (Piaget, Kohlberg).
The Catell 3A intelligence test is a measure of cognitive ability that is based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of intelligence. It consists of a set of tasks that measure fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and quantitative reasoning. The difference between CATTELL 2A and 3A is that 2A is for childen between the ages of 7-14 and 3A is for people over the age of 14.
ALEXANDER
The Alexander intelligence test (popularly also known as the “Alexander method”) is a non-verbal, pictorial reasoning test designed to measure the intelligence of children and adults. The test was first published in 1939 by Alfred B. Alexander, an American educator and psychologist.
The test is made up of 12 items, each containing a series of three pictures. The task for the respondent is to choose the picture in the series that best matches the target picture. The test measures ability to solve problems through visual reasoning and pattern recognition skills. It is one of a number of non-verbal intelligence tests, including Raven’s Progressive Matrices and the Weschler Non-Verbal Scale of Intelligence.
PORTEUS
The Porteus Maze test (PMT) is a psychological exam that was developed by University of Hawaii psychology Professor Stanley Porteus. It’s a nonverbal intelligence test. Developed by University of Hawaii psychology professor Stanley Porteus, the PMT is a nonverbal intelligence screening exam.
The subject is required to complete a test that involves solving a series of mazes. The mazes are of various levels of difficulty. The test lasts around 15–60 minutes, allowing the individual to attempt as many mazes as possible. The Wechsler intelligence tests are used in addition to this subtest as a supplementary subtest. The exam is designed for children aged three years and up.
Goodenough–Harris Draw-a-Person Test
The Draw-a-Person test is a psychological projective personality or cognitive test that may be used to assess children and teenagers for a range of purposes. Here, “draw” implies painting rather than pulling (a person physically or a card with a portrait from a stack).
This test, developed by Dr. Florence Goodenough in 1926, was formerly known as the Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test. It is described in her book titled Measurement of Intelligence By Drawings. Dale B. Harris later updated and expanded the test, which is now known as the Goodenough–Harris Drawing Test. The revision and extension is detailed in his book Children’s Drawings as Measures of Intellectual Maturity (1963).
The Draw-a-Person test is frequently employed to assess children’s intelligence, but this has been challenged.
