What Does a 79 IQ Mean?
A 79 IQ is far below the average of 100. About 8 in 100 people score lower than 79. Clinical reports would call 79 Very Low in WISC-V wording and Borderline in the traditional WAIS-IV wording.
- Percentile
- 8.08
- How rare
- 1 in 12 score 79 or lower
- WISC-V wording
- Very Low
- Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
- Borderline
- Distance from 100
- 1.40 SD below
- On an SD 16 test
- about 78
- On an SD 24 test
- about 66
- Our test's usual range here
- up to 92 (90%)
What does a 79 IQ mean?
A score of 79 is 1.40 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 79 is 21 points away.
79 sits near the top of the 70 to 79 band, 1 point below the next band up. About 6 in 100 people score from 70 to 79, the band that holds 79. A 79 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 79?
A score of 79 is at the 8.08th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 79, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 84 is at the 14.31st percentile. Five points lower, 74 is at the 4.15th percentile. Across those ten points around 79, the percentile moves by 10.15.
How rare is an IQ of 79?
About 1 in 12 people score 79 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 8,100 would score 79 or lower.
For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 38 score exactly 79. These figures for 79 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.
What would 79 be on other tests?
Not every test would print 79 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 79 is about 78. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 66. 79, 78 and 66 all mean the same percentile.
Is 79 a good IQ score?
The scale does not grade the person behind a 79; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 79 is far below the average of 100. What a 79 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 79 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 79 result?
First, look at where the 79 came from. An online 79 is a rough estimate, and any single score moves between sittings. If you need an assessment for school, work or support after a 79, a psychologist can give a full test and look at everyday skills too. The IQ scale guide explains scores like 79 with care.
What does an online result of 79 mean?
An online result of 79 is an estimate. When our test shows 79, the estimated range next to it usually reaches below 70, the lowest score our test reports, so it is shown as “up to 92” or close to that. That range for 79 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 79 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 79 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 79, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.
Scores near 79
- 77 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 6.26th percentile.
- 78 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 7.12th percentile.
- 80 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 9.12th percentile.
- 81 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 10.26th percentile.
Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 79, in the score explorer.
FAQ
What percentile is 79 IQ?
A score of 79 is at the 8.08th percentile. That means about 8.08 percent of people score lower.
Is 79 IQ low?
79 is below the average band. About 8.1 in 100 people score 79 or lower. A single 79 is not a diagnosis.
How many people have an IQ of 79?
On a whole-number scale, about 1.0 percent of people score exactly 79. About 1 in 12 people score 79 or lower.
Can an online test show 79?
Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 79 usually comes with an estimated range shown as “up to 92” or close to that.