What’s the actual procedure for getting from a test result to an IQ score? I know that the scores are normalized so that the mean score gets an IQ = 100 and the standard deviation is 15 IQ points. But this is just moving and linearly scaling the distribution along the x axis, it shouldn’t change the degree which the distribution is or isn’t like a bell curve. Are the raw test scores actually fitted on a curve beyond the mean and sd normalization?
Are the raw test scores actually fitted on a curve beyond the mean and sd normalization?
Yes, they are.
First they are transformed to a percentile rank, then transformed to a position on the bell curve (with mean 100 and sigma 15) having the same percentile rank.
Why is this so, I have written in another comment. The reason is backwards compatibility with an older formula, which used a different approach (which does not scale beyond childhood), and got similar values “naturally”.
“Objectively measured intelligence famously fits a bell curve. ”
No, IQ scores are taken and made to fit a bell curve. That asking people doesn’t produce a bell curve in the same manner is therefore unsurprising.
What’s the actual procedure for getting from a test result to an IQ score? I know that the scores are normalized so that the mean score gets an IQ = 100 and the standard deviation is 15 IQ points. But this is just moving and linearly scaling the distribution along the x axis, it shouldn’t change the degree which the distribution is or isn’t like a bell curve. Are the raw test scores actually fitted on a curve beyond the mean and sd normalization?
Yes, they are.
First they are transformed to a percentile rank, then transformed to a position on the bell curve (with mean 100 and sigma 15) having the same percentile rank.
Why is this so, I have written in another comment. The reason is backwards compatibility with an older formula, which used a different approach (which does not scale beyond childhood), and got similar values “naturally”.