ADHD Rating Scale—5 for Children and Adolescents

“A rating scale that is easy to use and score and that provides useful, DSM-5 specific information about ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents. It has demonstrated utility in both clinical and school settings. The test authors have provided strong support for the psychometric properties of the instrument, which are discussed in the user-friendly test manual. The opportunity for ratings from both parents and teachers and for both children and adolescents is a strength of the measure.”

—Buros Center for Testing: The Twenty-First Mental Measurements Yearbook


“If you are looking for an easy to use assessment that is a reliable and valid measure of ADHD, this is a manual to add to your bookshelf. The entire form takes only a few minutes to score, and it elicits more objective data for evaluating your students.”

—School Social Work Journal


“I have been eagerly awaiting the revision of this well-known rating scale for screening and diagnosing ADHD in youth! Not only is the scale quick and easy to administer and score, but its brevity and thoroughness make it an exceptional tool for assessing ADHD and measuring treatment effects. Unlike the majority of other instruments to assess ADHD, it contains current DSM terminology, and has both child and adolescent versions of the parent and teacher ratings. Another important update in this version is its inclusion of items to rate the severity of functional impairments in both inattention and/or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.”

—Julie Schweitzer, PhD, Director, ADHD Program, MIND Institute, University of California, Davis


“The ADHD Rating Scale–5 continues the excellence of its predecessor while incorporating improvements consistent with emerging research and diagnostic changes. The assessment of impairment and the inclusion of an adolescent version with developmentally appropriate item wording are wonderful additions. Clinical management of ADHD demands strong assessment tools, and the ADHD Rating Scale–5 meets this need. It is a clear choice for screening, assessing, and monitoring treatment outcome among children and adolescents with ADHD in clinic or school settings.”

—Charlotte Johnston, PhD, Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada


“The release of the ADHD Rating Scale–5 is cause for celebration. Like prior versions, which are widely used in clinical and research settings, the updated scale is psychometrically sound and is based on extensive reliability and validity data. Adhering to DSM-5, the authors have improved the assessment of ADHD-associated impairments, and have also added important material on adolescent assessment. The chapter on interpretation and use provides an unusually clear and cogent discussion of how the scale should be used for diagnosis and screening. This is a trustworthy guide for clinicians and researchers and is also a useful tool for training graduate students, interns, and residents.”

—Stephen V. Faraone, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York Upstate Medical University


“DuPaul and colleagues have created another excellent, psychometrically sound parent and teacher rating scale to assist in the screening and diagnosis of ADHD. Using DSM-5 criteria, the authors have improved this version of the scale by adding developmentally appropriate wording for adolescents as well as ratings of impairment. Like the previous version, this scale will soon become the standard in the field.”

—Steven W. Evans, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Co-Director, Center for Intervention Research in Schools, Ohio University