IQ Metrics
IIF Certified Assessment Start IQ Test
IIF Certified Assessment
Culture-Fair IQ Test

No words.
No numbers.
Just the pattern.

An IQ assessment built to reduce the influence of language, schooling and cultural background on your score. Rather than explain that, the panel beside this is a real item — try it before you read another line.

Sample item · unscoredTry it

✓ Correct — every row and column holds each shape exactly once, so the gap takes the square.

Not quite — the answer is B. Each row and column contains all three shapes exactly once.

The format

Two domains kept.
Two deliberately removed.

A standard IQ test samples four domains. Two of them lean on language and arithmetic — skills shaped by which language you speak and which school system you sat in. This format drops those two and keeps the two that do not depend on them.

Verbal reasoning

Analogies and word relationships. Removed — it measures vocabulary as much as reasoning.

Excluded

Numerical reasoning

Number series and quantitative logic. Removed — numeracy varies sharply with schooling.

Excluded

Abstract reasoning

Inferring a rule from shapes alone, then applying it to a case you have not seen.

Measured

Spatial reasoning

Turning a shape in your head, and telling a rotation apart from a mirror image.

Measured

The result is a non-verbal composite score on the same 100/15 scale every other format uses — comparable in structure to how non-verbal batteries are generally built. Background on the method is on the About page.

Sample items

Four plates, no language

One item per format used in the test. Nothing here is scored — and, as in the real thing, there is not a single word or number in any of them, including the answers.

PLATE 01

Matrix completion

Which tile belongs in the empty cell?

✓ Correct — the dot moves one corner clockwise each step, so the gap takes B.

Not quite — the answer is B.

Read the dot, not the tile. Across the top row it steps one corner clockwise; each new row picks up one step further along. The bottom row runs bottom-right, bottom-left, so the gap continues the turn and lands back at top-left.

PLATE 02

Figure series

Which figure comes next in the series?

✓ Correct — each step turns the figure 45° clockwise.

Not quite — the answer is C.

The shape never changes; only its orientation does. The series runs 0°, 45°, 90°, so the next term is 135°. A and D are earlier positions in the same series, and B overshoots.

PLATE 03

Odd one out

Three of these follow one rule. Which breaks it?

✓ Correct — C is the only one whose inner shape differs from its outer shape.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Three of the four pair a shape with a smaller copy of itself. C puts a circle inside a square. Size and shading are held constant across all four, so neither can be the distinguishing feature.

PLATE 04

Mental rotation

Which option is the same shape, only rotated?

✓ Correct — B is the prompt given a quarter turn. Nothing flipped, no block moved.

Not quite — the answer is B.

Two different things rule an option out, so you cannot get this one by picking whichever looks unlike the rest. A and C are mirror images — a rotation preserves handedness, a reflection reverses it, and no amount of turning undoes that. D is not a transformation of the prompt at all; it is a different five-block shape turned to look plausible.

The claim, precisely

A fairer test. Not a bias-free one.

01

It removes one documented source of bias

Reading comprehension, vocabulary and arithmetic are shaped by schooling quality and language fluency long before they measure reasoning. Stripping them out addresses a specific, well-evidenced disadvantage — not every difference in background.

02

Visual reasoning is still learned

Familiarity with diagrams, puzzles and abstract figures varies between people and between education systems. No test is perfectly culture-free. “Culture-fair” is a direction of travel, not a destination anyone has reached.

03

It is not a named clinical instrument

This draws on the general concept of non-verbal matrix reasoning, which has decades of history in psychometrics. It is not a reproduction of, or equivalent to, Raven’s Progressive Matrices or any other named battery, and it is a self-administered screening tool rather than a clinical one.

04

Who it suits

Non-native English speakers who do not want vocabulary scored in place of reasoning; anyone curious about fluid reasoning rather than accumulated knowledge; and educators wanting a fairer first screen for multilingual learners — bearing in mind it screens, it does not diagnose.

Your result

One composite, two domains

Scored server-side and mapped onto the standard scale — mean 100, standard deviation 15 — so a non-verbal composite reads exactly like any other IQ score.

Non-verbal composite 108

70th percentile
Higher than roughly 7 in 10 people.

Abstract reasoning112
Spatial reasoning104
7085100115130

Illustrative example, not a real result.

~45 questions · ~22 minutes · instant results

Your score reflects performance on this assessment on this day. It is a reliable estimate, not a clinical diagnosis — the longer explanation is in Understanding Your IQ Score, and the method behind it in How IQ Tests Work.

FAQ

A few quick answers

Does this test require any English proficiency at all?

No — the questions contain no words and no numbers, they are entirely pattern-based, and the instructions themselves use minimal text with visual examples. If you specifically want to check verbal reasoning instead, our Verbal IQ Test is built for exactly that.

How is this different from the Classical IQ Test?

The Classical IQ Test measures four domains, including verbal and numerical reasoning. This test measures only abstract and spatial reasoning, excluding language-dependent and number-heavy content. Both produce a composite score, but they measure different slices of cognitive ability.

Is this the same as Raven’s Progressive Matrices?

No. This test draws on the general concept of non-verbal matrix reasoning, which is a well-established approach in psychometrics. It is not a reproduction of, or equivalent to, any specific named copyrighted instrument, including Raven’s Progressive Matrices. See How IQ Tests Work for more on the methodology behind matrix reasoning generally.

Is this the same as a Mensa test?

No, and we don’t claim any affiliation with Mensa. Mensa’s own admission tests are administered under supervised, proctored conditions and use their own specific, copyrighted instruments. This test draws on the same general family of non-verbal, matrix-based reasoning tasks that many high-range and admission-style tests use, which makes it a reasonable way to get comfortable with that question format — but a score here is not a Mensa result and can’t be submitted as one.

How accurate is a non-verbal score compared to a full verbal-and-numerical test?

It’s a reliable estimate of abstract and spatial reasoning specifically, but because it only samples two of the four domains, it carries a somewhat wider margin of error as a stand-in for a full composite IQ than the Classical test does. Our IQ Test Accuracy page covers how margin of error works across formats.

Can children take the Culture-Fair test?

This version is built and normed for adults. If you’re testing a child, use the Kids IQ Test instead, which applies age-specific norms across bands from 4 to 17 rather than the adult scale.

Does age affect a non-verbal score differently than a verbal one?

Somewhat — abstract and spatial reasoning (fluid intelligence) tends to peak earlier and decline more steadily across adulthood than crystallized, knowledge-based ability does, so age-normed comparison matters here too. Our IQ and Age tool breaks down how that adjustment works.

How is my raw score converted into a percentile?

Your raw performance is compared against the norm sample, converted to a standardised score, and mapped onto the normal distribution to produce a percentile — the share of that norm group your score is higher than. Our IQ Percentile Calculator walks through this conversion directly.

Can I compare my Culture-Fair score directly to a Classical score?

Both report on the same standard scale, so the numbers are comparable, but they’re not measuring quite the same thing — Culture-Fair isolates two domains while Classical samples all four. Our IQ Comparison tool shows how a score sits against different reference groups.

If I retake this test later, should I expect a similar score?

Close, but treat a small difference as normal measurement noise rather than a real change in ability — and if your first score was unusually high or low, expect it to drift back toward your average on a retest. Our IQ Score Over Time tool is built for tracking genuine, well-spaced retests.

Other formats

Language is only
one thing a test can drop.

Leaving words and numbers out is the point of this format — but it does narrow the picture. All eight are compared on the IQ Tests page.

Ready for a test
with no words in it?

Abstract and spatial pattern reasoning, a non-verbal composite score, a percentile and a domain breakdown — ready the moment you submit.

Start the test
Secure & encrypted Instant results No language needed