Cognition in the elderly has been widely investigated, but there has been some disagreement concerning this phenomenon fostered in part by differences in instruments used, in data collection methods, and in analytic methods used. This study used Immediate and Delayed Recall data collected by the Health and Retirement Survey housed at the University of Michigan. After excluding respondents not available for all 5 time periods over the span of 1992 through 2000, there was a final sample of 7,169. A latent growth curve model was used to estimate the mean and variability of scores over a 6-year time span. Results indicate there was a statistically significant decline in both immediate and delayed recall. However, there was substantial variability in both the change of scores and the starting values. (Contains 4 figures and 14 references.) (Author/SLD)