Teenage may Not be the Best Time to Measure a Person’s IQ

A new study published in the online edition of the journal Nature suggests that the IQ of teenagers is not static and either improves or falls over the next few years. According to researchers at Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging of Kings College, the IQ of a teenager either improves or falls by 20 points over a period of time.

The study was led by Dr Cathy Price who recorded the IQs of 33 British teenagers between 12 to 16 years of age in 2004 and the retested the participants four years later.

The researchers found that while the initial average IQ of the teenagers was 100, it improved or fell over the next four years, with some children showing a swing of 20 points.

Stating that children should not be considered intelligent or dumb at such an early stage of their lives, Dr Price said, “We have to be careful not to write off poorer performers at an early stage when in fact their IQ may improve significantly given a few more years.”

Source-Medindia