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Is a 128 IQ Good? What the Score Means

A 128 IQ is well above the average of 100. About 97 in 100 people score lower than 128. Clinical reports would call 128 Very High in WISC-V wording and Superior in the traditional WAIS-IV wording.

Percentile
96.90
How rare
1 in 32 score 128 or higher
WISC-V wording
Very High
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Superior
Distance from 100
1.87 SD above
On an SD 16 test
about 130
On an SD 24 test
about 145
Our test's usual range here
115 to 141 (90%)
Where 128 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 128. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 128 is at the 96.9th percentile.70100130128

What does a 128 IQ mean?

A score of 128 is 1.87 standard deviations above the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 128 is 28 points away.

128 sits near the top of the 120 to 129 band, 2 points below the next band up. About 7 in 100 people score from 120 to 129, the second highest band, which holds 128.

What percentile is an IQ of 128?

A score of 128 is at the 96.9th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 128, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 133 is at the 98.61st percentile. Five points lower, 123 is at the 93.74th percentile. Across those ten points around 128, the percentile moves by 4.87.

How rare is an IQ of 128?

About 1 in 32 people score 128 or higher. In a town of 100,000 people, about 3,100 would score 128 or higher.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 18 score exactly 128. These figures for 128 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 128 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 128 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 128 is about 130. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 145. 128, 130 and 145 all mean the same percentile.

Is 128 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind a 128; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 128 is well above the average of 100. What a 128 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 128 describes some kinds of reasoning on one test, on one day, and leaves out a great deal that matters, such as effort, knowledge and character.

Is a score of 128 gifted?

There is no single gifted cutoff that a 128 either meets or misses; each school or program sets its own rule. Many programs use the top 10 percent as a guide, and a 128 is in the top 3.10 percent of people, inside that guide. A child’s 128 counts for a program only when it comes from a supervised test given by a psychologist or the school. Our guide for parents explains how that works.

What does an online result of 128 mean?

An online result of 128 is an estimate. When our test shows 128, the estimated range next to it is usually about 115 to 141. That range for 128 is provisional: it comes from our scoring model and a simulation, not yet from real test takers. Our methodology shows how the range is made.

An unsupervised online 128 may also run a little high: a large review found a gap of about 3 IQ points. Taking the same kind of test again usually raises a score like 128 a little, mostly on the first retakes. Our guide are IQ tests accurate covers this in depth.

To see where your own result falls next to 128, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 128

  • 126 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 95.85th percentile.
  • 127 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 96.41st percentile.
  • 129 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 97.34th percentile.
  • 130 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 97.72nd percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 128, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 128 IQ?

A score of 128 is at the 96.9th percentile. That means about 96.90 percent of people score lower.

Is 128 IQ gifted?

Whether 128 counts as gifted depends on the program. Many use the top 10 percent as a guide, and 128 is in the top 3.1 percent.

How many people have an IQ of 128?

On a whole-number scale, about 0.5 percent of people score exactly 128. About 1 in 32 people score 128 or higher.

Can an online test show 128?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 128 usually comes with an estimated range of about 115 to 141.