Practice question · Multiple choice
Test publishers restandardise IQ tests every decade or so, at considerable expense. Why do the norms expire?
Hints
- An IQ of 100 means average, average of whom?
- Raw performance rises about three points a decade. What does that do to old norms?
Show the answer
C. Because a score is defined against a reference population
Why
The score is a comparison, so it decays as the comparison group ages out. Scoring a modern child against 1990 norms adds several free points, which matters enormously at thresholds used for special-education placement or, in some jurisdictions, capital cases.
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