Memory scales, and what each one actually measures

Twelve standardised instruments side by side, the kinds of memory they separate, and how a raw score becomes a result you can interpret.

Memory assessment scales at a glance

Filter by name, ability or age range.

Scale	Full name	What it measures	Ages	Time
WMS-IV	Wechsler Memory Scale, fourth edition	Auditory and visual memory, working memory, delayed recall	16–90	60–90 min
RAVLT	Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test	Word list learning across trials, interference, delayed recall	7–89	15 min plus delay
CVLT-3	California Verbal Learning Test	Verbal learning strategy, recall and recognition	16–90	30 min plus delay
Digit Span	Forward, backward and sequencing	Short-term span and verbal working memory	6–90	5–10 min
Corsi block	Corsi block-tapping task	Visuospatial span and visuospatial working memory	5–90	10 min
ROCF	Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure	Visual construction, immediate and delayed visual recall	6–89	10 min plus delay
RBMT-3	Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test	Everyday memory: names, routes, appointments, belongings	16–89	30 min
FCSRT	Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test	Encoding-controlled recall, sensitive to hippocampal patterns	Adults	20 min
BVMT-R	Brief Visuospatial Memory Test, revised	Visuospatial learning and delayed recall	18–79	15 min plus delay
HVLT-R	Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, revised	Brief verbal learning and recognition	16–88	10 min plus delay
MoCA memory index	Montreal Cognitive Assessment, memory index score	Delayed recall within a wider screening tool	18–85	10 min total
Doors and People	Doors and People test	Visual and verbal recall and recognition compared	16–80	40 min

Rating scale or performance test

The instruments above fall into two families, and they are not interchangeable. A rating scale asks a person, a parent or a teacher how something usually looks. A performance test measures what someone actually does in a controlled task on the day. They disagree often, and the disagreement is informative rather than a fault: behaviour across weeks and performance in a quiet room for twenty minutes are genuinely different things.

The kinds of memory these scales separate

Type	Everyday example	Typically measured by
Short-term memory	Holding a phone number long enough to dial it	Digit span forward, Corsi forward
Working memory	Doing the arithmetic while keeping the total in mind	Digit span backward, PASAT, n-back
Episodic memory	Recalling what happened at breakfast yesterday	RAVLT, CVLT-3, ROCF delayed recall
Recognition memory	Knowing a face is familiar without placing it	Doors and People, CVLT recognition trials
Prospective memory	Remembering to take something with you when you leave	RBMT-3
Visuospatial memory	Finding your way back through an unfamiliar building	BVMT-R, Corsi, ROCF

Reading a memory score

Raw scores from these instruments mean almost nothing on their own. They are converted against a normative sample matched for age, and often for education, and reported as scaled scores, T-scores or percentiles. A raw list-learning score that looks poor for a twenty-year-old can sit comfortably in the average band for someone of seventy-five, because the comparison group has changed. The conversion arithmetic is set out on attentionscores.com.

Two further points decide whether a result means anything. The first is the gap between immediate and delayed recall, which separates a problem storing information from a problem retrieving it. The second is whether cued recall or recognition rescues the score: if a person cannot recall a word list freely but picks the words out of a list without difficulty, the information was encoded and the retrieval path is the weak link.

Memory exercises used in cognitive training

Standardised scales measure. Training tasks practise. These 12 exercises from CogniFit are built around the memory abilities in the table above.

The exercises named on this page are part of the CogniFit platform and are used here with permission. They are cognitive stimulation activities for general use. They are not a medical device, they do not diagnose or treat any condition, and a score from any of them is not a clinical finding. If you are worried about your memory or concentration, speak to a health professional.

CogniFit also publishes a memory-focused battery, the Online Cognitive Assessment Battery for Memory, alongside its general battery and versions aimed at specific groups such as older adults, students and drivers.

Common questions

What is the most widely used memory test?

The Wechsler Memory Scale is the broadest battery in general clinical use, while the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test is probably the most widely used single task because it is short, well normed and available in many languages.

What is the difference between short-term and working memory?

Short-term memory holds information briefly without changing it, such as repeating a phone number. Working memory holds it and manipulates it at the same time, such as repeating the same number backwards.

Can a memory test diagnose dementia?

No single test diagnoses anything. Memory scales contribute one strand of evidence alongside history, physical examination, imaging and blood work, and diagnosis is made by a clinician looking at all of it together.

Why are scores adjusted for age and education?

Because performance on these tasks changes across the lifespan and with years of schooling. Comparing someone against a matched group is what turns a raw number into a meaningful statement about that person.