Cognition and memory testing
WAIS®-5 and WMS®-5 Together to Assess Cognition and Memory
In the poem “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” by John Godfry Saxe, six men set out to learn about an elephant and all six of them have different perceptions based on the different parts of the elephant they experienced and argued their points mightily. “Though each was partly in the right. And all were in the wrong!” Professionals who utilize psychological assessments in their practice are very much in danger of being ‘partially right but in the wrong’ by limiting their testing to a narrow scope of cognitive functioning. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale®, Fifth Edition (WAIS®-5) and the Wechsler Memory Scale®, Fifth Edition (WMS®-5) provide clinicians with a battery of tests that sample a range of cognitive functions and have psychometric properties that allow for the integration of test results across batteries for enhanced interpretations.
Concerns about memory are among the most prevalent reasons for referral among older adults. These concerns are also prevalent among individuals who experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury, health conditions affecting the cardiovascular system, and mental health concerns such as depression and attention difficulties. The WMS-5 provides flexible options to help clinicians customize their battery to the client’s needs. The Brief Cognitive Status Exam is included in the
WMS-5 battery and provides clinicians with a sample of the client’s cognitive functioning in the areas of orientation, time estimation, mental control, incidental recall, visual-spatial perception, inhibition, and verbal fluency. The WMS-5 battery has an embedded screener that samples immediate recall and can help the clinician determine if further memory testing is necessary. The Short Form of the WMS-5 provides information about immediate and delayed recall and recognition memory for information presented visually and auditorily, it also includes a visual working memory subtest. The Standard Form of the WMS-5 provides more extensive information about visual and auditory memory as well as visual working memory. An Alternate Form of the WMS-5 facilitates repeated testing for those clients who require follow-up.
Although intelligence and memory testing do not represent the entire elephant that is the human brain, they provide insight into important aspects of cognitive functioning that can help to formulate hypotheses about a client’s functioning. This includes crystallized knowledge, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, auditory and visual working memory, processing speed, visual immediate and delayed memory, and auditory immediate and delayed memory. The data for the normative samples of the WAIS-5 and the WMS-5 were co-collected and co-normed. The common normative samples mean that scores from these two batteries can be directly compared to each other. For example, a clinician can determine if an examinee’s performance on the WMS-5 is higher or lower than expected based on their performance on the WAIS-5 with comparisons provided in the WMS-5.
There are other considerations that need to be taken into account when interpreting the scores of cognitive and memory tests. These can include but are not limited to the level of effort the examinee puts forth during testing, whether the norm group for the test is an accurate comparison for the examinee’s performance, and the examinee’s historical cognitive functioning. The Advanced Clinical Solutions for WAIS-5/WMS-5 (ACS) is expected to be available in 2026 and will provide additional measures and scores to help the clinician develop even more informed interpretations.
Measures of performance validity will include a stand-alone test of effort, Word Choice, as well as embedded measures of effort. Finally, the Test of Premorbid Functioning, Second Edition (TOPF-2) will provide information about the examinee’s historical cognitive functioning.
We have endeavored to provide the most comprehensive and informative suite of assessments to guide examiners in evaluating the examinee’s overall cognitive and memory functioning. However, these tests are not inclusive of all aspects of functioning and other areas should be considered in the context of a comprehensive evaluation (e.g., Speech/Language functioning, motor functioning). Tests also do not replace the need to consider the examinee’s functioning within the context of their developmental, medical, educational, and psycho-social history. The WAIS-5 and WMS-5 only maximize information in a specific area and are not substitutes for other contextual information. Even though cognitive functions are often discussed as separate and distinct parts of the elephant, everyone has one fully integrated brain that shapes their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
We make no claims toward being able to correctly classify the whole elephant, but we can provide you with reliable and valid views of important parts and leave the rest of the integration up to you.