Stanford-Binet test explained: the SB5 for ages 2 to 85, the five factors tested in verbal and nonverbal form (ten subtests), the two routing subtests and the Abbreviated IQ, the Full Scale, Nonverbal and Verbal IQ and the factor indexes, the score bands, how it differs from the WISC-V, and a printable sheet

The Stanford-Binet is the oldest name in intelligence testing and still one of the two individual IQ tests a US psychologist is likely to give a child, especially a child under six or one at the very top of the range. The current edition is the fifth, from 2003. Everything below comes from the publisher's scoring guide, the authors' own book on the test and the distributor's description; the score bands are the manual's labels as the secondary literature reproduces them.

Download the Stanford-Binet sheet (PDF) (the five factors and ten subtests, the routing procedure, the scores with percentiles, the descriptive bands and the questions to ask; two pages, free).

What it is

The five factors and ten subtests

Each factor is measured once in the nonverbal domain (little or no speech required; the child points, builds, arranges) and once in the verbal domain:

Adding the five nonverbal subtests gives the Nonverbal IQ; the five verbal ones the Verbal IQ; all ten the Full Scale IQ.

Routing: why every child gets a different test

The examiner begins with the two routing subtests, Object Series/Matrices and Vocabulary, which are scored on the spot. Those two raw scores set the functional level, from 1 (easiest) to 6 (hardest), at which the other eight subtests start, separately for the nonverbal and the verbal half. A three-year-old and a gifted twelve-year-old therefore see different items and both are measured near their own ability, which is what lets one instrument cover ages 2 to 85 and reach the high end: the test was built with extra hard items for giftedness assessment. The two routing subtests on their own give the Abbreviated Battery IQ, used when a quick estimate is enough or when the SB5 is one part of a longer neuropsychological battery.

The scores

The IQ scores and the five factor indexes are standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15; subtest scores have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3. Percentiles follow the normal curve:

The manual attaches nine descriptive labels to the IQ ranges (the labels as reproduced in the secondary literature on the SB5, from Roid's 2003 manual):

The report prints the label beside each score, with a confidence interval (the publisher's sample report uses 90 percent) and a percentile. As on every individual test, the profile is the finding: a Nonverbal IQ of 118 with a Verbal IQ of 96 is a child whose reasoning outruns their language, which changes what the school should do; the Full Scale of 107 between them says nothing of the kind.

When the SB5 is chosen

• Very young children. It starts at age 2:0, with toys and manipulatives at the low levels; the Wechsler preschool test (WPPSI-IV) starts at 2:6 and the WISC-V at 6:0.
• Children with little speech or little English. The Nonverbal IQ comes from a full half of the test, not an add-on index.
• Gifted evaluations. The high-end items and the routing let it measure far above 130 without ceiling effects; some programmes ask for it by name.
• Re-evaluation across many years. One scale from 2 to 85 means the same instrument at 4, 9 and 15.

Stanford-Binet or WISC-V

Both report a mean-100, SD-15 IQ, and a child can score somewhat differently on the two because they weight abilities differently and were normed a decade apart. The IQ test page has what a psychologist's report shows and why online tests are not IQ tests; the gifted page has how districts use these scores.

Download the Stanford-Binet sheet (PDF) (the factors, the routing, the scores, the bands and the questions; two pages, free).

Where to get help

A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's degree and teaches the US curriculum from Grade 1 number work to AP Calculus, chemistry and physics, at 7 am before school, after 4 pm and on weekend mornings, US time, for US$10 to $13 an hour: the evaluation report read together in the free 30-minute first class, the subtest or cluster the score is really pointing at found, and the term spent on exactly that skill, with the method written out the way the school marks it. How online tutoring from India to the USA works, or the 1-on-1 online tutoring page.

Sources: PRO-ED, SB5 Online Scoring and Report System User's Guide (ages 2 through 85+; the Full Scale IQ from all 10 subtests; the Abbreviated Battery IQ from the routing subtests Object Series/Matrices and Vocabulary; the Nonverbal IQ from the five nonverbal subtests; the sample report's scores, 90 percent confidence intervals and the note that standard scores have mean 100 and SD 15); PRO-ED, SB5 product page (Roid; ages 2 to 85+; about 5 minutes for each of 10 subtests; item books 1 to 3); Roid and Barram, Essentials of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB5) Assessment (Wiley), chapter 1 excerpt: the routing procedure and functional levels 1 to 6, the five factors in both domains, the subtest content, the normative sample of 4,800; Stoelting, SB5 listing (about 50 minutes; subtest scaled scores mean 10, SD 3; norms matched to the 2000 census; high-end items for giftedness; change-sensitive scores). The nine descriptive labels are Roid's (2003) as reproduced in the secondary literature (Kaufman 2009). Percentiles are the normal-curve reading of the scale. Fetched 9 November 2026.

Questions parents ask

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