Is a 138 IQ Good? What the Score Means
A 138 IQ is far above the average of 100. About 99 in 100 people score lower than 138. Clinical reports would call 138 Extremely High in WISC-V wording and Very Superior in the traditional WAIS-IV wording.
- Percentile
- 99.44
- How rare
- 1 in 177 score 138 or higher
- WISC-V wording
- Extremely High
- Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
- Very Superior
- Distance from 100
- 2.53 SD above
- On an SD 16 test
- about 141
- On an SD 24 test
- about 161
- Our test's usual range here
- 124 or higher (90%)
What does a 138 IQ mean?
A score of 138 is 2.53 standard deviations above the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 138 is 38 points away.
138 is 8 points above the start of the top band, which begins at 130 and has no upper end. About 2.5 in 100 people score anywhere in the top band that holds 138.
What percentile is an IQ of 138?
A score of 138 is at the 99.44th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 138, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 143 is at the 99.79th percentile. Five points lower, 133 is at the 98.61st percentile. Across those ten points around 138, the percentile moves by 1.18.
How rare is an IQ of 138?
About 1 in 177 people score 138 or higher. In a town of 100,000 people, about 565 would score 138 or higher.
For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 4 score exactly 138. These figures for 138 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.
What would 138 be on other tests?
Not every test would print 138 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 138 is about 141. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 161. 138, 141 and 161 all mean the same percentile.
Is 138 a good IQ score?
The scale does not grade the person behind a 138; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 138 is far above the average of 100. What a 138 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 138 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 138 enough for Mensa?
Only if the 138 comes from a supervised test that Mensa accepts. American Mensa accepts scores at or above the 98th percentile, and 138 is at the 99.44th percentile. On the Wechsler scales the line is a full-scale IQ of 130, so 138 is 8 points above it. A 138 from an unsupervised internet test, ours included, is not accepted. Our Mensa IQ test guide explains the supervised routes to showing a 138.
Is 138 a genius IQ?
No test or psychology dictionary calls 138 a genius score, or defines one at all. The often quoted 140 goes back to a long-term study that selected children scoring above 140; by that line, 138 is 2 points short of it. What a person with a 138 achieves depends on far more than a test number, as what IQ is considered genius explains.
What does an online result of 138 mean?
An online result of 138 is an estimate. When our test shows 138, the estimated range next to it usually reaches 145, the top of the scale our test reports, so it is shown as “124 or higher” or close to that. That range for 138 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 138 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 138 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 138, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.
Scores near 138
- 136 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 99.18th percentile.
- 137 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 99.32nd percentile.
- 139 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 99.53rd percentile.
- 140 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 99.62nd percentile.
Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 138, in the score explorer.
FAQ
What percentile is 138 IQ?
A score of 138 is at the 99.44th percentile. That means about 99.44 percent of people score lower.
Is 138 IQ genius?
No test defines genius, so no test calls 138 genius. 138 is in the top band of the scale. About 99 in 100 people score lower than 138.
How many people have an IQ of 138?
On a whole-number scale, about 0.1 percent of people score exactly 138. About 1 in 177 people score 138 or higher.
Can an online test show 138?
Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 138 usually comes with an estimated range shown as “124 or higher” or close to that.