How does the test work?

Identifying animals and reciting a list of words are among the type of challenges contained in the cognitive fitness test taken by US President Donald Trump. So how does this test, first created in 2005, work? According to the website mocatest.org, it is a ‘rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction’.

Among other things, the test assesses attention and concentration, memory, language, calculation and — appropriately for a president — executive function.

It takes around 10 minutes to complete and any score above 26 is considered ‘normal’. An example of the sort of test Trump faced is available online. Candidates first have to copy a cube, link up numbers to the appropriate letter in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, etc) and draw a clock showing the time 11:10.

They are then given three animals to identify — the online example shows a lion, rhinoceros and camel.

Five simple words are then read out and the candidate has to recite them immediately and then again after five minutes.

This test is then repeated with numbers, with a series of three numbers to be recited backwards. To test ‘attention’, the examiner reads a long list of letters and the candidate has to tap with his or her hand whenever the letter ‘A’ is read out.

Numeracy is examined by asking the candidate to subtract seven from 100 and repeat this operation five times (giving a series of 93, 86, 79, 72, 65). To test language, the candidate is asked to repeat two phrases and then recite as many words beginning with a certain letter as possible in one minute. Eleven words are required to secure a point.