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What Does an 85 IQ Mean?

An 85 IQ is a little below the average of 100. About 16 in 100 people score lower than 85. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 85 Low Average.

Percentile
15.87
How rare
1 in 6 score 85 or lower
WISC-V wording
Low Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Low Average
Distance from 100
1 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 84
On an SD 24 test
about 76
Our test's usual range here
73 to 98 (90%)
Where 85 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 85. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 85 is at the 15.87th percentile.7010013085

What does an 85 IQ mean?

A score of 85 is one standard deviation below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 85 is 15 points away.

85 sits in the middle of the 80 to 89 band, 5 points below the next band up. About 16 in 100 people score from 80 to 89, the band that holds 85. The average band starts at 90, so a retest of an 85 can easily land on the other side of that line.

What percentile is an IQ of 85?

A score of 85 is at the 15.87th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 85, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 90 is at the 25.25th percentile. Five points lower, 80 is at the 9.12th percentile. Across those ten points around 85, the percentile moves by 16.13.

How rare is an IQ of 85?

About 1 in 6 people score 85 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 16,000 would score 85 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 61 score exactly 85. These figures for 85 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 85 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 85 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 85 is about 84. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 76. 85, 84 and 76 all mean the same percentile.

Is 85 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind an 85; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 85 is a little below the average of 100. What an 85 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. An 85 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.

How far is 85 from the average?

85 is 15 points below the average of 100, or exactly one standard deviation. About 34.1 percent of people score between 85 and 100. About 15.9 percent score lower than 85. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 85.

What does an online result of 85 mean?

An online result of 85 is an estimate. When our test shows 85, the estimated range next to it is usually about 73 to 98. That range for 85 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 85 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 85 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 85, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 85

  • 83 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 12.85th percentile.
  • 84 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 14.31st percentile.
  • 86 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 17.53rd percentile.
  • 87 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 19.31st percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 85, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 85 IQ?

A score of 85 is at the 15.87th percentile. That means about 15.87 percent of people score lower.

Is 85 IQ low?

85 is below the average band. About 15.9 in 100 people score 85 or lower. A single 85 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 85?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.6 percent of people score exactly 85. About 1 in 6 people score 85 or lower.

Can an online test show 85?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test an 85 usually comes with an estimated range of about 73 to 98.