Quote:
Originally posted by Stiltzkin
What's with all the classification anyways? Who cares, damn it! Is proving that you're a genius going to make you feel better? Or that you're not a genius? I really don't see what the purpose is of an IQ test anyway. We already have enough crap like SAT and other standarized tests.
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Well, the actual use for IQ scores is to judge learning disorders. It was originally for children, but they changed the scoring so it could be used for adults too.
I had to get some rather extensive testing done in college to judge why I was having so much trouble in my classes. They gave me the WAIS (Wechler Adult Intelligence Test) to test my ability, as well as some academic achievement testing. They actually give you a different score for specific areas of mental ability and learning, and pay more attention to the differences in scoring between the ability and achievement, as well as the different types of ability.
The tests were quite useful for me, because I got to see exactly where I was in different types of thinking and learning, and what caused difficulty with me. I turned out to be a strong case for ADD. My scores in verbal areas and other tests unrelated to attention and focus issues were in the 180s, while tests that depended on memorizing information or concentration scored down in the 150s, which is twice the difference for judging learning disability. In one timed test that relied entirely on remembering and associating numbers and symbols, I got something like 110, which is a huge disparity. I did apparently get the highest score the tester had seen in a timed test requiring you to duplicate a shape seen on a paper using patterned blocks, though, so if I can ever find a job where playing with blocks is a main requirement, I'd be totally set. Perhaps a preschool teacher, or even a Lego Maniac(tm).