No typing, clicking or writing
A verbal memory exam is completed entirely out loud. You hear the instructions and answer by simply speaking.
That makes the format accessible to people who may find keyboards, mice, touchpads or small print difficult to use. The assessment asks only that you listen and respond.
What does a verbal exam measure?
A verbal memory exam looks at more than whether you can remember a list of words. It looks at three different parts of memory that a single score can hide:
- Learning. The same list is read more than once, allowing the exam to assess how much you learn across attempts, not just what you remember from the first reading.
- Delayed recall. After a period of time and other exam questions, you are asked to remember the words again without being prompted.
- Recognition. You are given a list of words and asked which ones you heard before. This distinguishes information that was never stored from information that is harder to retrieve.
Why the gap matters
There is a gap between learning and remembering. This explain, two people might learn the same number of words but differ in how many they can recall. In other words, someone who learns 12 words and later recalls 11 has a different pattern from someone who learns 12 but recalls only four.
A single score can hide the difference. Measuring learning and delayed recall separately reveals this.
Written vs. multiple-choice vs. verbal testing
A multiple-choice quiz gives you the answer choices, so it measures recognition rather than recall. A written test adds other factors, such as handwriting, spelling and vision, to a task that is meant to measure memory.
Speaking removes these extra steps. You say what you remember, and your spoken response is what gets scored.
What your results can — and cannot — tell you
A verbal memory exam is a screening test. It can show how your memory performance compares with what is expected for someone of your age and education, and it gives you a baseline you can use to track your performance over time.
It cannot explain why your performance may differ or determine whether a medical condition is present. A clinician can interpret your results in the context of your health history, symptoms and other relevant information.
The advantages of verbal testing
Verbal memory is an important part of assessing cognitive health, including in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. That makes it a useful place to look when changes in memory are a concern.
Recalling a word without any clues is harder than recognizing it from a list of choices. That difference matters: free recall can reveal problems that a recognition task may not. Research shows that both recall and recognition can provide useful information about memory, with each capturing a different part of the process.
Speaking makes free recall straightforward. You hear the instructions, say what you remember, and your response is recorded and scored. What once required a clinician to sit beside you with a scoresheet can now be captured through speech technology — at home.
Where to go next
Memory Exam is a verbal memory exam you take at home, and it takes 10–15 minutes. Take a look and compare it against other memory tests and read how the exam works before you decide.