Seven out, four in, three kept
The WMS-III had well-known weaknesses: restricted score ranges, floors that were a problem to score, and visual memory tasks that people could get through by describing the pictures in words.4
Learn it now, recall it half an hour later
Four subtests have two parts. Part I tests recall straight away, and Part II tests it again 20–30 minutes later.3 The Immediate and Delayed indexes compare those two moments across all four.
A diagram of the recall structure, not the actual order subtests are given in. Designs is part of the Adult battery only.1
Which scores feed which index?
Set the examinee's age to see which battery applies. Tap an index to highlight the scores it draws on.2,3
The CVLT-II option follows the WMS-IV rule that CVLT-II recall scores can replace Verbal Paired Associates to form an alternate Auditory Memory Index. Earlier editions had no such rule.2 The Brief Cognitive Status Exam is optional and feeds no index.8
39 scores from seven subtests
The Adult battery produces 5 index scores, 12 primary subtest scores, 9 secondary scores and 13 contrast scores.8 Contrast scores ask whether one result is unusual given another, such as delayed recall given immediate recall.
The Older Adult battery changes content as well as length: it uses Logical Memory stories A and B instead of B and C, and has 10 Verbal Paired Associates items instead of 14.1
References
- [1]Drozdick, L. W., Holdnack, J. A., & Hilsabeck, R. C. Essentials of WMS-IV Assessment, Chapter 1: Overview. Wiley (excerpt, PDF).catalogimages.wiley.com
- [2]Wechsler Memory Scale: an overview (Geriatric Neuropsychological Assessment). ScienceDirect Topics.sciencedirect.com
- [3]Practice effect and test–retest reliability of the Wechsler Memory Scale–Fourth Edition in people with dementia. PubMed Central.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- [4]Comparison of Wechsler Memory Scale–Fourth Edition (WMS–IV) and Third Edition (WMS–III) dimensional structures. Marquette University e-Publications (PDF).epublications.marquette.edu
- [5]Wechsler Memory Scale, Fourth Edition: product page and features. Pearson Clinical Asia.pearsonclinical.asia
- [6]WMS-IV interpretive report sample. Pearson (PDF).pearsonassessments.com
- [7]Wechsler Memory Scales (graduate course presentation). M. Morris (PDF).melissamorrisportfolio.weebly.com
- [8]Wechsler Memory Scale, Fourth Edition (WMS-IV). Nurse Key.nursekey.com
Related historical tests
The WAIS-IV came out a year earlier and kept Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing for auditory working memory. The WMS-IV took visual working memory instead, so the two batteries could be given together with little overlap.
Wechsler's original memory scale already included story recall and paired word learning. Both survive in the WMS-IV as Logical Memory and Verbal Paired Associates.
The WMS-IV lets examiners replace Verbal Paired Associates with CVLT-II recall scores to form an alternate Auditory Memory Index. That makes the list-learning test a formal part of the Wechsler memory system for the first time.
Rey's test has people copy a complex figure and then draw it from memory. Visual Reproduction uses the same draw-from-memory method, and like the Rey it checks recall again after a delay.
In the third editions, Letter-Number Sequencing appeared in both the WAIS-III and the WMS-III. The 2008–2009 revisions removed it from the memory scale so the two batteries would not measure working memory the same way.