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Magic School Bus , IQ Score 178/200

Magic School Bus has an IQ Score of 178/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH and Cordelia Witty, EdS., NCSP·Updated ·Methodology

animationeducationalsciencechildren
178/ 200
Masterclass

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

Ages 5-10SEL 22/50
Magic School Bus poster, IQ Score 178/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50
42
Educational Value/50
48
Craft & Quality/50
44
SEL Score/50
22
IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4)  · How we score →
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Why you should trust this score

Cordelia Witty, EdS., NCSP
Reviewed by Cordelia Witty, EdS., NCSP
Licensed school psychologist. Reviews kids content against the published rubric and the CASEL social-emotional learning framework.
Methodology
Published rubric, v1.2
Formula
round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4
Database scale
2,338 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Joanna Cole's book series adapted into one of the most pedagogically rigorous animated series ever made. Ms.

Frizzle's field trips are structured around the inquiry cycle, hypothesis, observation, revision, at a register most adult science programming fails to commit to. The episodes consistently introduce vocabulary at the upper edge of the age range and trust the audience to keep up.

For Parents Who grew up on this in the 1990s

Magic School Bus scored 178 / 200. What about the rest of your child's rotation?

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Where to Watch

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Compare head-to-head

vs. Bill Nye the Science Guy
170Masterclass

Where to go next

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Avatar: The Last Airbender
181Masterclass
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172Masterclass

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Cite this score

Magic School Bus scored 178/200 (Masterclass tier) on TV Intelligentsia's published methodology. Source: tvintelligentsia.com/titles/magic-school-bus/

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