Standardized and flexible batteries in neuropsychology: an assessment update

This article summarizes current literature relevant to commonly used tests and test batteries in clinical neuropsychology. The first section contains a discussion of the philosophy and relative advantages of standardized and flexible battery approaches in neuropsychology. The second contains historical background and a literature review of the two major standardized test batteries: the Halstead-Reitan and Luria-Nebraska. The third section includes reviews of tests that are frequently used in the flexible battery approach. Various tests of intellectual functioning, attention, memory, language, and spatial analyses are critiqued in this section. Contributions of the process approach are noted. The article ends by underscoring the need for continued research into the nature of neuropsychological measures and the abilities they assess.