Where does the term, “IQ”, come from?

You hear the term, “IQ”, used everywhere.  What’s my sports IQ?  What’s my 5th Grader IQ?  How well do you score on IQ Tests and Quizzes?  How much lower is Bush’s IQ than mine?

Where does this term actually come from and what does it stand for?  IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient in English and is the translation of the German phrase, Intelligenz-Quotient, which was coined by the German psychologist, William Stern, in 1912.  Modern IQ tests measure intelligence based on a Gaussian bell curve with a median value of 100.  This means that 100 is used as the baseline for intelligence tests.  Those who score below 100 on IQ Tests are considered below average and scores above 100 on IQ Tests are considered above average.  Of course realizing a score on one particular IQ Test or other free quizzes such as the Free IQ Test does not deliver the entire picture of intelligence.  Many people are more visual learners and others are more auditory learners.  This is one factor that could affect intelligence scores. 

When taking IQ Tests on our website, we recommend taking both the Verbal Free IQ Test and the Free Spatial IQ Test.  That will test you in several different ways so you can be sure to get an accurate score.

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