Hosterman, Shelley J.

Hosterman S. J., DuPaul G. J., & Jitendra A.K.
Teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms in ethnic minority students: Bias or behavioral difference?

Abstract:
Studies of commonly used ADHD rating scales suggest teacher bias may contribute to placement discrepancies. This investigation compared teacher ratings of ADHD behaviors on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale-Revised Long Version (CTRS-R:L; Conners, 1997) and the ADHD-IV: School Version (DuPaul, Power, Anastopoulous, & Reid, 1998), with objective classroom observations from the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools code (BOSS; Shapiro, 2003). Participants were first through fourth grade students (N=172; 120 male) classified as Caucasian (n=112) or ethnic minority (17 African American, 38 Latino American, 5 African American and Latino American). Contrary to hypothesis, results showed teacher ratings of ethnic minority students were more consistent with direct observation data than were ratings of Caucasian students. Findings suggest teacher ratings of ethnic minority students may more accurately reflect true behavioral levels.