A school counsellor in Pune gave an individual intelligence test to four Class 6 students, all aged exactly 12 years. Riya's mental age came out as 15 years, Kabir's as 11 years, Neha's as 9 years and Arjun's as 8 years. Before meeting the parents, the counsellor worked out each student's IQ score from these results. She then wrote the standard descriptive label used to classify people on the basis of IQ against each score in her report.
What descriptive label should the counsellor write against Neha's IQ score?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Borderline
Option (1) Borderline — Correct. Neha's IQ = mental age / chronological age x 100 = 9/12 x 100 = 75. IQ scores from 70 to 79 carry the label Borderline, so this is the label for Neha.
Option (2) Low average — Incorrect. Low average covers IQ scores from 80 to 89. Neha's IQ of 75 falls below this band.
Option (3) Average — Incorrect. Average covers IQ scores from 90 to 109, around the population mean of 100. Neha's mental age is lower than her age, so her IQ is under 100 and well below this band.
Option (4) Intellectually disabled — Incorrect. Intellectually disabled is the label for IQ below 70, about 2.2 per cent of people. Neha's IQ of 75 is above this cut-off.
NCERT (2026-27): “Assessment of Intelligence … “Table 1.1 : Classification of People on the Basis of IQ IQ Range Descriptive Label Per cent in the Population” “Above 130 Very superior 2.2 120 – 130 Superior 6.7 110 – 119 High average 16.1 90 – 109 Average 50.0 80 – 89 Low average 16.1 70 – 79 Borderline 6.7 Below 70 Intellectually disabled 2.2” |