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What Does an 86 IQ Mean?

An 86 IQ is a little below the average of 100. About 18 in 100 people score lower than 86. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 86 Low Average.

Percentile
17.53
How rare
1 in 6 score 86 or lower
WISC-V wording
Low Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Low Average
Distance from 100
0.93 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 85
On an SD 24 test
about 78
Our test's usual range here
73 to 99 (90%)
Where 86 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 86. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 86 is at the 17.53rd percentile.7010013086

What does an 86 IQ mean?

A score of 86 is 0.93 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 86 is 14 points away.

86 sits near the top of the 80 to 89 band, 4 points below the next band up. About 16 in 100 people score from 80 to 89, the band that holds 86. The average band starts at 90, so a retest of an 86 can easily land on the other side of that line.

What percentile is an IQ of 86?

A score of 86 is at the 17.53rd percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 86, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 91 is at the 27.43rd percentile. Five points lower, 81 is at the 10.26th percentile. Across those ten points around 86, the percentile moves by 17.16.

How rare is an IQ of 86?

About 1 in 6 people score 86 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 18,000 would score 86 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 65 score exactly 86. These figures for 86 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 86 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 86 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 86 is about 85. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 78. 86, 85 and 78 all mean the same percentile.

Is 86 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind an 86; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 86 is a little below the average of 100. What an 86 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. An 86 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 86 from the average?

86 is 14 points below the average of 100, or 0.93 of a standard deviation. About 32.5 percent of people score between 86 and 100. About 17.5 percent score lower than 86. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 86.

What does an online result of 86 mean?

An online result of 86 is an estimate. When our test shows 86, the estimated range next to it is usually about 73 to 99. That range for 86 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 86 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 86 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 86, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 86

  • 84 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 14.31st percentile.
  • 85 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 15.87th percentile.
  • 87 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 19.31st percentile.
  • 88 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 21.19th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 86, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 86 IQ?

A score of 86 is at the 17.53rd percentile. That means about 17.53 percent of people score lower.

Is 86 IQ low?

86 is below the average band. About 17.5 in 100 people score 86 or lower. A single 86 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 86?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.7 percent of people score exactly 86. About 1 in 6 people score 86 or lower.

Can an online test show 86?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test an 86 usually comes with an estimated range of about 73 to 99.