Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies: Age- and IQ-Adjusted Norms for the Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the Visual Spatial Learning Test

ABSTRACT

Although normative data sets for standardized neuropsychometric instruments frequently feature adjustments for subject variables, there are reasons to believe that improvements in interpretive accuracy that result from such adjustments are less than optimal. In particular, years of education may be less closely associated with test performances than is overall intellectual functioning. In this last of four reanalyses of results from the Mayo Clinic's Older Americans Normative Studies (MOANS) databases, age-adjusted scores for the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the Visual Spatial Learning Test were found to be more strongly related to Mayo age-adjusted WAIS-R Full Scale IQ scores (rs = .150 to .395) than to education (rs = .060 to .236) for healthy older examinees between 56 and 99 years of age. Although AVLT-FSIQ correlations were greatest at moderate levels of intelligence, VSLT-FSIQ correlations consistently increased in strength as intelligence increased (cf. Dodrill, 1997 1999). Based on these results, we present tables of age- and IQ-adjusted percentile equivalents of Mayo age-adjusted AVLT index scores and MOANS age-adjusted AVLT and VSLT scaled scores for ten age ranges and either seven (AVLT) or five (VSLT) IQ ranges.

Notes

Note. AVLT = Auditory Verbal Learning Test; VSLT = Visual Spatial Learning Test.

^a The reader is advised that these age ranges do not coincide with the age ranges or cell sizes that appear in the normative data tables that appear below.

^b “Non-Caucasian” includes African American, Latino, Canadian, and Western European.

Note. Scaled scores and IQ scores are age-adjusted. AVLT = Auditory Verbal Learning Test; VSLT = Visual Spatial Learning Test; MOANS = Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies; FSIQ = Full Scale IQ; VIQ = Verbal IQ; PIQ = Performance IQ.

In 10 of 12 cases, participants’ index and scaled scores on the AVLT and VSLT were more strongly associated with their PIQ scores than with their VIQ scores. Although this was not surprising for the latter test (given the broad characterization of Verbal and Performance subtests as involving linguistic and visually-based problem-solving functions, respectively), it was unexpected for the former instrument. VIQ-PIQ differences for the AVLT were small, however (|Δr|=.001 to .084), and in four of eight cases AVLT scores were more closely related to FSIQ than to either VIQ or PIQ. For these reasons, and to maintain consistency with other manuscripts in this series, we elected to use Full Scale IQ as the stratification factor for AVLT and VSLT norms

Note. MOANS = Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies; AVLT = Auditory Verbal Learning Test; VSLT = Visual Spatial Learning Test; FSIQ = Full Scale IQ; VIQ = Verbal IQ; PIQ = PerformanceIQ.

^a p < .05.

^b p < .01.

Although a non-zero correlation was found between age and the AVLT Delayed Recall Index score, the latter was calculated from age-adjusted scaled scores. We were therefore unable to carry out a supplementary raw-data correlational analysis for this index

The exceptions to this trend were clearly stronger correlations for each test at the lowest (<95) and highest (>119) IQ score ranges. This probably reflects the fact that these class intervals included many more potential IQ score values than did the remaining five-point intervals.

Note. MOANS = Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies; AVLT = Auditory Verbal Learning Test; VSLT = Visual Spatial Learning Test; FSIQ = Full Scale IQ.

^a To use, locate appropriate FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of examinee's age-adjusted AVLT MOANS scaled score sum or Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 83–104).

^a To use, locate appropriate FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of examinee's age-adjusted AVLT MOANS scaled score sum or Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 83–104).

^a To use, locate appropriate FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of examinee's age-adjusted AVLT MOANS scaled score sum or Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 83–104).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, locate desired index score and FSIQ column and find percentile equivalent of MOANS scaled score sum or age-adjusted Mayo Index Score (cf. TCN, 6, 49–82).

^a To use, find table for examinee's age, locate desired VSLT scaled score and FSIQ column, and find percentile equivalent of raw score or age-adjusted MOANS scaled score (cf. Psychological Assessment, 4, 433–441).

^a To use, find table for examinee's age, locate desired VSLT scaled score and FSIQ column, and find percentile equivalent of raw score or age-adjusted MOANS scaled score (cf. Psychological Assessment, 4, 433–441).