Is an IQ of 86 a stable score?
An IQ of 86 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 86 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 86 is 14 points below the average of 100, or 0.93 standard deviations. It is higher than about 18% 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 85 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 78 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 86 meaning: a closer look
At 86, a score has climbed just past the one-standard-deviation mark below average. It is higher than about 17 or 18 people in every 100. The difference between 85 and 86 is far smaller than the margin of error on any test, so the two describe essentially the same level of performance. What usually matters more at this level is the pattern underneath the total: a person can be much stronger at, say, number problems than at shape puzzles, and the single number hides that. If you got 86 online, a rested second attempt is a reasonable way to see how stable it is.
Test the same person twice: how much does a score like 86 move?
Publishers check stability by giving the same test twice. For the WAIS-IV, 298 people were retested after 8 to 82 days (22 days on average), and the full-scale IQ was the most stable score in the battery, according to a review in the Mental Measurements Yearbook. Pearson reports a corrected test-retest coefficient of 0.92 for the WISC-V full-scale IQ. Over longer gaps the picture loosens: in 225 clinic children retested about 2.6 years later, Watkins and colleagues found that only the full-scale IQ and two index scores had stability coefficients above 0.80.
For an 86 IQ, this means the overall number is the most dependable part of a report, but it is not fixed to the exact point. A coefficient of 0.92 is high, yet it leaves room for a few points of movement, and the WAIS-IV retest found scores tended to be higher the second time. If your 86 came with a profile of stronger and weaker areas, read that pattern more cautiously than the total: in the long-term study, unusual gaps between subtests were seldom repeated at retest.
Sources: Canivez, G. L. (2010), "Review of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition", The Eighteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook; Pearson, "WISC-V evidence highlights"; Watkins, M. W. et al. (2022), "Long-term stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition scores in a clinical sample", Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 11(3), 422 to 428.
What 86 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 18 would score lower than 86 and about 82 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 86?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 86 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 81 to 91. That range runs from the 10th to the 27th 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, each correct answer is worth about 2.5 points, so 86 falls between two possible results: 85 for 12 correct answers and 88 for 13. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 86 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 81 to 91. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 86 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 86 would have meant for children of different ages: working a little behind their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 86 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 4 years 4 months |
| 7 | 6 years |
| 9 | 7 years 9 months |
| 11 | 9 years 6 months |
| 13 | 11 years 2 months |
The same 86 stands for a gap of about 8 months at age 5 but 1 year 10 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 86 means for you
It sits near the bottom of the low average band, which runs from 85 to 89.
- 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 86 is from other levels
How 86 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 5th | Borderline | 95% |
| 81 | 10th | Low average | 90% |
| 86 | 18th | Low average | 82% |
| 91 | 27th | Average | 73% |
| 96 | 39th | Average | 61% |
Questions about an IQ of 86
What percentile is an IQ of 86?
An IQ of 86 is at about the 18th percentile, which means it is higher than about 18% of people of the same age.
Is 86 a high IQ?
No. 86 is in the low average range. High IQ usually refers to scores of 120 or 130 and above.
Can an IQ of 86 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 86 is 44 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 86 or higher?
About 82% of people score 86 or higher. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 41,200 would score at this level or above.
Would I get 86 again if I retook an IQ test?
Probably something close, but not necessarily exactly 86. Full-scale IQ is the most stable score on professional tests, with a corrected retest coefficient of 0.92 reported for the WISC-V. Even so, results usually shift by a few points between sittings, and second attempts tend to come out slightly higher because the tasks feel familiar. A small change either way is normal.
What mental age is an IQ of 86?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 86 would perform like a typical child of about 7 years 9 months, roughly 15 months behind. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 86 simply did less well than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is an IQ of 86 below average?
Slightly. The average range runs from 90 to 109, so 86 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 86?
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 86 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.
An IQ test arrives at a score like 86 by combining several kinds of task. Learn more about abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning, processing speed and fluid vs crystallized intelligence, 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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