In addition, when these results were compared to the performance of healthy individuals, the MoCA appeared to be more effective than it is in real clinical settings. Yet researchers note that its reliability for diagnosing these problems was limited. The test was able to confirm a typical ability to think and rule out severe issues like dementia. One study from 2020 assessed the MoCA’s effectiveness in detecting cognitive concerns among older adults in an outpatient mental health clinic. It appears to be particularly effective at identifying cognitive changes in individuals with higher education levels or when mild cognitive changes are the main focus of clinical attention.īut its accuracy can be influenced by factors such as the characteristics of the person being tested and the setting in which the test is administered. The accuracy of the MoCA test may vary depending on the specific context and population being assessed.