IQ 85: what it means
On the standard IQ scale, 85 is 1.0 steps of 15 points below the average of 100. It falls in the average band.
Higher than15.9%of people on the scaleAbout 1 in 6 people score 85 or less
- Percentile15.9
- Steps from 100−1.0
- Bandaverage
Is 85 a good IQ score?
Scores from 85 to 114 are the middle of the scale. About two thirds of people score here, so this is the most common result.
How many people score 85 or lower?
On the standard scale, about 15.9% of people score 85 or lower, roughly 1 in 6. In a town of 100,000 people that is about 15,866.
The same score on other scales
Most modern tests use 15 points per step, but some older or special tests use 16 or 24. The same place on the curve then has a different number.
| Points per step | Same place on the curve |
|---|---|
| 15 (most tests) | 85 |
| 16 | 84 |
| 24 | 76 |
What IQ 85 does not tell you
A single number from a single test has a margin of several points, so a real result is better read as a range. Our free test does not give an IQ score like this one: it gives an estimate on a provisional scale.
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