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The Mega Test is a high-range intelligence test developed by Ronald K. Hoeflin and first published in Omni magazine in April 1985.[1] It consists of 48 items and was intended to identify test-takers above the range of conventional standardized intelligence tests.[2]
Development and publication
editHoeflin developed the Mega Test as part of his attempt to create tests for adult IQ scores above the range normally measured by conventional intelligence tests.[1] The test was published in Omni in April 1985, and responses from test-takers were later used in its norming.[1][2]
The Mega Test was followed by Hoeflin's Titan Test, which was also published in Omni in April 1990.[2]
Format and scoring
editThe Mega Test contains 48 items, including verbal and mathematical problems.[1][2] It was self-administered and untimed.[1][2]
Hoeflin normed the test using reported scores from previous tests and statistical equating methods. Redvaldsen described Hoeflin's approach as involving equipercentile equating with other test scores, including SAT scores, with extrapolation used at the highest score levels.[2]
Use by high-IQ societies
editScores on the Mega Test were used for admission to some high-IQ societies associated with Hoeflin, including the Hoeflin Research Group and the Mega Society.[1][2] The test became associated with public claims about extremely high IQ scores, including listings in the Guinness Book of Records high-IQ section before that category was discontinued.[3]
The 1989 Guinness Book of Records listed Marilyn vos Savant, Keith Raniere, and Eric Hart in connection with high scores on the Mega Test.[3]
Criticism and limitations
editThe Mega Test differed from conventional standardized intelligence tests in that it was self-administered and untimed.[1][2] Roger D. Carlson's evaluation of the Mega Test in Test Critiques stated that the test "violates many good psychometric principles by overinterpreting the weak data of a self-selected sample."[4]
Scholars of high-ability identification have cautioned that norm tables for extreme IQ values may rely on extrapolation rather than representative empirical samples.[5] Susana Urbina has similarly cautioned that curve-fitting and other issues are reasons to be suspicious of reported IQ scores much higher than 160.[6]
Carlson's evaluation also criticized the test for attempting to discriminate at extremely rare percentiles despite having only 48 questions, and argued that the standard error overwhelmed such attempts at fine-grained distinction.[4] The evaluation further criticized the test for blurring domain-specific knowledge with general intelligence.[4] Rachel Aviv, writing in The Village Voice, also noted criticism that tests such as the Mega Test blurred knowledge with general intelligence.[7]
A 2020 analysis by David Redvaldsen concluded that official scores reported to test-takers on the Mega Test were too high, while also finding that the test may nevertheless have reached approximately the one-in-a-million level.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Morris, Scot (April 1985). "The One in a Million I.Q. Test". Omni. pp. 128–132. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Redvaldsen, David (2020). "Do the Mega and Titan Tests Yield Accurate Results? An Investigation into Two Experimental Intelligence Tests". Psych. 2 (2): 97–113. doi:10.3390/psych2020010.
- 1 2 McWhirter, Norris; McFarlan, Donald (1988). The Guinness Book of Records 1989. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85112-878-8. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Carlson, Roger D. (1991). "The Mega Test". In Keyser, Daniel; Sweetland, Richard (eds.). Test Critiques. Vol. VIII. Kansas City: Test Corporation of America. pp. 431–435. ISBN 0-89079-254-2.
- ↑ Perleth, Christoph; Schatz, Tanja; Mönks, Franz J. (2000). "Early Identification of High Ability". In Heller, Kurt A.; Mönks, Franz J.; Sternberg, Robert J.; Subotnik, Rena F. (eds.). International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Pergamon. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-08-043796-5.
- ↑ Urbina, Susana (2011). "Tests of Intelligence". In Sternberg, Robert J.; Kaufman, Scott Barry (eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 20–38. ISBN 9780521739115.
- ↑ Aviv, Rachel (25 July 2006). "The Intelligencer". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2026.