HomeStart the test
Menu
IQ scale

What Does a 78 IQ Mean?

A 78 IQ is far below the average of 100. About 7 in 100 people score lower than 78. Clinical reports would call 78 Very Low in WISC-V wording and Borderline in the traditional WAIS-IV wording.

Percentile
7.12
How rare
1 in 14 score 78 or lower
WISC-V wording
Very Low
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Borderline
Distance from 100
1.47 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 77
On an SD 24 test
about 65
Our test's usual range here
up to 91 (90%)
Where 78 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 78. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 78 is at the 7.12th percentile.7010013078

What does a 78 IQ mean?

A score of 78 is 1.47 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 78 is 22 points away.

78 sits near the top of the 70 to 79 band, 2 points below the next band up. About 6 in 100 people score from 70 to 79, the band that holds 78. A 78 on its own is not a diagnosis of anything. Intellectual disability needs limits in two areas at once. One is reasoning, shown by a score around 70 or as high as 75. The other is adaptive behavior: the conceptual, social and practical skills of daily life. Both must begin before age 22.

What percentile is an IQ of 78?

A score of 78 is at the 7.12th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 78, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 83 is at the 12.85th percentile. Five points lower, 73 is at the 3.59th percentile. Across those ten points around 78, the percentile moves by 9.26.

How rare is an IQ of 78?

About 1 in 14 people score 78 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 7,100 would score 78 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 34 score exactly 78. These figures for 78 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 78 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 78 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 78 is about 77. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 65. 78, 77 and 65 all mean the same percentile.

Is 78 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind a 78; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 78 is far below the average of 100. What a 78 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 78 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.

What should you do with a 78 result?

First, look at where the 78 came from. An online 78 is a rough estimate, and any single score moves between sittings. If you need an assessment for school, work or support after a 78, a psychologist can give a full test and look at everyday skills too. The IQ scale guide explains scores like 78 with care.

What does an online result of 78 mean?

An online result of 78 is an estimate. When our test shows 78, the estimated range next to it usually reaches below 70, the lowest score our test reports, so it is shown as “up to 91” or close to that. That range for 78 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 78 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 78 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 78, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 78

  • 76 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 5.48th percentile.
  • 77 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 6.26th percentile.
  • 79 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 8.08th percentile.
  • 80 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 9.12th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 78, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 78 IQ?

A score of 78 is at the 7.12th percentile. That means about 7.12 percent of people score lower.

Is 78 IQ low?

78 is below the average band. About 7.1 in 100 people score 78 or lower. A single 78 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 78?

On a whole-number scale, about 0.9 percent of people score exactly 78. About 1 in 14 people score 78 or lower.

Can an online test show 78?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 78 usually comes with an estimated range shown as “up to 91” or close to that.