Which statement about confidence intervals in intelligence testing is supported by the material?

Which statement about confidence intervals in intelligence testing is supported by the material?

• A. The confidence interval is the range within which scores are expected to fall most of the time.
• B. Confidence intervals guarantee a retest will yield exactly the same score.
• C. Confidence intervals determine the test's reliability coefficient.
• D. Confidence intervals replace raw IQ scores as the standard reporting method.

Answer: (A)

Confidence intervals around an intelligence test score show how precise the score is by indicating a range that is likely to contain the person’s true ability level. Because no test is perfectly precise, the observed score is an estimate of the true score, and the interval provides the range where that true score would lie most of the time if the test were repeated under similar conditions. This is why the statement that the interval is the range within which the true score is expected to fall most of the time is the best description. It doesn’t guarantee the same score on a retest, it doesn’t determine the reliability coefficient, and it doesn’t replace raw IQ scores—rather, it adds information about precision around the observed score.

Confidence intervals around an intelligence test score show how precise the score is by indicating a range that is likely to contain the person’s true ability level. Because no test is perfectly precise, the observed score is an estimate of the true score, and the interval provides the range where that true score would lie most of the time if the test were repeated under similar conditions. This is why the statement that the interval is the range within which the true score is expected to fall most of the time is the best description. It doesn’t guarantee the same score on a retest, it doesn’t determine the reliability coefficient, and it doesn’t replace raw IQ scores—rather, it adds information about precision around the observed score.