w00t! Granted I guessed on some of the picture things. That kind of stuff doesn't make much sense to me.
This reminds me of a story one of my Political Science professors told in college. We were talking about how IQ tests can have unintended bias in them. During his test he was presented with 4 simple line drawings and had to identify which of the 4 was a healthier breakfast. The idea was that a smart person would choose the cereal over the doughnut (shown as a simple ring). He picked the doughnut, and when asked why he looked up and said, "I think bagels are a pretty good breakfast." I used to hold a lot of stock in IQ tests. When I was younger I really wanted to get tested so that I could get into Mensa. I used to take practice tests and made an attempt to learn as many brain teasers as possible. I took all kinds of on-line IQ tests, passing off the ones that returned low results, and praising tests that gave favorable results. Then I looked around and saw how many seemingly stupid people were getting along just fine, and how many seemingly intelligent people were pissing their lives away. I know my own limitations. I know what I can and can't do, what I can and can't understand, and that's good enough for me. -monkey
I did a Mensa one a few years ago and scored 162, which seems a bit ridiculous as it puts me in some daft percentile. I'm met plenty of folk who I consider more intelligent then myself, so I'd take any result with a pinch of salt.
125 on the first test there... same as i was tested with years ago. What bugs me though is that a HELL of a lot of the "cognitive" bits i based around reason alone. For example if there's 3 balls of one colour and 2 of another in all the pictures, then there's four of the buggers and 2 in 3 of the examples, which will be right? lol
I hate al these stupid iq tests. Some people get so obsessed over these. I consider myself smart, but im not someone to show it off. Most people assume im a druggie from the way i look and act. Having a limited amount of choices in the inherit problem. As long as you can guess, then there is a chance to get a question right for something you know nothing about or do not understand.
got a 116 not bad as im @ work and have to talk to customers in between doing the test IQ tests a bit BS, I did a mensa test when I was 8/9 and they wrote to me back and told me I had an IQ of 138, which is 10points off getting in to Mensa at the time, altho I think im getting dumber Regards GiGo PS best of luck Lovah, sure you'll ace it and get to look @ us all and say you thick shits
i know im dumb i did crap in the test, im just waiting for it to work out what i got 115 lol not bad considering i ran off to have a phone call, and i guessed quite a few as i couldn't be bothered lol
I took the test this afternoon. They started out by explaing wich kind of test they use and why. The test only had logic and math-based series. They claim it to be the most objective and best to compare with. They continued explaining that language-based questions were influenced by your native tongue and education. And history etc even more influenced by education. So thats why they not use them. Anyway, I think I did alright, completed all series, except one. But there is no real way of knowing, I'll just have to wait 3-4 weeks before getting the result. I have reconsidered putting it on my CV (If I was to pass). I guess it could be thought of as 'showoff'. But I just wanna know for myself.. else I'll just keep on wondering. The reason I started all this is the following: A few of really dumb people from my class get better results then I do. Given that I don't try that 'hard', while they might study all year long.. but still.. In class I'm always really fast at finding a solution/result for a problem and I'm pretty good at making 'connections' between different subjects. So I wanna know if I'm really good, or just the only one in the class actually trying... I just wanted to know how smart I am.. or not. I hope this brings me some insight. Thanks for your thoughts and opinions on this! L
That's understandable. Just remember that academic test scores are a very poor mark of actual intelligence. Just because those "dumb" guys in your class score higher than you, doesn't make you dumber than them. All my friends scored higher than me in school. Mostly it was due to apathy on my part; I had no desire to study hard and make good grades. Then we all took the SAT (national standardized test in America, used for college admission). Because my grades were never that good, none of them could understand how I outscored the lot of them. It's all relative. As you said, you're good at making connections between different subjects and drawing conclusions based on those parallels. I'd say that's pretty good, and means a lot more to me than a test score. I hope your IQ test brings the answer you're looking for. Best of luck to you! -monkey
Thanks for your reply supermonkey. And indeed.. I don't have the need to score high either.. I just wanna 'pass' each year. Too bad we don't have those SAT's. L
The SATs are decent at some things but overall they're prone to the same failures as any other standardized tests. There are classes to teach people how to take the test and get questions right without knowing the answer. Additionally if you're having a good day or a bad one it can affect your score by a significant ammount and people tend to apply too much weight to the scores your recieve.
Kind of narrows their scope though. Plenty of people score poorly in non-verbal logical reasoning and number skills tests, while scoring really high on verbal logical reasoning and comprehension tests. Then there are social reasoning skills to consider... I would argue that their assessment is incomplete and biased. It is often argued that what people learn at school is not cognitive skills and knowledge in general, but just doing well on tests specifically. Indeed many IQ tests are considerably influenced by level/years of education, even when they are supposed to measure relatively stable innate abilities.
I guess this depends on the class. My public school experience (which comes to a close on June 20th) has been about genuinely learning rather than testing for testing's sake. I cant make this statement for all school systems, since I can only speak for the ~1300 students at my school. Perhaps I'm just lucky
Well, school is what you make of it. If you actually have the desire to learn, you're going to pick up the material, and you may even seek out additional material to supplement a lack in any given area. For the general, John Q Pulicshooler - at least here in Texas - school is all about learning how to succeed on standardized tests. The education administration folks are all about the standardized test, and they are used for everything from teacher evaluations to determining funding for schools that don't meet certain levels. Add to that the fact that there are too many different tests, and they change too frequently to be of any real use. The majority of the teachers (you know, the ones who actually spend time in the classroom) express concern that too much curriculum is being focused on testing. Lessons plans are all centered around how to get better test scores rather than teaching actual concepts. That's where the individual learning comes in. -monkey
Here in California, the entire curriculum is designed around the standardized testing. The only exceptions for me are Algebra 2/trig and AP European History since most of the advanced classes do not have the standardized tests. AP Euro is designed around the Ap test in may, but my teacher does not have to teach certain things at certain times of the year, allowing us to spend our limited time in the most effective way possible. In theses classes we are able to spend more time on certain topics in which most of the class is having problems. In my regular classes if the class does not understand a topic, the teachers cannot go over that topic more since they are forced to continue. As a result, people are doing worse on the regular tests, along with not doing very well on the standardized tests. Theses tests force bad teachers to teach more, but they also greatly hinder the ability of good teachers to teach.
We do (or did IIRC) have similar exams. There was 2 layers, 11+ and SATS, but now its only SATS with unofficial 11+. They are more for the pupils though, showing what they are strong at so they can choose their appropriate modules.
You're lucky. Down here in the Kent School District, everything is changing towards a focus entirely on the WASL. 40% of the students at my high school last year failed the WASL, believe it or not. For those of you who don't know, the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) is a test which is required to graduate from High School. It's a fairly recent addition to the educational system. It's taken in 10th grade (Sophomore year of High School), and tests 8th grade skills (end of Jr. High). Anyway, there's a reason I'm not going to that high school any more! I'm taking classes at Bellevue Community College, and loving it.
A lot of people I know are taking classes at BCC (I didnt bother to try for it; no transportation, and low grades from too long of not caring, and my not quite wanting to jump into the college fray just yet). A lot of my teachers have started to complain about the WASL testing stuff though - I escaped the great WASL plague from all my classes. I had forgotten about that.
