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What Does an 88 IQ Mean?

An 88 IQ is a little below the average of 100. About 21 in 100 people score lower than 88. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 88 Low Average.

Percentile
21.19
How rare
1 in 5 score 88 or lower
WISC-V wording
Low Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Low Average
Distance from 100
0.80 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 87
On an SD 24 test
about 81
Our test's usual range here
76 to 100 (90%)
Where 88 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 88. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 88 is at the 21.19th percentile.7010013088

What does an 88 IQ mean?

A score of 88 is 0.80 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 88 is 12 points away.

88 sits near the top of the 80 to 89 band, 2 points below the next band up. About 16 in 100 people score from 80 to 89, the band that holds 88. The average band starts at 90, so a retest of an 88 can easily land on the other side of that line.

What percentile is an IQ of 88?

A score of 88 is at the 21.19th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 88, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 93 is at the 32.04th percentile. Five points lower, 83 is at the 12.85th percentile. Across those ten points around 88, the percentile moves by 19.18.

How rare is an IQ of 88?

About 1 in 5 people score 88 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 21,000 would score 88 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 73 score exactly 88. These figures for 88 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 88 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 88 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 88 is about 87. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 81. 88, 87 and 81 all mean the same percentile.

Is 88 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind an 88; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 88 is a little below the average of 100. What an 88 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. An 88 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 88 from the average?

88 is 12 points below the average of 100, or 0.80 of a standard deviation. About 28.8 percent of people score between 88 and 100. About 21.2 percent score lower than 88. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 88.

What does an online result of 88 mean?

An online result of 88 is an estimate. When our test shows 88, the estimated range next to it is usually about 76 to 100. That range for 88 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 88 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 88 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 88, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 88

  • 86 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 17.53rd percentile.
  • 87 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 19.31st percentile.
  • 89 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 23.17th percentile.
  • 90 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 25.25th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 88, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 88 IQ?

A score of 88 is at the 21.19th percentile. That means about 21.19 percent of people score lower.

Is 88 IQ low?

88 is below the average band. About 21.2 in 100 people score 88 or lower. A single 88 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 88?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.9 percent of people score exactly 88. About 1 in 5 people score 88 or lower.

Can an online test show 88?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test an 88 usually comes with an estimated range of about 76 to 100.