Forensic instrument
Administer the D-CRT free. Pay only when you score.
The Denney Competency-Related Test (D-CRT) is a 114-item, two-alternative forced-choice measure of a defendant’s understanding of legal concepts relevant to competency to stand trial, designed to help evaluators identify feigned incompetence. Administer it on paper, orally, or via computer administration for free — you only pay when you score an administration. Administration takes approximately 30 minutes.
- 114 items
- 7.6 grade reading level
- Can be administered orally
About the test
The D-CRT was developed and validated by Denney, Thinda, Finn, and colleagues (Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2024; see the published paper). Each item presents questions and answers about courtroom roles, procedures, and the consequences of legal decisions, so the test can be completed quickly and scored objectively.
It was developed for criminal forensic assessment related to competence to proceed (e.g., stand trial, plea, waive right to counsel, sentencing) and is supported by peer-reviewed validation research. The D-CRT uses performance-curve analysis to reveal test-taking styles, classifying patterns consistent with genuine performance versus simulated incompetence. Among jail defendants, the measure has an area under the curve of .945 (p < .001, 95% CI [.898, .991]) and provides the evaluating clinician with objective, structured data to inform a competency assessment.
Test–retest correlation was good (.83), and internal consistency of items was excellent (KR-20 > .91). The D-CRT demonstrated convergent validity for measuring competency-related information as well as feigning of incompetence. No statistically significant differences in performance were found across racial/ethnic backgrounds. Specificity remained excellent (.90) even among elderly clinic referrals with significant cognitive compromise (MCI and dementia) at the recommended total-score cutoff. The test has a 7.6 grade reading level and can be administered as a pencil-and-paper questionnaire or orally for those with lower reading abilities.
The platform is for qualified, licensed psychologists and psychiatrists performing competency-to-proceed examinations within the United States.
Create a free account, download a print-ready test for paper administration or administer the test digitally, then enter the examinee’s responses to generate a scored report. Scored reports are saved to your account for later reference, but we never collect or store any personally identifying information about the examinee. Bulk scoring credits are available at a discount.
How scoring works
Each response is checked against the validated answer key and summarized as a number correct and a percentage. The report also presents the examinee’s performance curve alongside reference data from the study’s development and validation samples, giving the clinician a structured view of the results to interpret.
Clinical interpretation of the results — including any determination regarding feigning or competency to stand trial — is always the responsibility of the evaluating clinician. Although the platform provides the scored data and a graph with a description of which group the results most resemble, clinicians must always draw their own conclusions.