Verbal Scales

• This portion of an IQ test assesses the child's verbal abilities. Vocabulary, verbal comprehension, factual information and arithmetic are all part of the IQ test's verbal portion. Some IQ tests, such as the Wechsler IQ tests, actually section off a sub-category for verbal comprehension, while others incorporate this discipline into the test itself.
  
  

Visual Scale

• The visual portion of an IQ test assesses the child's spacial reasoning. This section is made up of a variety of different puzzles and picture arrangements, in which the child is tasked with such things as pointing out the differences between one picture and another, arranging blocks to fit correctly and other, similar challenges.
  
  

Distribution of Points

• IQ scores generally fall between 60 and 140. A score of 60 is considered to be in the realm of mild mental-retardation, while a score closer to 140 indicates a child that may have genius qualities. Half of all IQ scores fall between 90 and 110, which indicates an average intelligence. A child is said to be "gifted" if he or she scores above 125 on an IQ test.
  
  

Relevance

• While an IQ test can serve as a general indication of a child's intelligence level, it should not be viewed as holistic. Since IQ tests only assess a child based upon certain criteria, it may not accurately prove a child's abilities. In general, however, a child that scores very low or very high on an IQ test should be monitored for either mild mental-retardation or giftedness.