Programs and cutoffs · Reviewed 2026-09-23
Gifted testing: GAI or FSIQ?
Some gifted programs look at Full Scale IQ. Some also accept the General Ability Index when working memory or processing speed pulled FSIQ down. The cutoff is theirs, often near 130. This page lists what to read on the report and what to ask the program. It cannot qualify anyone.
This laboratory does not identify giftedness
Giftedness is a placement decision. A district, a private school, or a clinic writes the rule: which test, which composite, which cutoff, which other evidence (achievement, a portfolio, a teacher form). GAIvsIQ is none of those authorities. The nine-task estimate is not a qualifying IQ test. Pasting scores here does not create a record a school must accept.
Use the page to understand a report you already have, and to walk into a meeting with the right questions. If you do not have a Wechsler, the next step is an evaluation the program names, not a browser battery.
Why a handbook mentions GAI at all
FSIQ can hide a strong reasoning profile when WMI or PSI is much lower. A student who reasons at 132 and processes simple symbols at 95 may land a full-scale score under a cutoff of 130. GAI was built for that portrait. Some programs say, in writing, that they will consider GAI in that situation. Others say FSIQ only. Others want a nonverbal composite, or two tests, or a score from the last two years. The PDF from the program outranks any general article, including this one.
A common round number is 130, about the 98th percentile on a mean of 100 and an SD of 15. You will also see 125, 132, and rules that say “at or above the 95th percentile.” Read the percentile on the report next to the composite they named. Do not convert a different composite with a chart and assume it counts. Bands are explained on what a good GAI score is.
What to ask before you argue the gap
- Which composite is accepted: FSIQ, GAI, a nonverbal index, or more than one?
- Is there a minimum on the other indexes, or can WMI and PSI sit anywhere?
- Which editions count, and how recent must the testing be?
- Who may administer the test: school psychologist, licensed psychologist, a named clinic?
- What else is required besides the IQ composite?
- If GAI is accepted, must it already be printed, or will the committee derive it?
If the handbook is silent, ask in writing. Do not assume silence means GAI is welcome. Do not assume a blog that says “schools use GAI” means your school does.
How to read the report against a cutoff
Find the standard score the program named, using where to find GAI. Note the confidence interval. A point estimate of 129 with an interval that crosses 130 is a conversation about measurement error, which the examiner can explain. It is not a prompt to shop for a second number on a website until one clears the line.
Then look at the gap. If the program accepts GAI only when FSIQ was depressed by memory or speed, you need those indexes to be the low ones. Confirm that pattern with the checklist and, if CPI is printed, with the CPI calculator. A high GAI with high memory and speed and a low FSIQ is not the pattern those policies describe. Something else in the profile is pulling FSIQ down, and the committee will notice.
What not to do with a cutoff
- Do not sit the nine-task estimate to manufacture a 130. It is not a Wechsler, and submitting it as one is a false record.
- Do not average two testings, or average GAI and FSIQ, to cross a line.
- Do not coach a child on analogies and matrices the week of an evaluation. Practice changes scores and can invalidate the sitting.
- Do not hide a low index. The protocol still has it, and the policy you are citing exists because of that index.
A fair request is narrower: “The handbook says you consider GAI when processing speed depresses FSIQ. Here is the printed GAI, the printed FSIQ, and PSI. Please review them under that rule.” That request still may be declined. The decline is the program’s.
Adults and “am I gifted?”
Adult searches for a gifted GAI are usually curiosity, not a school form. On the descriptive scale, 130 and above is very superior. It is a high score. It does not enroll you in a society, and it does not need to. If you have official scores, the calculator will show the gap. If you do not, the nine tasks are a personal estimate with the limits on GAI IQ test versus a WAIS. Either way, a high score is something to understand, not a title this site can award.
Common questions
What GAI score is gifted?
Many programs use 130, about the 98th percentile. Some use a different cutoff or refuse GAI entirely. Check the written rule.
Will a school accept this website’s test?
No. The nine-task estimate is not a WAIS, WISC, or any qualifying battery.
Our FSIQ is under 130 and GAI is over. Are we in?
Only if that program accepts GAI in that situation and the rest of the file matches the rule. The scores are necessary context, not an admission.
Can you write a letter to the school?
No. Take the printed report and the handbook to the committee or the psychologist who tested the student.
Where to go next
The GAIvsIQ laboratory keeps one URL for each job. This note does not replace the instrument it points to.
Ready when you are
Have the two official composites?
See the gap first. The program still decides whether GAI counts.