Children who get ADHD drugs score higher on tests

* Treating children with ADHD yields better test scores

* Tutoring, parental involvement also called key elements

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO, April 27 (Reuters) - Children given stimulants to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms score higher on math and reading tests than children with the condition who do not get drugs, researchers said on Monday.

A study that tracked 594 children diagnosed with ADHD from kindergarten through fifth grade found the 60 percent who were prescribed drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall performed better on standardized tests than peers with ADHD who were not given medication.

But the scores of children treated with drugs for ADHD still lagged children not diagnosed with the condition.

"We're not promoting drugs as the answer. But we did find medication does improve standardized math and reading scores in the long term," said Richard Scheffler of the University of California, Berkeley, one of the researchers.

"Our study found that the children with ADHD who used the medication were several months ahead of their nonmedicated peers in reading and math, which is significant because early progress in school is critical to ongoing academic success," Scheffler said.

Scheffler said children with ADHD who are left untreated do poorly in school, with higher dropout rates and more substance abuse, arrests and social isolation.