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What Does an 89 IQ Mean?

An 89 IQ is a little below the average of 100. About 23 in 100 people score lower than 89. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 89 Low Average.

Percentile
23.17
How rare
1 in 4 score 89 or lower
WISC-V wording
Low Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Low Average
Distance from 100
0.73 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 88
On an SD 24 test
about 82
Our test's usual range here
77 to 101 (90%)
Where 89 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 89. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 89 is at the 23.17th percentile.7010013089

What does an 89 IQ mean?

A score of 89 is 0.73 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 89 is 11 points away.

89 sits near the top of the 80 to 89 band, 1 point below the next band up. About 16 in 100 people score from 80 to 89, the band that holds 89. The average band starts at 90, so a retest of an 89 can easily land on the other side of that line.

What percentile is an IQ of 89?

A score of 89 is at the 23.17th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 89, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 94 is at the 34.46th percentile. Five points lower, 84 is at the 14.31st percentile. Across those ten points around 89, the percentile moves by 20.15.

How rare is an IQ of 89?

About 1 in 4 people score 89 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 23,000 would score 89 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 76 score exactly 89. These figures for 89 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 89 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 89 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 89 is about 88. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 82. 89, 88 and 82 all mean the same percentile.

Is 89 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind an 89; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 89 is a little below the average of 100. What an 89 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. An 89 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 89 from the average?

89 is 11 points below the average of 100, or 0.73 of a standard deviation. About 26.8 percent of people score between 89 and 100. About 23.2 percent score lower than 89. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 89.

What does an online result of 89 mean?

An online result of 89 is an estimate. When our test shows 89, the estimated range next to it is usually about 77 to 101. That range for 89 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 89 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 89 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 89, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 89

  • 87 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 19.31st percentile.
  • 88 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 21.19th percentile.
  • 90 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 25.25th percentile.
  • 91 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 27.43rd percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 89, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 89 IQ?

A score of 89 is at the 23.17th percentile. That means about 23.17 percent of people score lower.

Is 89 IQ low?

89 is below the average band. About 23.2 in 100 people score 89 or lower. A single 89 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 89?

On a whole-number scale, about 2.0 percent of people score exactly 89. About 1 in 4 people score 89 or lower.

Can an online test show 89?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test an 89 usually comes with an estimated range of about 77 to 101.