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Have formal intelligence tests or academic assessments of Donald Trump been published and when?
Executive Summary
No formal, peer-reviewed intelligence tests or comprehensive academic assessments of Donald Trump have been published in the public record; what is documented are medical cognitive screenings (not IQ tests) and contested claims about academic records and standardized testing. The clearest, verifiable public items are the Montreal Cognitive Assessment screenings reported in 2018 and again in 2025, White House physician memoranda asserting cognitive fitness, and longstanding unresolved claims about SAT or grade secrecy raised by family and former associates [1] [2] [3].
1. Why the “IQ” headlines are misleading — a short, sharp clarification
Multiple recent pieces trace media confusion between dementia screening tools and formal intelligence testing; Donald Trump has described a short screening as an “IQ test,” but experts and the test inventor emphasize the difference. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a 10-minute dementia screening that assesses memory, attention and language, not a metric for IQ, and its creator has warned it should not be used to claim an IQ score [1] [4]. White House statements and Trump’s public claims that he “aced” the test in 2018 and 2025 have been widely reported, but the underlying medical tool is explicitly designed to detect early cognitive impairment rather than measure intelligence [1] [5].
2. What the public medical record shows — screenings and physician memos, not IQ tests
The most concrete public documentation comes from White House medical summaries and physician memoranda stating that Trump completed cognitive screenings and was found “fully fit” to serve. A 2025 White House medical report and an April memorandum asserted robust physical and cognitive function, and one earlier exam recorded a MoCA score of 30/30; these items are medical fitness assessments rather than psychometric IQ publications [6] [2]. Reporting around 2025 also notes additional health testing (MRI, labs) and clinical findings such as cataract surgery and vascular issues, but none of those documents constitute a published standardized intelligence test or an academic transcript release [6] [5].
3. Academic records, SAT claims, and efforts to keep grades private — what’s on the record
Claims about Trump’s academic performance center on two themes: assertions from family members and associates that his admissions tests or grades were problematic, and alleged attempts to keep school records private. Mary Trump and Michael Cohen have alleged cheating or efforts to suppress SAT scores and grades; White House officials have denied these claims, and the archival record from his college does not show honors listings such as cum laude or prize recipients for his class [3] [7]. These items amount to contested allegations and partial archival absence, not publication of validated academic assessments or confirmed SAT score documents [3] [8].
4. How different actors frame the evidence — motives and messaging to note
The presentation of cognitive and academic information is clearly shaped by competing agendas. Supporters and White House physicians emphasize fitness and “excellent” lab results to counter concerns about age and capability, while critics and some journalists foreground the vagueness and lack of published psychometric data to argue for greater transparency [6] [5]. Family members and former aides who allege wrongdoing or secrecy may have motives tied to personal disputes or political aims, and the White House pushback often labels critics as unreliable; the facts remain that formal intelligence test results and full academic records have not been released to the public record [7] [3] [2].
5. Bottom line and what would change the picture — what to look for next
The factual baseline is simple: published intelligence tests or formal academic assessments of Donald Trump do not exist in the public domain; what exists are dementia screening results reported in physician statements and contested claims about SATs and grade suppression [1] [2] [7]. The picture would change only if independent, verifiable psychometric results, full academic transcripts, or peer-reviewed cognitive evaluations are publicly released; absent that, discussions comparing “IQ” remain conflations of screening tools with standardized intelligence measurement and unresolved allegations about academic records [4] [3].