Mayo's Older African American Normative Studies: Auditory Verbal Learning Test norms for African American elders

The Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) is frequently used in clinical practice to assess for memory dysfunction in the elderly. As part of the Mayo Older African Americans Normative Studies (MOAANS), we provide age and education adjusted normative data for the AVLT. The sample consists of 306 self-identified African Americans who are cognitively normal, community-dwelling and ranging in age from 56 through 94. Additional summary indices are included in the normative data, including learning efficiency, delayed recall, percent retention, and an index representing recognition memory corrected for false-positive identifications. Given the importance of using a normative reference sample that closely represents the population of interest, the current norms should provide clinically useful data for evaluating African American elders, especially those who were educated in the southern United States.