What does an IQ test test?

Answer 1

Basically, an IQ test measures a person's performance on several indicators, relative to that of his or her peers. A person taking an IQ test will perform a series of analytical, mathematical, and spatial activities, and the success with those endeavors will result in receiving the IQ score. The test is meant to measure a person's intelligence; however, the debate over the true meaning of intelligence is one that has been going on for over a hundred years. Controversy also exists regarding gender and cultural biases.

The one and only thing that IQ tests have been consistently shown to measure reliably and accurately is one's ability to score high on IQ tests. In my opinion using them for any other purpose is highly risky and questionable.

Answer 2

The IQ test has evolved over the course of a century into the intelligence test with the single number score that is well known today. This evolution began with the first standardized IQ test, created by French psychologist Alfred Binet in the early 1900s.

Since 1973, IQ scores in and of themselves have not changed, but their usage has. Prior to the 1970s IQ testing was seen as the best method to measure any individual's intelligence, and was used most frequently in schools to assess students. Today, the IQ test is still considered a measure of any individual's intelligence, but it's used across all ages. However, new research suggests that the one area of the mind the IQ test measures may not be the only place intelligence resides in the brain. Neurologists and psychologists have instead suggested that the IQ Test should instead give a person a range of scores, to better represent their level of intelligence. As our understanding of the brain continues to develop, further changes to the IQ test will likely be proposed.