What can you expect from the SB-5

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - January 31st, 2012

The Stanford-Binet test, also known as the SB -5, is one of many types of intelligence tests administered to children to evaluate their innate abilities. The test is administered to children as young as pre-k but is also given to adults.

However, you may wonder how the same test can be administered to both children and mature adults; in fact the SB-5 is considered an adaptive type of test wherein two routing tests are used in the beginning to determine the type of questions asked for the remaining sub-tests.  This means that a child who scores better on these routing tests will receive more difficult sub-test questions when compared to the one who scores low. As the test progresses, the questions become more difficult, and the further a child can continue answering the questions, the higher their score will be in the SB-5. The questions asked at the latter areas of the exam require more time and problem-solving skills.

Just like with other kinds of IQ tests for kids, the SB-5 takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 90 minutes to administer. For younger children, the time will usually take longer because the tester will need to give them time to settle in as well as for breaks during the test.