Intelligence quotient (IQ) is an age-related measure of intelligence level and is defined as 100 times the mental age. The word quotient means the results of dividing one quantity by another, and intelligence can be defined as mental ability or quickness of mind.
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An intelligence test (IQ test) is, by definition, any test that purports to measure intelligence. Generally such tests consist of a graded series of tasks, each of which has been standardised with a large representative population of individuals. Such procedure establishes the average IQ as 100.
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It is generally believed that a person’s IQ rating is hereditary and that a persons mental age remains constant in development to about the age of thirteen, after which it is shown to slow up; and beyond the age of eighteen little or no improvement is found. When measuring the IQ of a child, the subject will attempt an IQ test which has been standardised with an average score recorded for each age group. Thus a child of ten years of age who scored the results expected of a child of twelve would have an IQ of 120, calculated as follows:
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However, because in adulhood little or no improvement in IQ rating is found, adults have to be judged on an IQ test whose average score is 100 and their results graded above and below this norm according to known scores.
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During the past 25-30 years IQ testing has been brought into widespread use by employers because of their need to ensure they place the right people in the right job from the outset. One of the main reasons for this in today’s world of tight purse strings, cost-cutting and low budgets is the high cost of errors in employing the wrong person for a job, including the need to re-advertise and interview new applicants, and reinvestment in training.
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Because IQ is hereditary and it is not, therefore, possible to increase your actual IQ; it is, nevertheless, possible to improve your performance on IQ tests by practising the many different types of question, and learning to recognise the recurring themes. It is my belief that by practise ondifferent types of IQ tests, and by getting your mind attuned to the different types of questions you may encounter, it is possible to improve by a few vital percentage points. It is these few percentage points that may prove crucial in increasing your employment prospects and mean the difference between success or failure when attending one of the many job interviews which include the taking of an IQ test.
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