Reliability of the NACC Telephone‐administered Neuropsychological Battery (T‐cog) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment for participants in the USC ADRC

Abstract Introduction Restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic necessitated remote administration of neuropsychological testing. We assessed the test–retest reliability for a telephone‐administered cognitive battery, recommended for use in the National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). Methods 64 participants in the University of Southern California ADRC clinical core underwent repeat telephone evaluation using the T‐cog Neuropsychological Battery. Reliability was measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for continuous variables and weighted Kappa coefficient for categorical variables. Mean scores for Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) total and Craft Story 21 Immediate and Delayed Recall were compared using paired t tests. Results Mean age was 74.8 (8.3 standard deviation); 73.4% were female. ICCs ranged from 0.52 to 0.84, indicating moderate test–retest reliability except for number span backward, which showed poor reliability. Weighted Kappa for MoCA items ranged from −0.016 to 0.734; however, relatively good observed agreement was seen across all items (70.3% to 98.4%). Although MoCA total scores did not significantly change, Craft Story 21 Immediate and Delayed Recall mean scores increased between first and second administrations (P