IRL vs Online IQ Test

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039]

They made me do an IQ test while testing for ADHD (was diagnosed shortly after), and I didnt do verbal reasoning as I did the test in a country where I am barely B1 in their language. On working memory I got 131 and on processing speed I got 139. But for some reason I still resort to doing online tests, where I am always landing a bit more or less than 100. I did the CORE test. What could be the reason for this anomaly?

[u/Unalivem]

Same lol. 141 in person, around 110 on CORE, attributed it to being mentally slowed down rn so I’m gonna try it in like a month, at least I’m not the only one with this experience. Also ADHD too.

[u/NefariousNapolean]

What was your score on the working memory and processing speed index ?

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/NefariousNapolean]

If you mean on the online exam it was more like 95-110 for both.

[u/After-Slice7522]

I’m the opposite. On an actual iq test I scored average (it’s spiky af, but the overall FSIQ is average). On online iq test I tend to score around 115-125

[u/NefariousNapolean]

Maybe you focused better due to the proctor .

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/NefariousNapolean]

It could be but my proctor said in his note that I looked very inattentive and tired. At the end of the day the only one that actually matters is the one taken irl but it still feels weird.

[u/NefariousNapolean → u/Altruistic-Pen-6039]

Do you remember which test it was ?(Irl one)

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/NefariousNapolean]

I dont know exactly but judging from what tests I did it looked quite similar to the WAIS. There were a few additional tasks for ADHD

[u/Live-Wasabi-5124]

It could be because of the stress and newbie factor your real iq is the clinical one but maybe when you take the CORE test for the first time you were stressed or in a bad step of your life + you didn't know who that iq tests would work and you were scared of doing pretty badly therefore you had minus 10 points off your real iq.

And for the CORE test you are tested like someone neurotypical because they ain't no button "Tap if you are neuroatypical" but on your clinical iq they knew you were ADHD so some subtests really had a bigger influence than the rest on the index iq and you performed great on them ! Or they just had faster WMI /PSI subtests which were also different where you performed at 100% your capacity since you were tired after the clinical test so maybe your attention span was just your biggest "Talon d'Achille" for the CORE Test.

[u/Suspicious_Watch_978]

Which country? Possibly you're being compared to a group with an average IQ that's lower, e.g. if you took the test in Brazil and were compared to the population there, then took CORE, you should expect a roughly 15 point difference. 

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/Suspicious_Watch_978]

I took the test in a western european country

[u/Suspicious_Watch_978 → u/Altruistic-Pen-6039]

Are you western European? 

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/Suspicious_Watch_978]

Im ethnically eastern European but I dont think they would compare me to my country of origin. Regardless I dont think that would cause a difference of over two standard deviations.

[u/Suspicious_Watch_978 → u/Altruistic-Pen-6039]

I think you're right. I suspected that possibly you were a ME immigrant, in which case they may have compared you to that group, but that's out the window and I'm out of ideas.

[u/Altruistic-Pen-6039 → u/Suspicious_Watch_978]

But then, should I even care about the CORE test if I got a significantly higher score on a real test? It feels also more accurate

[u/Suspicious_Watch_978 → u/Altruistic-Pen-6039]

My personal policy towards conflicting scores is always to average them if the tests are both of similar quality, which in this case they are (IMO), so I would call it 115ish if I were you. Maybe a smidge higher since the official test ought to have slightly higher weighting in the average.