What Is the Slosson IQ Test?

The Slosson IQ test is a brief intelligence test that screens verbal intelligence for test takers over the age of two years, though the target age begins at four years. It measures intelligence quotients from as low as 10 to as high as 164 and is effective in identifying children with disabilities, as well as the gifted.

Two of the biggest advantages of the Slosson test and its subsequent revisions are that a professional test administrator is not required to give the test and the test is very short, taking from 10 to 30 minutes depending upon the taker’s mental ability. The test, however, is not timed. The Slosson test also serves many purposes, effectively screening children with special needs, the gifted, the blind and people of all ages. A drawback of the test is that, although it gives a reliable “quick estimate of verbal general cognitive ability” according to its maker, its real effectiveness lies in screening rather than the actual assigning of an accurate intelligence quotient. Both “statistical and interpretive limitations” exist on the data gleaned from the test. The Slosson covers the following areas: general information, similarities and differences, vocabulary, comprehension, digit span, mathematical skills, visual motor skills and auditory memory of sentences.