History

Introduction

High-range psychometrics is an emergent field of research concerned with investigating mental ability above the 99th centile of the adult Western population. Its origins can be traced to the foundational work of Lewis Terman and John C. Raven in the mid-twentieth century, though its contemporary form is largely attributable to the later work of Paul Cooijmans and Ron Hoeflin.

Terman’s Concept Mastery Test

In 1939, Terman developed the Concept Mastery Test - Form A, an experimental instrument attempting to measure intelligence up to five standard deviations above the mean. It demonstrated that mental abilities could be meaningfully differentiated beyond the limits assumed by early twentieth-century psychologists.

Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices

In 1947, Raven introduced the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) as an extension of his earlier Progressive Matrices from 1938. Unlike his previous tests, the APM was designed to discriminate at higher ability levels and became the de facto extended ceiling test for psychologists measuring intelligent populations.

Skyscraper

In 1974, Christopher Harding developed the Skyscraper, a high-I.Q. society admissions test for the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (I.S.P.E.). It comprised ten multiple-choice verbal items and represented the first unsupervised, take-home test explicitly intended to assess extremely high intelligence.

Langdon Adult Intelligence Test

In Omni Magazine's April 1979 issue, Kevin Langdon published the Langdon Adult Intelligence Test (LAIT). It received over 20 000 submissions, making it the most widely taken high-range test to date. The LAIT was discontinued in the mid-1990s following pressure from the State of California to cease testing operations.

The Mega Test

In April 1985, Hoeflin published the Mega Test. Entrants included figures who later became well-known in the high-I.Q. subculture, such as Marilyn vos Savant, Rick Rosner, and Chris Langan. The Mega Test popularized very difficult, open-ended items and established Hoeflin as a central figure in high-range psychometrics.

The Titan Test

In April 1990, five years after the Mega Test, Hoeflin released a more challenging successor, the Titan Test. Like its predecessor, it attracted thousands of submissions and continued the trend toward increasingly difficult open-ended problems.

Test For Genius

In 1995, Cooijmans published the Test For Genius (T.F.G.), whose spatial subtest introduced draw-the-answer spatial items, an item type that has since become nearly ubiquitous in high-range spatial tests. Published in multiple languages, including Dutch, German, French, and English, the T.F.G. also introduced modern high-range I.Q. testing to Europe.

While the original Test For Genius has since been withdrawn, the 2025 revision can be ordered here.

Giga Test

In 1997, Cooijmans developed the Giga Test, a supervised ultra-high-range examination. This marked the first attempt to apply proctored conditions to a modern high-range I.Q. test, and several candidates traveled to the Netherlands to participate.

Logima Strictica 36

Four years after T.F.G. introduced draw-the-answer spatial problems, Robert Lato published the Logima Strictica 36 (LS36) in 1999, a spatial test inspired by this format. LS36 became one of the most widely taken high-range spatial tests, known for its distinctive style and perceived cultural fairness.

Strict Logical Sequences Examination

In 2002, Jonathan Wai released the Strict Logical Sequences Examination, which quickly became, and remains, the most taken high-range number series test to date. Its impact was particularly evident within the Eastern high-range subculture, inspiring many Chinese-authored number-series tests.

I.Q. Tests for the High Range

In 2005, Cooijmans formally established I.Q. Tests for the High Range, a research entity under which he continues to publish high-range tests, statistical reports, and methodological papers. This marks the first sustained, longitudinal research program in the field of high-range psychometrics.

The Informal Era

Over the next two decades, hundreds of high-range tests were published, primarily by hobbyists. While many of these tests function more as recreational puzzle sets, they nonetheless contributed to the high-I.Q. subculture. Throughout this period, Cooijmans remained the only prominent researcher consistently engaged in serious high-range psychometrics research.

Neurolus Psychometrics

In 2025, Matthew Scillitani founded Neurolus Psychometrics to investigate whether test performances can be validly differentiated in the extreme right tail under supervised, time-limited conditions. For more information, see the About page.

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