{"h1":"What is the Conners 3rd Edition (Conners-3)?","faq":[{"a":"The Conners-3 is typically used for children and young people aged about 6 to 18 years, with separate forms for parents, teachers and the young person themselves.","q":"What age range is the Conners-3 used for?"},{"a":"No. The Conners-3 is a structured rating questionnaire that supports assessment, but a diagnosis is only made by a qualified clinician who weighs it together with clinical interview, history and observation.","q":"Does the Conners-3 diagnose ADHD?"},{"a":"Children can behave differently at home and at school, so gathering observations from multiple settings gives a fuller, more balanced picture of a child's attention and behaviour.","q":"Why does the Conners-3 ask parents and teachers separately?"},{"a":"It covers areas such as inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning problems, executive functioning, aggression and peer or family relationships.","q":"What does the Conners-3 actually assess?"}],"lang":"en","slug":"what-is-the-conners-3rd-edition-conners-3-and-what-does-it-assess","title":"What is the Conners 3rd Edition (Conners-3)?","entity":{"key":"conners3","kind":"instrument","name":"Conners 3rd Edition","slug":"conners-3"},"lenses":[{"kind":"stakeholder","label":"Parent","value":"parent"},{"kind":"intent","label":"Definition","value":"definition"},{"kind":"lifecycle","label":"Measure","value":"measure"},{"kind":"route","label":"Screen","value":"screen"},{"kind":"empowerment","label":"Early Clarity","value":"early_clarity"}],"parent":{"key":"assessments","label":"Assessments"},"related":[{"lang":"en","slug":"should-my-child-have-a-conners-3-assessment-and-what-does-it-involve","title":"Should My Child Have a CONNERS-3 Assessment?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"which-standardised-tools-are-used-to-assess-adhd-in-early-childhood","title":"Standardised tools for assessing ADHD in early childhood"},{"lang":"en","slug":"at-what-age-is-the-conners-3-developmental-assessment-used-for-a-child","title":"At What Age Is the Conners 3 Used for a Child?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"which-validated-outcome-measures-are-used-to-study-adhd-in-early-childhood","title":"Validated outcome measures for ADHD in early childhood"},{"lang":"en","slug":"when-is-the-conners-3-indicated-and-what-are-its-strengths-and-limits-in-early-childhood","title":"When is the Conners 3 indicated, and what are its early-childhood limits?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-does-the-conners-3-compare-with-the-abilityscore-developmental-assessment","title":"How the Conners-3 compares with the AbilityScore developmental assessment"}],"summary":"The Conners 3rd Edition (Conners-3) is a widely used, structured rating questionnaire that helps clinicians understand attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and related behaviours in children and young people aged about 6 to 18 years. It gathers information from parents, teachers and the young person themselves, comparing observations across home and school against age-matched norms. It assesses areas such as inattention, hyperactivity, learning problems, executive functioning and peer relationships — but it is one tool within a wider assessment and never a diagnosis on its own.","answer_md":"*A widely used questionnaire that gathers the voices of parents, teachers and the child themselves to understand attention, behaviour and learning.*\n\n## In short\nThe **Conners 3rd Edition (Conners-3)** is a well-established, structured rating questionnaire that helps clinicians understand attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and related behaviours in children and young people, typically aged **6 to 18 years**. It gathers information from several viewpoints — parents, teachers, and (for older children) the young person themselves — so that a fuller picture emerges across home and school. It is one piece of a careful assessment, never a diagnosis on its own.\n\n## What the Conners-3 assesses\nThe Conners-3 focuses closely on the behaviours linked with **attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)** and conditions that often appear alongside it. The rating forms cover areas such as inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, learning problems, executive functioning (planning, organising and getting started on tasks), aggression, and peer or family relationships. Because the same child can behave quite differently at home and in the classroom, the Conners-3 deliberately draws on **multiple raters** — a parent or carer, a teacher, and the young person — to compare observations across settings. The responses are compared with age-matched and gender-matched norms, which helps a clinician judge how a child's profile sits relative to peers of the same age. The result is not a label but a structured snapshot that guides further conversation and assessment.\n\n## How it fits into a wider assessment\nA questionnaire alone never diagnoses ADHD or any other condition. The Conners-3 is one trusted tool among many — used alongside clinical interview, developmental history, observation and other measures — by a qualified clinician who weighs everything together. Think of it as one carefully designed lens that helps the whole picture come into focus.\n\n## The Pinnacle way\nThis is general information, not a diagnosis — a clinical [AbilityScore®](/ask/what-is-the-abilityscore-and-how-is-it-calculated) and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care, never from an app or form. Our team uses validated tools such as the [Conners-3](/conners-3) alongside structured clinical assessment, and where attention or learning support is helpful we draw on services like [behavioural therapy](/behavioural-therapy) within an individualised plan.\n\n## Trusted sources\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics and HealthyChildren guidance on ADHD evaluation in children; CDC information on ADHD and how it is assessed using information from parents and teachers; NICE guidance on the recognition and assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.\n\n**Next step —** If you have questions about your child's attention, behaviour or learning, book a developmental assessment so a qualified clinician can build the full picture and guide any support.","canonical":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-is-the-conners-3rd-edition-conners-3-and-what-does-it-assess","editorial":{"reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T20:12:18.613642+00:00","reviewed_by":null,"developed_by":"SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network"},"alternates":[{"href":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-is-the-conners-3rd-edition-conners-3-and-what-does-it-assess","lang":"en","indexable":true}],"dimensions":[{"key":"assessments","label":"Assessments"}],"meta_title":"Conners-3: What It Is & What It Assesses","meta_robots":"index, follow, max-image-preview:large","everyday_tip":"If you're completing a Conners-3 form, answer based on your child's usual behaviour over recent weeks, not their best or worst day — honest, everyday observations from both home and school give the clinician the most useful picture.","published_at":"2026-06-10T14:16:00.221239+00:00","reading_paths":[{"key":"understand","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"at-what-age-is-the-conners-3-developmental-assessment-used-for-a-child","title":"At What Age Is the Conners 3 Used for a Child?","reason":"Linked from this answer"}],"label":"Understand the subject","total":1},{"key":"assess","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"should-my-child-have-a-conners-3-assessment-and-what-does-it-involve","title":"Should My Child Have a CONNERS-3 Assessment?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"when-is-the-conners-3-indicated-and-what-are-its-strengths-and-limits-in-early-childhood","title":"When is the Conners 3 indicated, and what are its early-childhood limits?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-does-the-conners-3-compare-with-the-abilityscore-developmental-assessment","title":"How the Conners-3 compares with the AbilityScore developmental assessment","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"which-standardised-tools-are-used-to-assess-adhd-in-early-childhood","title":"Standardised tools for assessing ADHD in early childhood","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"which-validated-outcome-measures-are-used-to-study-adhd-in-early-childhood","title":"Validated outcome measures for ADHD in early childhood","reason":"Linked from this answer"}],"label":"Understand assessment","total":5}],"what_to_watch":"Persistent difficulty sustaining attention, frequent restlessness or impulsivity, trouble getting started on or finishing tasks, and behaviour or learning concerns that show up across both home and school settings.","authority_links":[{"url":"https://www.healthychildren.org","label":"AAP HealthyChildren — ADHD evaluation in children"},{"url":"https://www.cdc.gov","label":"CDC — ADHD diagnosis and assessment"},{"url":"https://www.nice.org.uk","label":"NICE — recognition and assessment of ADHD"}],"last_reviewed_at":"2026-06-10T14:16:00.221239+00:00","meta_description":"The Conners 3rd Edition (Conners-3) is a rating questionnaire assessing attention, hyperactivity, learning and behaviour in children aged 6–18. Here's how ","related_materials":[],"related_techniques":[]}