Use of the School Performance Rating Scale with children treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The School Performance Rating Scale was developed to assess academic performance of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The most frequent concern of professionals, parents, and teachers is the child's performance and achievement in school; however, assessments are seldom obtained pretest and posttest. The scale has yet to be standardized so its association with academic behavior was estimated with the ADD-H Comprehensive Teachers' Rating Scale. 24 elementary-school children were given both scales after being diagnosed and treated for ADHD, following evaluation by a multidisciplinary team at a medical university's child-development clinic. A positive correlation of .8 was found between scores on the School Performance Rating Scale and .6 with Attention and Social Skills from the ADD-H Comprehensive Teachers' Rating Scale. Standardization of the scale would allow clinicians more specific identifications.