Can iq scores be improved

However, there has always been controversy over what it actually measures. Do IQ scores capture a person's intellectual capacity, which remains stable over time, or is the test really a measurement that is subject to fluctuations? In a recent issue of the journal Nature , researchers at University College London reported significant fluctuations in the IQs of a group of British teenagers. In a paper entitled, " Verbal and Non-Verbal Intelligence Changes in the Teenage Brain ", the researchers tested 33 healthy adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 years.

They repeated the tests four years later and found that some teens improved their scores by as much as 20 points on the standardized IQ scale, while test scores for others went down by a similar amount.

Price and her colleagues used neuro-imaging techniques to confirm that these big fluctuations in performance were not random. Similarly, a University of British Columbia study suggests that regular aerobic exercise boosts the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning.

To submit your questions email us at questions sciencefocus. Lottie Storey is a writer, journalist and editor of the one-off special magazine Creative Journeys: Artistic Inspiration from Around the World. Lottie Storey Social networks. You can teach a child to better utilize their ability to plan, and that improves their academic performance not only in math, but in reading comprehension. So, what I would say, is we didn't make the children smarter, but we taught them how to use what they have more efficiently, and better.

Understanding changes in IQ also requires carefully considering how intelligence is being measured. People confuse ability with knowledge.

We all can study and improve our vocabulary. But I would argue that doesn't make us any smarter. The best way to measure intelligence is to measure those abilities that underlie the acquisition of knowledge, separately from the knowledge we have. Yes, your IQ can change over time. But [IQ] tests give you the same answer to a very substantial extent, even over a period of year.

The older you are, the more stable your test score will be. The most volatility in IQ scores is in childhood, mostly in adolescence.

Offhand I can't think of a reason why it would be, it just seems to be the case. Also, the average IQ of people is changing over time. Basically, people are gaining in modern industrialized societies. IQs are increasing three points per decade. In fact, there was an point increase between and So the average IQ of a year-old in was lower than the average IQ of a year-old in An article in November in the journal Nature by Price and her colleagues is one example.

It had 33 adolescents, who were to years-old when the study started. Price and her team gave them IQ tests, tracked them for four years, and then gave them IQ tests again. The fluctuations in IQ were enormous. I'm not talking about a couple points, but plus IQ points, one way or another.