Benton Visual Retention Test

The Benton Visual Retention Test (or simply Benton test or BVRT) is an individually administered test for people aged from eight years to adulthood that measures visual perception and visual memory. It can also be used to help identify possible learning disabilities among other afflictions that might affect an individual's memory. The individual examined is shown 10 designs, one at a time, and asked to reproduce each one as exactly as possible on plain paper from memory. The test is untimed, and the results are professionally scored by form, shape, pattern, and arrangement on the paper. Arthur Benton was a psychologist who worked with neurologist Morris Bender during his military assignment to the San Diego Naval Hospital. His experiences in the treatment of servicemen who suffered from traumatic brain injuries led to his development of the Benton Visual Retention Test. Dr. Benton developed the test to provide a shorter assessment for immediate nonverbal memory to supplement the popular digit span test, and selected a format that was resistant to both emotional and subject-tester influence. The test was published in 1946, and is now currently in its 5th edition. The Benton Visual Retention Test is composed of 3 sets, or forms, of 10 designs (each 8.5 × 5.5 in.) that measure the examinee’s visual and memory abilities as well as a set of alternate designs for repeated tests. The examinee is given a booklet containing 10 blank pages on which he or she reproduces the designs. These designs are used to gauge the examinee's visual perception and memory, and can be administered five different ways. These five methods are as follows: