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In a September 29, 2026, Being Patient article, geriatrician Nathaniel Chin argues that repeat cognitive testing can show whether a person’s performance is changing over time. He says results should be interpreted alongside a person’s baseline, multiple thinking abilities and factors such as sleep, mood, stress and medication.
Geriatrician Nathaniel Chin argues in a September 29 article for Being Patient that repeat cognitive testing can help clinicians tell whether a person’s thinking is changing, a question a single score may not answer. The UW Health physician says comparisons with a person’s earlier results can add context to standard comparisons with people of similar age and background, particularly when evaluating possible cognitive decline.
Many cognitive tests compare a person’s results with those of a normative group, often people of similar age and, depending on the test, similar education or demographic backgrounds. Chin says that comparison helps clinicians judge whether a score falls within an expected range. But it may not show whether the result represents a change for that individual: people can have lifelong strengths and weaknesses that differ from the group average.
Chin gives the example of a person with high educational or occupational attainment who experiences a meaningful decline but still scores within the expected range for peers. Another person may score below average while performing as they have throughout adulthood. In his view, assessment should ask both whether a score is unusual compared with peers and whether the person’s own performance has changed.
He also argues that testing should cover a range of abilities, including memory, attention, language, executive function, processing speed and visuospatial skills. A brief memory screen may miss changes outside memory, while patterns across abilities can help clinicians consider different causes. Chin cautions that results from a single visit can be affected by poor sleep, anxiety, depression, stress, medication, illness or an unusually difficult day.
Why Personal Baselines Matter
Comparing results over time may help clinicians interpret an isolated low or borderline score. Chin says stable or improved performance can be reassuring and may prompt attention to potentially reversible contributors. A consistent decline across evaluations, especially one that follows a recognizable pattern, may raise greater concern about an underlying neurodegenerative process. These are interpretations of test patterns, not diagnoses established by a score alone.
The approach may be especially relevant when concerns are subtle. Chin notes that people can report changes in memory or thinking before standard testing shows impairment. Tracking a person’s performance could give clinicians and patients additional information as they consider whether changes are continuing. The article does not set out a universal testing schedule or say that repeat testing alone can determine the cause of a change.
From One Score to Serial Testing
Chin’s article is a physician’s perspective on cognitive assessment, published by Being Patient. He is identified by the publication as a geriatrician and memory-care physician at UW Health and an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Medicine. He also serves as medical director and Clinical Core co-leader of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
The article describes subjective cognitive decline as a situation in which someone notices a change even though standard testing may not show impairment, and mentions mild cognitive impairment as another point in the course of evaluation. The supplied article text ends while introducing these concepts, so it does not provide further detail about how Chin applies them or what recommendations he makes for either group.
Limits of Repeat Test Results
Repeat testing has limitations. Chin says people may score better because they have seen test material before; the interval between evaluations matters, and he says good testing often uses alternate versions of tasks. The article excerpt does not specify an ideal interval, identify particular tests, or quantify how much practice effects may influence results.
The supplied material also does not report new research findings, patient outcomes or a change in clinical guidance. It presents Chin’s perspective on assessment. A pattern of scores may raise concern or provide reassurance, but the excerpt does not claim that serial testing by itself confirms a diagnosis or identifies a cause.
How Follow-Up Can Add Context
For a person undergoing evaluation, the next step described in Chin’s article is comparison over time, with broad testing and attention to circumstances that could affect a particular result. Clinicians can consider whether scores remain stable, improve or show a consistent pattern of decline, while interpreting those results in light of the person’s earlier abilities and current health.
The article does not announce a formal follow-up plan, a recommended schedule or a specific clinical milestone. It leaves open how often an individual should be retested and which assessment is appropriate. Those decisions depend on the evaluation; the article’s main point is that later results can add information a single test cannot provide.
Key Questions
What does repeat cognitive testing show?
It can help clinicians compare a person’s later performance with their own earlier results, as well as with normative data. Chin says that may clarify whether performance appears stable or is changing.
Can one low score confirm a cognitive disorder?
Chin’s article does not say that a single score confirms a diagnosis. It notes that sleep, mood, stress, medication, illness and other circumstances can affect performance, and that results need clinical interpretation.
Why test more than memory?
Chin says a broad assessment can cover abilities such as attention, language, executive function, processing speed and visuospatial skills. Changes outside memory may matter, and a brief memory screen may not capture them.
Can people score higher on a repeat test?
Yes. Chin notes that familiarity with test material can improve later scores. He says the interval between evaluations matters and that testing may use alternate versions of tasks.
Source: rss
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