Congratulations to all competitors who participated in Round 1 of the inaugural HIQORA World Championship! It was a demanding test but we hope you enjoyed the experience.
It was pleasing to see such a diverse mix of nationalities, ages and genders competing in Round 1.
Highlights from Round 1
- Highest Score: 43/50 (86%)
- Highest Scores: 17 people scored above 80%
All Competitors
- Average Total Score: 25.2/50
- Section 1 Average: 16.4/35
- Section 2 Average: 8.8/15
- Average Age: 31.5 years
- Gender: 24% Female and 76% Male
- Over 60 countries represented
Top 40 Highest Performers
- Average Total Score: 39.4/50
- Section 1 Average: 25/35
- Section 2 Average: 14.4/15
- Average Age: 32.5 years
- Youngest Age: 16 years
- Gender: 25% Female and 75% Male
- Country of Origin (Non-English Speaking): 60%
- Country of Origin (English Speaking): 40%
General Feedback
Start Times: It’s always going to be challenge to find a time that suits everyone when people compete in virtually every world timezone! Early feedback suggests the 11am timing suited most participants. The reason for this simultaneously global start time is to prevent collusion or cheating. It is also worthwhile to note that competitors have a 5-minute window after the official start time to log into the test. So Round 2 begins at 11.00am EDT (New York time) on June 11th 2016 but you will be able to begin the test from 11.00am-11.05am.
ESL Question Issues: A number of our English-as-a-second-language (ESL) competitors felt the test required an in-depth knowledge of the English language, which resulted in them being at a disadvantage. We have taken these comments on board and will attempt to simplify the language used in the Round 2 questions and future years. We were pleased that 9 of the top 10 performing competitors were from Non-English speaking countries, demonstrating that being a native English speaker is not a prerequisite for success in the competition.
Units of Measurement: Competitors also raised concerns that units of measurement should conform to International System of Units (SI), rather than being a mix of SI and Imperial. However, due to the question construction in Round 1, the unit of measurement used would not have affected the competitor’s ability to answer the question correctly. For the sake of clarity, we will be using SI units for Round 2.
Technical Issues: A number of people experienced slow speeds or frozen screens towards the final minutes of the test. It is worthwhile to note that answers for each question save automatically when you click through to the following question. So even if your computer crashes in the final minute, all your questions up until that point will be saved and submitted. So don’t panic if your screen seemed to freeze in the final minutes of Round 1! We are working with our Technology Partner, HackerRank, to address these issues before the start of Round 2.
Question Content: Some competitors commented that this was not like any Mensa(R) or other IQ Tests they had sat in the past. This is precisely what makes HIQORA different. It is not merely another IQ test, but a unique global challenge of intelligence. So now that you’ve experienced Round 1, we can’t wait to see what everyone will achieve in Round 2!
Round 1 Feedback Quotes
Here’s what some of what you had to say after completing HIQORA Round 1:
- “It was awesome! My brain hurts now :(“
- “It was very enjoyable, good range of simple and difficult questions from all aspects of intelligence. Also very good help from the support team when I e-mailed!”
- “It was hard with English not being my native language. But I know I can practice my English more and improve for next year!”
- “The questions were great and really tested my knowledge. These questions cause me to think deeper and I think that HIQORA is awesome.”
- “Unit of measure are not international and sometimes the questions are for English people only.”
- “Excellent quality and variety of questions.”
- “Too English orientated, numbers are the international language.”
- “Thanks for running the competition. PLEASE, PLEASE do it again next year!”
- “I am challenged. Good job Hiqora!”
- “It was fun, thanks for organizing this competition. Certain questions are hard if English is not your mother language, of course.”
- “I really enjoyed the test and the challenge of the questions. They were fun and humbling. :)”
- “It was amazing and so entertaining. Keep it this way!”
- “As a non-English person the test was quite difficult sometimes, otherwise quite entertaining.”
- “Very good test, but in the last three minutes responsiveness was very slow.”
- “Yikes. This was intense. Very fun though!”
- “Excellent – one of the best.”
