"A June study looked at medication usage and educational outcomes of nearly 4,000 students in Quebec over an average of 11 years and found that boys who took ADHD drugs actually performed worse in school than those with a similar number of symptoms who didn't. Girls taking the medicine reported more emotional problems, according to a working paper published on the website of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit economics research firm."

Continue reading article: Wall Street Journal, July 9th, 2013

According to the article 2.7 million children were taking medications for ADHD in the US as of 2007. I have no doubt that the numbers are larger if not for the diagnosis than for the perceived edge in focus. So, if this one study not subsidized by a pharmaceutical company shows no advantage academically, what is the problem with children deemed ADHD?

"One way of interpreting the findings is that the medicine proves effective on immediate classroom behaviors like sitting still and interrupting the teacher less, but it doesn't help with other factors important to successful completion of homework or test-taking, like family encouragement.
Other studies have shown that kids who take ADHD medication and study early for an exam tend to do just as well, if not better, than kids without ADHD. But those who take medication and study at the last minute don't do any better.
Together, these findings suggest that medication alone isn't enough to improve academic performance. The medicine may help with focus, but it doesn't help with deciding what to focus on, experts say. Rather, it needs to be coupled with skills training, such as learning how to organize or prioritize."

Of course the recommendation of both medication and good habits/discipline may be a solution for some children it assumes that those who interrupt the classroom have academic issues and that all those who perform poorly in the classroom are disruptive. I wonder how many children diagnosed with hyperactivity in some form have poor habits, poor role models, no role models or other social issues.
Personally,the diagnosis of ADHD and ADD is an overreach for many children which most likely caused the skew in academic success.

Our society definitely is over-stimulated leading to an alteration in brain function. Conversely, society has always had individuals who did poorly in school (Einstein) but were successful in life nonetheless. Are we trying to push the proverbial square peg into a round hole? Are we obsessed with academic success to the detriment of our childrens' health via toxic inclusion of adderall, ritalin, etc...?