Both the MADRS and the CDRS-R showed acceptable internal consistency. High Cronbach's alpha values for CDRS-R (.86) and MADRS (.82) indicate that both scales have individual response items that effectively measure depression severity. The slight disparity in reliability reflects the greater length of the CDRS-R. The findings suggest that the CDRS-R is to be preferred in assessing changes in depression symptoms in children; however, the MADRS is more easily administered in clinical settings, because it requires less time and no specialized training. The study enrolled 96 children, ages 8 to 11, who had been diagnosed with nonpsychotic major depressive disorder. Participants were part of a multisite, outpatient, randomized, placebo-controlled, 9-week trial of fluoxetine. The drug dosage was 10 mg/day for the first week and 20 mg/day thereafter. 6 tables, 1 figure, and 38 references