How many fidgets in a pretty much: A critique of behavior rating scales for identifying students with ADHD

Reid, Robert; Maag, John W.

doi:10.1016/0022-4405(94)90032-9

Cited by 62 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…To counteract these problems, it is often best to have multiple informants (e.g., parent and teacher(s)) complete rating scales during the assessment. However, low interrater reliability is also a significant problem (Mandal et al, 1999;Reid & Maag, 1994). Agreement is commonly low to moderate between raters in different settings, however, multiple ratings may be considered useful as they collectively provide more information about a child than a single rating (Elliott, Busse, & Gresham, 1993).…”

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confidence: 98%

“…Narrow-band scales are also recommended for use in the initial screening of ADHD (Barkley, 1998). These scales are designed to focus more specifically on symptoms relevant to the disorder being assessed (e.g., inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity).Despite the many benefits of using rating scales, there are a number of limitations to their use, including subjectivity and reporter bias (Mandal, Olmi, & Wilczynski, 1999;Reid & Maag, 1994). To counteract these problems, it is often best to have multiple informants (e.g., parent and teacher(s)) complete rating scales during the assessment.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…Each of the available rating scales has unique characteristics and possesses different strengths and weaknesses. In a critique of the use of behavior rating scales for ADHD, Reid and Maag (1994) recommended that because many ADHD rating scales are psychometrically questionable, practitioners should scrutinize each measure's psychometrics and norms. This can be a time-consuming task.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A comparative evaluation of five, commonly used, published rating scales

Demaray

Elting

Schaefer

2003

Psychology in the Schools

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ADHD is one of the most common referrals to school psychologists and child mental health providers. Although a best practice assessment of ADHD requires more than the use of rating scales, rating scales are one of the primary components in the assessment of ADHD. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to provide the reader with a critical and comparative evaluation of the five most commonly used, narrow-band, published rating scales for the assessment of ADHD. Reviews were conducted in four main areas: content and use, standardization sample and norms, scores and interpretation, and psychometric properties. It was concluded the rating scales with the strongest standardization samples and evidence for reliability and validity are the ADDES, the ADHD-IV, and the CRS-R. In determining which of these to use, the prospective users may want to reflect on their goals for the assessment. The ACTeRS and the ADHDT are not recommended for use because they are lacking crucial information in their manuals and have less well-documented evidence of reliability and validity. Conclusions and recommendations for scale usage are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Assessment of ADHD is an activity that all school and child-focused psychologists will be involved in during their practice. Given the high incidence of the disorder, approximately 3-5% of the childhood population (APA, 1994), ADHD is one of the most common referrals to school psychologists and child mental health providers (DuPaul & Stoner, 1994). Thus, school and child psychologists are faced with the decision of choosing appropriate methods and measures to provide a thorough, appropriate assessment for ADHD. Although a best practice assessment of ADHD requires more than the use of rating scales, rating scales are one of the primary components to the assessment of ADHD due to the normative data they provide (Barkley, 1998;Brock, 1997;Burcham & DeMers, 1995, Landau & Burcham, 1996.There are a large number of rating scales available for the assessment of ADHD. These scales have been developed for teachers, parents, children and youths, in addition to others familiar with the child (e.g., psychologists). Each of the available rating scales has unique characteristics and possesses different strengths and weaknesses. In a critique of the use of behavior rating scales for ADHD, Reid and Maag (1994) recommended that because many ADHD rating scales are psychometrically questionable, practitioners should scrutinize each measure's psychometrics and norms. This can be a time-consuming task. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to provide the reader with an easy reference to a critical and comparative evaluation of the most commonly used, narrow-band, published rating scales for the assessment of ADHD. This information is presently lacking in the literature. Although Edelbrock and Rancurello (1985) presented a general overview of several rating scales for hyperactivity, this information is no longer current nor did they offer a critical evaluation of the measures. It is hoped th...

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Assessment of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A comparative evaluation of five, commonly used, published rating scales

Demaray

Elting

Schaefer

2003

Psychology in the Schools

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“…In fact, other pieces of evaluation data suggesting ADHD seemed to outweigh behavior rating scale scores that did not support the diagnosis of ADHD. Thus, results from the current study imply that school psychologists are engaging in best practices when using behavior rating scale results as advocated by numerous authors (Angello et al, 2003;Carter et al, 2004;Chafouleas et al, 2007;Reid & Maag, 1994;Sattler, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…The use of the scales for screening purposes is widely accepted (Carter, Briggs-Gowan, & Davis, 2004). However, using behavior rating scales for diagnostic purposes is more controversial with numerous authors stating the scales are not sufficient for determining a diagnosis (Carter et al, 2004;Chafouleas et al, 2007;Reid & Maag, 1994;Sattler, 2002). Best practices in diagnostic assessment would dictate that behavior rating scales should only be used in conjunction with other methods of assessment, such as interviews with the parents and teachers, direct observations, review of school records, and achievement assessments (Angello et al, 2003).…”

Section: Description Of Behavior Rating Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of a Behavior Rating Scale on School Psychologists’ Diagnostic Decision-Making

Higgins¹,

Myers

2014

JET

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Psychologists are increasing their use of behavior rating scales as part of their diagnostic assessments. While behavior rating scales have many advantages, there are numerous cautions to using them, particularly for diagnostic purposes. It is unknown, however, how much influence a behavior rating scale has on a professional's diagnostic impression. Using an experimental design, a national sample of 330 school psychology practitioners from the United States provided diagnostic impressions on one of four scenarios. Two scenarios had evaluation data that supported a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with one scenario including behavior rating scale standard scores in the average range and one with scores in the clinically significant range. The other two scenarios had evaluation data that did not support a diagnosis of ADHD but also had one with standard scores in the average range and one with scores in the clinically significant range. The findings revealed that behavior rating scale scores do influence school psychologists' diagnostic decisions. However, consistent with recommended best practices, other sources of evaluation data have a stronger influence on school psychologists' diagnostic decisions.

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Agreement among classroom observers of children's stylistic learning behaviors

1998

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How many fidgets in a pretty much: A critique of behavior rating scales for identifying students with ADHD

Cited by 62 publications

References 44 publications

Assessment of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A comparative evaluation of five, commonly used, published rating scales

Assessment of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A comparative evaluation of five, commonly used, published rating scales

The Influence of a Behavior Rating Scale on School Psychologists’ Diagnostic Decision-Making

Agreement among classroom observers of children's stylistic learning behaviors

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