What does an IQ of 85 mean?
An IQ of 85 is in the low average range, a little below the middle of the population. Roughly 1 person in 6 scores between 80 and 89, so it is a common result, and on another day or another test it could easily come out in the 90s.
Where 85 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 85 is 15 points below the average of 100, or 1 standard deviation. It is higher than about 16% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. This part of the curve is still crowded: the scores just below the average are some of the most common results there are.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 84 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 76 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 85 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 85 sits exactly one standard deviation below the average, which makes it one of the reference points psychologists use when they describe the scale. About 16% of people score 85 or lower, so roughly one person in six is at or below this level. On the classic Wechsler labels, 85 is low average, and it sits just 5 points under the start of the average band at 90. A professional retest could easily land anywhere from about 80 to 90, so the label on any single day is less important than the overall picture of strengths and weaker areas.
Why a score of 85 was once called dull-normal, and now low average
In his 1958 book The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence, David Wechsler sorted adult IQs into seven classes. On his WAIS table, scores from 80 to 89 were labelled "dull-normal", a group expected to hold 16.1% of people. He explained that for the classes below the mean it was easy to borrow "the terms now in general use". Those terms were not fixed either: Wechsler quoted Kuhlmann's older scheme, in which "dull" ran from 85 to 94, so the same score could carry different names depending on whose table you used.
Today the wording is purely descriptive. In a Pearson sample WISC-V score report, an index score of exactly 85 sits at the 16th percentile and is described as "Low Average". So an IQ of 85 has not changed meaning over the decades, only its label. The newer term says where a score falls on the bell curve without passing judgement on the person. An 85 reflects how many items were answered on one test, on one day. It says nothing about character, practical skills or how much someone can learn.
Sources: Wechsler, D. (1958), The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence (4th ed.), Williams & Wilkins, chapter 3 and Tables 1 to 3; Pearson (2014), "WISC-V Score Report" (sample report).
What 85 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 16 would score lower than 85 and about 84 would score the same or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
In any ordinary workplace or classroom, plenty of people around you will have scores close to this one.
How precise is a score of 85?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 85 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 80 to 90. That range runs from the 9th to the 25th percentile, and it crosses from low average into average.
Low average scores are especially sensitive to the conditions of the test. Speed matters on most IQ tests, so tiredness, nerves, reading in a second language or an unfamiliar question format can pull a result down by several points.
On the Assessivo test, 85 is the score for 12 correct answers out of 36. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 85 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 80 to 90. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 85 and mental age in children
Early IQ tests for children worked with a "mental age", the age whose typical performance a child matched. The IQ was that mental age divided by the child's real age, times 100. Turned around, the formula shows what a score of 85 would have meant for children of different ages: working a little behind their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 85 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 4 years 3 months |
| 7 | 5 years 11 months |
| 9 | 7 years 8 months |
| 11 | 9 years 4 months |
| 13 | 11 years 1 month |
The same 85 stands for a gap of about 9 months at age 5 but 1 year 11 months at 13, because the formula scales with age. That is one reason it broke down for teenagers and adults, whose test performance stops rising every year. Today's tests compare you with people of the same age instead, so a mental age is only a way to picture a child's score, never a description of an adult.
What an IQ of 85 means for you
It is the very first score in the low average band.
- New, abstract puzzles may take a little longer than they do for most people, particularly against the clock.
- Skills built through practice, such as a trade, a sport or a subject you know well, depend far more on experience than on this number.
- A low average result on its own says nothing about a learning difficulty or any other condition. That needs a full assessment by a qualified psychologist.
How far 85 is from other levels
Why 85 is a milestone: Exactly one standard deviation below the average. About 16% of people score 85 or lower.
How 85 compares with nearby scores
Want a score that isn't listed, or the share of people between two scores? Try the IQ calculator.
| IQ | Percentile | Classification | Score this high or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 5th | Borderline | 95% |
| 80 | 9th | Low average | 91% |
| 85 | 16th | Low average | 84% |
| 90 | 25th | Average | 75% |
| 95 | 37th | Average | 63% |
Questions about an IQ of 85
What percentile is an IQ of 85?
An IQ of 85 is at about the 16th percentile, which means it is higher than about 16% of people of the same age.
Is 85 a high IQ?
No. 85 is in the low average range. High IQ usually refers to scores of 120 or 130 and above.
Can an IQ of 85 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 85 is 45 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 85 or higher?
About 84% of people score 85 or higher. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 42,100 would score at this level or above.
Is an IQ of 85 the same as dull normal?
Dull-normal is an old label for the same range. In 1958 David Wechsler used it for adult IQs of 80 to 89, which includes 85. Pearson's current Wechsler reports describe that range as low average instead, and a sample WISC-V report labels a score of 85 that way. The statistics are unchanged: about 16% of people score lower. Only the wording has become more neutral.
What mental age is an IQ of 85?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 85 would perform like a typical child of about 7 years 8 months, roughly 16 months behind. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 85 simply did less well than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is an IQ of 85 below average?
Slightly. The average range runs from 90 to 109, so 85 sits just under it, in the band called low average. It is still within the range where most people score.
Can I improve an IQ score of 85?
Your measured score can rise with practice on the question types, a good night's sleep and a quiet room, because retaking similar tests usually raises scores. Your underlying reasoning ability changes more slowly, but schooling and learning do help it over time.
Does an IQ of 85 affect what jobs I can do?
Very few jobs have an IQ requirement. Some employers use timed reasoning tests in hiring, and practice with the format helps on those. For most careers, training, experience and reliability matter far more.
For what counts as normal, see our guide to average IQ, and for what IQ does and doesn't capture, what IQ is. If you are wondering whether a score can go up, can you increase your IQ? sets out the evidence. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
Behind a single score of 85 sit several separate abilities. Read about fluid vs crystallized intelligence, abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning and processing speed, or try the free pattern recognition test.
What would you score?
Take the free Assessivo IQ test: 36 questions, 25 minutes, and your estimated IQ score and percentile as soon as you finish.
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