Cognitive Screening · Clinical Assessment
MoCA Test - Free Online Cognitive Screening
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is the world's most widely used rapid cognitive screening instrument. Doctors use it to detect early signs of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Take the 30-point test free - Get instant results.
What the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Measures
8 cognitive domains, 30 points, about 10 minutes - take the screening below
This page runs a web version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Clinicians rely on the standardized 30-point instrument to flag early cognitive impairment. Max score: 30 points. Score ≥26 is considered normal.
8 sections. 30 points total. Tests memory, attention, executive function, language, and orientation. Takes about 8-10 minutes.
What Is the MoCA Test?
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was developed in 1996 by Dr. Ziad Nasreddine and colleagues as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It takes approximately 10 minutes to administer and covers 8 cognitive domains across 30 total points.
The test made headlines in 2018 and 2020 - see the Donald Trump cognitive test page for that story.
Unlike the older Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the MoCA is sensitive to subtle deficits: it detects MCI with ~90% sensitivity and ~87% specificity at the standard cutoff of 26/30.
How the 30 Points Break Down
| Domain | Points | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| Visuospatial / executive | 5 | Alternating trails, cube copy, clock drawing |
| Naming | 3 | Identifying pictured animals from memory |
| Attention | 6 | Digit spans, vigilance tapping, serial 7 subtraction |
| Language | 3 | Sentence repetition plus letter fluency |
| Abstraction | 2 | Explaining how two objects are alike |
| Delayed recall | 5 | Retrieving five studied words after an interference gap |
| Orientation | 6 | Knowing the date, day, month, year, place, and city |
Score Interpretation
| Score Range | Classification | Clinical Significance | Population % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26-30 | Normal | No detectable cognitive impairment. | ~62% |
| 18-25 | Mild MCI | Mild cognitive impairment. Further evaluation warranted. | ~24% |
| 10-17 | Moderate | Moderate cognitive impairment. Clinical assessment recommended. | ~10% |
| 0-9 | Severe | Severe cognitive impairment. Immediate clinical referral indicated. | ~4% |
Note: Browser-based adaptations have lower precision than clinician-administered MoCA. This test is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute a clinical evaluation. A score below 26 should not be interpreted as a diagnosis - Consult a healthcare provider.
Why U.S. Presidents Take the MoCA
There is no legal requirement for a sitting president to take any cognitive test. But a confluence of constitutional provisions, medical tradition, public accountability norms, and political pressure has made cognitive screening routine for modern U.S. presidents - Particularly those in their 70s or older.
The 25th Amendment - Section 4
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet members to declare the President "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office" - Even if the President doesn't agree. A sustained cognitive decline could theoretically trigger this process. While it has never been invoked, it creates a constitutional backdrop that makes presidential cognitive health a legitimate matter of public concern, not just personal privacy.
A Brief History of Presidential Cognitive Testing
| President | Year | Test / Context | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan | 1984–1988 | Annual White House physician exams; neurological review | Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1994, 5 years after leaving office. Speculation about in-office decline persists. |
| George W. Bush | 2001–2009 | Annual physical; cognitive screening not separately publicized | No cognitive concerns publicly reported |
| Barack Obama | 2009–2017 | Annual physical; cognitive screening not separately publicized | No cognitive concerns publicly reported |
| Donald Trump | Jan 2018 | MoCA - Voluntarily requested at Walter Reed Medical Center | 30/30 - Perfect score |
| Joe Biden | 2021–2024 | Annual physical including neurological exam; MoCA-type screening | "No signs of stroke, Parkinson's, or cognitive issues" per White House physician |
What the MoCA actually tests in presidents
- •Executive function - Strategic planning, decision-making, task-switching
- •Working memory - Holding and processing information under pressure
- •Attention and concentration - Focus across competing demands
- •Language and abstraction - Communicating complex ideas clearly
- •Orientation - Awareness of time, context, and situation
Critics of using the MoCA for presidential fitness note that the test was designed to screen for impairment, not to measure the high-end cognitive demands of governing. A 30/30 confirms the absence of detectable deficit - It does not certify peak executive function. Neuroscientists have called for more targeted assessments, but the MoCA remains the most politically visible cognitive benchmark in U.S. presidential history.
Why Delayed Recall Is the Hardest Section
Clinicians consider the 5-point delayed-recall section the most diagnostically valuable part of the MoCA. Five words are presented near the start of the session, and the examinee must reproduce them only after roughly ten minutes of unrelated tasks have intervened. Because the intervening sections actively disrupt rehearsal, this item isolates genuine consolidation and retrieval rather than short-term rote repetition.
Scoring is generous in one respect: each word retrieved earns a point no matter what order it comes back in. Even so, this is where most points are lost - early amnestic decline tends to show up here years before it affects orientation or naming.
Your Score
Medical Disclaimer
This is a browser-based educational adaptation. It does not replace clinical administration by a trained healthcare professional. If you have concerns about cognitive health, please consult a physician or neuropsychologist.
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Factors That Affect MoCA Scores
Education
People with fewer than 12 years of education score 1 point lower on average. The original MoCA adds 1 bonus point for education ≤12 years.
Age
Scores gradually decline after 60. Adults 70–80 average 24–26/30 without cognitive impairment. See normal MoCA scores by age for the full age-banded norms.
Anxiety & fatigue
Test anxiety can reduce scores by 1–2 points. The MoCA is validated for in-person administration - Results may differ online.
Language
Non-native English speakers may score lower on language subtests. Validated translations exist in 55+ languages.