What does the IQ scale measure mean? What is an average score? How high can an IQ be? Here are some answers to these and other questions.

First of all, the concept of IQ was developed by either the German psychologist and philosopher Wilhelm Stern in 1912, or by Lewis Terman in 1916, depending on which sources you consult. Intelligence testing was first done on a large scale before either of these dates. In 1904 psychologist Alfred Binet was commissioned by the French government to create a testing system to differentiate intellectually normal children from those who were inferior.

From Binet's work the IQ scale called the "Binet Scale," (and later the "Simon-Binet Scale") was developed. Sometime later, "intelligence quotient," or "IQ," entered our vocabulary. Lewis M. Terman revised the Simon-Binet IQ Scale, and in 1916 published the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Scale of Intelligence (also known as the Stanford-Binet). The following scale resulted for classifying IQ scores: IQ Scale

High IQ & Genius IQ

Genius or near-genius IQ is considered to start around 140 to 145. Less than 1/4 of 1 percent fall into this category. Here are some common designations on the IQ scale:

145-160 - Highly Gifted
130-144 - Gifted
115-129 - Above Average
85-114 - Average
70-84 - Below Average
Below 70 - Lower Extreme