What is a "Good" Score on an Emotional Intelligence Test?
You've just taken an EQ test. Maybe you scored 78 out of 100, or you're in the 63rd percentile, or you got a label like "Developing" on the Empathy subscale. Now what? What counts as a good score, what do the numbers actually mean, and more importantly — what should you do about it?
First: Not All EQ Tests Are Created Equal
Before you interpret a score, you need to know what kind of EQ test you took. There are three major model families, and they produce very different scores:
Ability EQ (MSCEIT, MEIS): Scores you like an IQ test — performance tasks with objectively correct or consensus-correct answers. Average score is around 100 with a standard deviation of ~15. A score above 115 puts you in the top 16% of the tested population.
Self-report EQ (most online and consumer tests): Scores based on your own perception of your emotional abilities. These don't have "correct" answers — they measure how emotionally intelligent you think you are. Research consistently shows moderate gaps between self-reported EQ and ability-based EQ, particularly for men.
Mixed model EQ (EQ-i 2.0, Goleman-based instruments): Blend of self-report and behavioral indicators. Used widely in corporate settings. Normative scores (how you compare to a reference group) are more meaningful than raw scores.
Most online EQ tests are self-report or mixed model. Keep that in mind when interpreting your results.
What the Percentile Numbers Mean
If your test reports percentile scores:
| Percentile | What it means |
|---|---|
| 90th+ | Top 10% of the tested population on this dimension |
| 70th–89th | Above average — clear strength |
| 40th–69th | Average range — typical functioning |
| 20th–39th | Below average — worth attention |
| Below 20th | Significantly below average — meaningful development gap |
The critical point: "average" is not bad. Average emotional intelligence supports functional work and relationship performance. EQ, unlike IQ, doesn't have the same magnitude of life-outcome impact across the full range. Being in the 40th percentile on EQ does not mean your relationships are doomed.
What Each EQ Subscale Means
Most quality EQ assessments report scores on multiple subscales. Here's how to interpret each:
Emotional Self-Awareness
What it measures: How accurately you identify your own emotional states in real time.
Low score implications: You may act on emotions without recognizing them — irritation that reads to others as rudeness; anxiety that drives micromanaging. The ability to name emotions is literally regulatory: research shows emotional labeling reduces amygdala activation.
Development approach: Feelings journaling for 4–6 weeks, naming specific emotions (not just "bad" or "stressed") multiple times daily.
Emotional Regulation / Self-Management
What it measures: How effectively you manage your emotional responses, particularly under pressure.
Low score implications: Reactive behavior under stress; difficulty sustaining focus when emotionally activated; interpersonal damage from poorly regulated responses.
Development approach: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR); cognitive reappraisal techniques; stress management routines that create recovery windows before difficult interactions.
Social Awareness / Empathy
What it measures: How accurately you perceive and understand others' emotional states.
Low score implications: Consistently misreading social cues; surprising others with tone-deaf responses; difficulty navigating interpersonal complexity.
Development approach: Active listening practice; deliberate perspective-taking exercises; seeking feedback about interpersonal impact.
Relationship Management / Social Skills
What it measures: How effectively you use emotional information to navigate and build relationships.
Low score implications: Difficulty resolving conflicts; trouble inspiring or influencing others; relationships that remain transactional rather than trust-based.
Development approach: Conflict resolution frameworks; communication skills training; deliberate investment in relationship maintenance.
What's a "Good" Score for Different Purposes?
For personal growth: Any score gives you useful information. The specific numbers matter less than the pattern — which subscales are highest, which are lowest, and whether the pattern explains interpersonal patterns you've noticed.
For leadership roles: Leaders with higher EQ — particularly in emotional self-awareness and relationship management — produce demonstrably better team outcomes. A score in the top third on relationship management is worth pursuing if you manage people.
For therapeutic or coaching contexts: Any self-report EQ score should be treated as a hypothesis, not a diagnosis. A therapist uses your EQ profile as a starting point for exploration, not a verdict.
For hiring: EQ scores should not be used as a primary selection criterion. The predictive validity for job performance, while real, is not sufficient to justify selection decisions — and EQ testing in hiring contexts carries discrimination risk for protected groups.
The Self-Report Problem
A consistent research finding: people tend to overestimate their own EQ. Particularly:
- Men slightly overestimate EQ more than women on average
- Leaders often rate their own EQ significantly higher than their direct reports rate them
- People in high-stress states (burnout, depression) tend to underestimate their EQ
If you want a more accurate EQ picture, the gold standard is 360-degree EQ feedback — having people who know you well rate you on the same dimensions you're rating yourself. The gap between self-ratings and others' ratings is itself diagnostic.
Improving Your EQ Score
EQ, unlike IQ, is meaningfully trainable. Meta-analyses of EQ training interventions show real effects, particularly on:
- Emotional labeling accuracy (the perceiving branch)
- Impulse control and emotional regulation (the managing branch)
- Empathic accuracy (the understanding branch)
The training needs to be sustained (weeks to months, not a one-day workshop), behaviorally practiced (not just conceptually understood), and ideally paired with feedback about real-world impact.
My Path's EQ assessment reports your score across four branches of emotional intelligence plus a self-awareness calibration tool that shows the gap between your self-rating and what the behavioral indicators suggest. The AI report identifies your highest-leverage development area — the subscale where improvement would most benefit your specific career and relationship context.