Not usually, but there are several different types of tests. The IQ tests administered to children are usually different from those administered to adults, because children require lower reading levels and have a less extensive vocabulary than adults. For adults (those above 18 years of age) there is a common test, the most popular of which is the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale). The WAIS includes measures of verbal comprehension, perceptional reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. WAIS-IV has 10 subtests and 5 supplemental tests that summarize intelligence with two measures–a final IQ score and a General Ability Index.
The WAIS is age-normed across age-groups up to and including 70–74 years. The WAIS manual enables a psychometrician to convert an absolute score on the WAIS to an age-related score to adjust for the gradual cognitive decline that occurs with age. A 70-year-old with an IQ of 103 is probably scoring on the WAIS test about the same as a 30-year-old of IQ 96. However, these adjustments for age become less reliable in the senior age groups because the variance in IQ’s becomes greater as we age, and applying the same correction factors for two different seniors between 70 and 74 years carries the implicit assumption that all seniors in that age range decline at the same rate.
For more information on specific IQ tests, visit: What are the best tests for measuring your IQ? – Intelligence and IQ
