What Does a 97 IQ Mean?
A 97 IQ is in the average range. About 42 in 100 people score lower than 97. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 97 Average.
- Percentile
- 42.07
- How rare
- 1 in 2 score 97 or lower
- WISC-V wording
- Average
- Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
- Average
- Distance from 100
- 0.20 SD below
- On an SD 16 test
- about 97
- On an SD 24 test
- about 95
- Our test's usual range here
- 85 to 109 (90%)
What does a 97 IQ mean?
A score of 97 is 0.20 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 97 is 3 points away.
97 sits in the middle of the 90 to 109 band, 13 points below the next band up. About 49 in 100 people score from 90 to 109, the average band that holds 97.
What percentile is an IQ of 97?
A score of 97 is at the 42.07th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 97, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 102 is at the 55.3rd percentile. Five points lower, 92 is at the 29.69th percentile. Across those ten points around 97, the percentile moves by 25.61.
How rare is an IQ of 97?
A score of 97 is common. About 42 percent of people score 97 or lower.
For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 98 score exactly 97. These figures for 97 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.
What would 97 be on other tests?
Not every test would print 97 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 97 is about 97. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 95. 97, 97 and 95 all mean the same percentile.
Is 97 a good IQ score?
The scale does not grade the person behind a 97; it places one result among other people’s results. 97 is inside the average band, 90 to 109, where about half of all people score. What a 97 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 97 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 close is 97 to the average?
97 is 3 points below the exact middle, 100. That gap is 0.20 of a standard deviation, which is small. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle stays at 100.
What does an online result of 97 mean?
An online result of 97 is an estimate. When our test shows 97, the estimated range next to it is usually about 85 to 109. That range for 97 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 97 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 97 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 97, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.
Scores near 97
- 95 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 36.94th percentile.
- 96 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 39.49th percentile.
- 98 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 44.7th percentile.
- 99 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 47.34th percentile.
Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 97, in the score explorer.
FAQ
What percentile is 97 IQ?
A score of 97 is at the 42.07th percentile. That means about 42.07 percent of people score lower.
Is 97 IQ average?
Yes. 97 is inside the 90 to 109 band, where about half of all people score.
How many people have an IQ of 97?
On a whole-number scale, about 2.6 percent of people score exactly 97. About 1 in 2 people score 97 or lower.
Can an online test show 97?
Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 97 usually comes with an estimated range of about 85 to 109.