Intelligence Test Assessments

The assessments that I provide are the ones that, in my professional opinion, are the most significant in my helping people understand themselves. My IQ test of choice is the Stanford-Binet 5.

I charge a flat fee for IQ assessment for children and adults. This fee includes materials, intake information and file analysis, assessment session, and a detailed written report within one week of the assessment. I do not offer the SB-LM any longer, because I can derive the same kind of ratio IQ score from the new test and make comparisons without resorting to the older, outdated instrument.

I have stopped giving any other IQ tests because I have found the SB5 gives me all the information I need. The SB5 was specifically designed and normed to reach the very highest levels of intellectual functioning, and my clientele is interested in precisely that capability. I have also discovered that my ability to interpret the results is enhanced by my total familiarity with just one instrument rather than spreading my own "learning curve" out over several tests.

The new SB5 can assess not just children but highly gifted adolescents and adults throughout the age range. If you have a teenager or if you yourself are interested in finding out just how gifted you are, this test has been carefully and specifically designed to make that possible.

When assessing for gifted children, most schools presently do not use an intelligence test that can actually differentiate among levels of giftedness. In fact, until recently, there was only one test available, the very old Stanford-Binet form L-M, that could render modified ratio IQ scores throughout the high and low extremes of the intelligence scale. A ratio IQ is derived by dividing the chronological age of the child into the achieved mental age or age equivalency, then multiplied by 100. All of the modern tests use modern test theory and "standardized scores" that assume a bell curve distribution of ability and frequency. As a result, the scores do not do a very good job of differentiating between very bright, moderately gifted, highly gifted, and exceptionally to profoundly gifted. It is my professional and experienced position that the actual frequency of very highly intelligent children and adults has been radically underestimated for at least the last 40 years, perhaps longer. Nonetheless, parents know when their child is different; and parents know when what is being expected of their child in school is simply not working. This topic will be covered in more detail in my book Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind.

The new Stanford-Binet 5 was designed to reach the highest intellectual levels of both children and adults. I am pleased with the difficulty of the test and believe it is effective for adults as well as children. The test's authors have developed "extended scores" for giving clearer descriptions within the gifted range, but it is still the knowledge and expertise of the test administrator that determines the usefulness of any test.

In order to learn more about how the scores for the Stanford-Binet 5 are interpreted, please link to the Assessment Service Bulletin (ASB) #3 on High Ability Assessment (Ruf, 2003) on the Riverside Website:

Use of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition in the Assessment of High Abilities   (http://www.riverpub.com/products/clinical/sbis5/SB5_ASB_3.pdf)

Dr. Ruf is the author of this ASB, and an expert in the use and interpretation of the Stanford-Binet 5 for high ability assessment of children and adults.

Other Assessments and Services: Details of assessments and procedures are on this link.

Questions? Please contact Educational Options directly.