Online IQ Tests for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Accurate or Not?

At a preschool playgroup at my local library, I started chatting with a mom about IQ testing for of children. The conversation mostly revolved around the futility of evaluating very young kids' IQs. Toddlers and preschoolers learn so quickly and so flexibly that it is nearly impossible to properly determine their intellectual capacity.

Nevertheless, online IQ tests for kids are extremely popular. Whether for bragging rights, simple curiosity, evaluation for learning disabilities, or hope for placement in advanced preschool courses, many moms seek online IQ testing for toddlers and preschoolers.

To investigate the accuracy of these tests, I decided to check out ExpertRating's online IQ test for 3-year-olds. My test subject was my bright (and, by her pediatrician's opinion, "gifted") daughter, who will be three years old in two weeks.

I thought that, because it actually had an upfront payment, and supposedly involved extensive research by licensed child psychologists, the ExpertRating toddler IQ test might be somewhat accurate. It was so astonishingly inaccurate that it was almost laughable.

Questions on the toddler IQ test were poorly thought-out. One shows a long, vertical line and a short vertical line, labeled as "Figure A" and "Figure B" respectively. The child is supposed to select the true statement out of four options. The potential options are: a) Figure A is LARGER in size and VERTICAL in position; b) Figure A is LARGER in size and HORIZONTAL in position; c) Figure A is LARGER in size and BLACK in color; or d) Figure A is SMALLER in size and HORIZONTAL in position.

A rare 3-year-old might be able to answer this IQ question correctly-- choosing answer A. But I believe that almost any child, even one with a very high IQ, would select answer C-- that it is larger and black. The coloration of the line was so dark that my own eyes perceived it as a cool black, not as a shade of blue. Almost any 3-year-old, no matter how intelligent, would probably label it "black." In this case, the test doesn't measure a toddler's vocabulary or intelligence, but his ability to discern that minute difference in coloration.

My other concerns about the IQ test involved not the test's inaccuracy, but the futility of measuring a young child's IQ in the first place. My three-year-old-- who, thankfully, still has the impish demeanor of a toddler-- wanted to view the exercise as fun. And who wouldn't? To a toddler, it's just a silly series of questions about silly pictures.

Because of this, she wanted to make a joke out of most of the questions. So, when the test asked a question that she knew the answer to-- such as "What do you take a bath in?" with juice, milk, oil and water listed as options-- she burst into an impish giggle and insisted, "I take a bath in juice! Sticky purple juice! Every day!"

She clearly knew the correct answer, but thought that the concept of bathing in juice was too funny to pass by. Of course, to be honest with the test, I selected "juice" as her answer. The same thing happened when she ecstatically giggled, "A circle is triangular in shape!" and, "A dog doesn't bark. A dog sings. Like woooooofff, woooooffffff, laaaa laaa laaaa, woof!"

Because of my daughter's attention span and sense of humor, she managed to make a shockingly low score 55 by the online IQ test's standards. This score, if it were accurate, would make her significantly mentally handicapped. If it were accurate, she almost certainly wouldn't be able to speak clearly, read short words, solve complicated puzzles, and create impressively pleasing works of art-- feats she accomplishes every day.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that it's simply unrealistic to expect an accurate IQ result from a very young child. Most toddlers and preschoolers don't-- and shouldn't have to-- have the self-control to humorlessly answer dry, boring questions. The early years should be a time of fun and excitement, not a time to try to "beat" arbitrary measures of intelligence.

And, personally, I'd prefer a 3-year-old who laughs for twenty minutes about bathing in juice, than one who would correctly but dully respond, "I bathe in water."