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Although using a precise operational definition of gifted underachievement clarifies the exact nature of the population being studied, it may also prevent the identification of certain types of potential gifted underachievers. Support for Learning, 13, 174-178. 5 kept her name famous. After reviewing the research in the field of gifted underachievement, Emerick (1992) observed that the picture of the underachiever which emerges is complex and often contradictory and inconclusive (p. 140). In addition, as many as 25 to 30 percent of high school dropouts may be gifted individuals. Despite this interest, the underachievement of gifted students remains an enigma. Due to the difficulty in defining underachievement, it appears that the concept of underachievement maybe regarded as a subjective, rather than an objective, classification. Underachievement is an issue that can be especially impactful among gifted students, particularly those who are profoundly gifted. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Therefore, any system of defining, identifying, and eventually reversing underachievement should include students whose classroom performance falls significantly below their standardized test performance. WebThe purpose of this study was to examine whether gifted achievers and gifted underachievers differ in their general academic self-perceptions, attitudes toward school, attitudes toward teachers, motivation, and self-regulation, and goal valuation. Three methods of assisting underachieving high school students. In their recent study of gifted urban underachievers, the family dysfunction that characterized the lives of the gifted underachievers contrasted with the happier home lives of the gifted achievers (Reis et al., 1995). Im Black but look at me, I am also gifted. Motivation and self-regulation among gifted learners. Manila, Philippines. 39-40). Academic underachievement and behavior disorders, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 189-194. In these classrooms, educators strive to create a favorable environment for student achievement by altering the traditional classroom organization. Mansfield, CT: Creative Learning Press. A comparison of gifted underachievers and gifted high achievers. Mandel, H. P., & Marcus, S. I. Even a child who does poorly in most school subjects may display a talent or interest in at least one school subject. McCall, Evahn, and Kratzer (1992) observed that most of the comparison group research within the area of gifted underachievement equates gifted underachievers to their mental ability cohorts. In addition, families of high-achieving students seem to encourage self-motivation, environmental engagement, and autonomy more than families of low-achieving students (Taylor). Students peer groups in high school: The pattern and relationship to educational outcomes. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. In other words, one can stipulate with 95% confidence that this students IQ places him or her in the top 5% of the population on this measure. Perceived factors influencing the academic underachievement of talented students of Puerto Rican descent. Gifted underachievers are underachievers who exhibit superior scores on measures of expected achievement (i.e., standardized achievement test scores or cognitive or intellectual ability assessments). The literature also presents a variety of other classroom designs, such as self-contained classrooms, and home and school partnerships. Because students underachieve for so many different reasons, no one intervention strategy can possibly reverse these behaviors in all underachieving gifted students. Because different school systems use different criteria to label a student gifted, the populations of students who are identified as gifted vary; and, in some cases, they are not comparable. Several common factors appeared to play a part in the students reversal of underachievement. Peer relationships impact adolescent behavior (Brown, 1982; Clasen & Brown, 1985; Reis, Hebert, Diaz, Maxfield, and Ratley (1995) found that high-achieving peers had a positive influence on gifted students who began to underachieve in high school. The prism metaphor: A new paradigm for reversing underachievement (CRS95310). Environmental influences and events have a major impact on students achievement. Underachieving boys: Problems and solutions. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. In M. Kornrich (Ed. Many early attempts to improve underachievers academic achievement through counseling treatments were unsuccessful (Baymur & Patterson, 1965; Broedel, Ohlsen, Profit, & Southard, 1965). The most common component of the various definitions of underachievement in gifted students involves identifying a discrepancy between ability and achievement (Baum, Renzulli, & Hebert, 1995a; Butler-Por, 1987; Dowdall & Colangelo, Using the estimation of the first true score to predict a students expected score on another related measure compounds these measurement uncertainties. If a student scores in the 99th percentile on an IQ test, that does not mean that he or she should also score in the 99th percentile on standardized measures of achievement. An underachievement epidemic. Teachers and parents perceptions of social-psychological factors of underachievement of the gifted in Korea and the United States. Externalizing behavior problems and academic underachievement in childhood and adolescence: Causal relationships and underlying mechanisms. Future research on the effectiveness of separate classes for gifted underachievers should attempt to utilize a quasi-experimental design. The causes and correlates of gifted underachievement have received considerable attention in recent research literature (Dowdall & Colangelo, 1982; Van Boxtel & Monks, 1992; Whitmore, 1986). ), Underachievement (pp. Ford, D. Y. The underachievement of gifted students is a perplexing phenomenon. This approach (Renzulli, 1977) specifically targets student strengths and interests in order to help reverse academic underachievement (Baum, Renzulli, & Hebert, 1995b). The psychological characteristic ascribed to gifted underachievers vary and sometimes contradict each other. The most well-known educational interventions for gifted students have established either part-time or full-time special classrooms for gifted underachievers (e.g., Butler-Por, 1987; Fehrenbach, 1993; Supplee, 1990; Whitmore, 1980). Holland, 1998). Mexican American students who came from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and who became proficient in English (FEP) were generally more successful in school than were those from Spanish-speaking backgrounds who were not proficient (LEP students) in English or than Latino students from English speaking backgrounds. Students who achieved in school participated in multiple extracurricular activities, both after school and during the summer. (1987). Underachievement in Gifted Students Underachievement is an issue that can be especially impactful among gifted students, particularly those who are profoundly gifted. Profoundly gifted individuals score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ tests and have an exceptionally high level of intellectual prowess. In addition, bestowing adult status on a child at too young an age may contribute to the development of underachievement (Fine & Pitts, 1980; Rimm & Lowe, 1988). Understanding a lack of motivation to excel. Labeling this phenomenon dropping out with dignity, she concluded that some students may underachieve as a direct result of an inappropriate and unmotivating curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. (1990). General, social, and academic self-concepts of gifted adolescents. Risk and resilience: Contextual influences on the development of African American adolescents. The Davidson Institute bears no responsibility for the content of republished material. However, dysfunctional families with achieving gifted students reported greater satisfaction with their family lives than did dysfunctional families of underachieving students. (1988). However, the current conceptualization and the literature on the underachieving gifted and on special populations (such as gifted/LD, gifted/ADD or ADHD, gifted students with physical disabilities or behavioral or emotional problems) appear to treat the two groupings as separate and unrelated (Lupart & Pyryt, 1996, pp. What happens when the student reenters the regular class and is once again faced will unstimulating schoolwork? McCall, R. B., Evahn, C., & Kratzer, L. (1992). Chen, X. Gifted Child Quarterly, 39, 224-235. Watertown, WI: Apple. Supplee (1990) instituted a part-time program for gifted elementary underachievers. Gifted achievers and gifted underachievers showed difference in their attitudes toward school, attitudes toward teacher, motivation, self-perception, and goal Neither study utilized a true longitudinal design, and neither researcher was able to fully track the progress of the students once they left the elementary school. In F. Horowitz & M. OBrien (Eds. Hinshaw, S. P. (1992b). Ethically, it may be difficult to have a true comparison group in such studies because the researcher must withhold treatment that he or she believes is valuable for underachieving gifted students. Research on the family characteristics of underachieving gifted students suggests that certain types of home environments may be related to the development of students underachievement patterns (Baker, Bridger, & Evans, 1998; Brown, Mounts, Lamborn, & Steinberg, 1993; Rimm & Lowe, 1988; Zilli, 1971). Part of this variability is explained by the error of measurement of the criterion. Recent research by Desmet and Pereira (2021) in the journal Gifted Education International took a close look at academic underachievement. The process of defining underachievement, identifying underachieving gifted students, and explaining the reasons for this underachievement continues to stir controversy among practitioners, researchers, and clinicians. Though significant research has investigated identifying characteristics of underachieving gifted students, current research is yet to fully employ the established theoretical knowledge to determine practical strategies for the reversal and remediation of underachievement in gifted students. Several recent researchers operational and conceptual definitions of gifted underachievement are summarized in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4 (please see all Table links at bottom of article). Although her model of underachievement stresses the interaction of family, personal, community, and school factors on the behaviors manifestations of underachievement in Puerto Rican youth, it could prove helpful in understanding the nonachievement behaviors in a wider range of ethnically diverse students. Different types of underachievers may require different proportions of counseling, self-regulation training, and instructional or curricular modifications. Underachievers in school: Issues and intervention. In fact, only three typesthe anxious underachiever, the rebellious underachiever, and the complacent/coasting underachieverhave approximate parallels in all three authors schema. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds. Definitions of gifted underachievement as a discrepancy between potential and performance are by far the most common. 501-513). Dai, D. Y, Moon, S. M., & Feldhusen, J. F. (1998). Or, can we see the forest for the trees? See also Needs of Gifted Talented Children Lack of Motivation Several lines of research remain inadequately explored. Curriculum compacting: A guide for teachers. (1993). Dowdall and Colangelo (1982) described three underlying themes in the definition of gifted underachievement: B., Mounts, N., Lamborn, S. D., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Family systems characteristics and underachieving gifted males. Equality of educational opportunity also affects underachievement. Rather, a. continuum of strategies and services may be necessary if we are to systematically address this problem. WebFor example, many gifted individuals underachieve simply because their parents do not stress the importance of academic achievement and how it can translate into success in the future. WebGifted underachievement, at first g l a n c e , seems like an o x y m o r o n . Talents in two places: Case studies of high ability students with learning disabilities who have achieved. This phenomenon is sometimes called geographic giftedness (Borland, 1989). However, if one accepts the general premise that underachievement involves a discrepancy between ability and achievement, a need exists to operationally define these key concepts. In fact, it appears each additional academic course that an at-risk student completes can be expected to result in an increase of one eighth of a standard deviation in academic achievement test scores (Anderson & Keith p. 264). Guidebook for implementing the trifocal underachievement program for schools. Pirozzo (1982) asserted that, generally, about half of the gifted children who score in the top 5% of intellectual ability on individualized IQ tests do not demonstrate comparable school achievement. Parents of high-achieving students seem to utilize an authoritative parenting style more often than parents of low-achieving students (Taylor, 1994). Psychology in the Schools, 17, 395-399. Furthermore, Rimm (1995) developed her underachiever profiles to reflect the variety of students she had treated in her clinical practice. The effects of group counseling on gifted underachieving adolescents. Certain responses to these questions may lead to the conclusion that underachievement does not exist or is not a problem that adults should remedy. New York: John Wiley and Sons. If unchallenging scholastic environments produce underachieving gifted students, then providing intellectual challenge and stimulation at all grade levels should decrease underachievement. Although passive-aggressive underachievement may be more likely to indicate psychological disturbance than underachievement attributable to motivational, educational, and cognitive components, this type of underachievement seems fairly responsive to psychotherapy (Weiner, 1992). All comments will be submitted for approval before posting publicly. The process of defining underachievement, identifying underachieving gifted students, and explaining the reasons for this underachievement continues to stir controversy among practitioners, researchers, and clinicians. Brown, B. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds. Toward explaining differences in educational achievement among Mexican American language minority students. Therefore, one might expect counseling approaches to effectively address the problem of underachievement. Weiner, I. Certain treatments aimed at combating underachievement combine counseling and school-centered interventions. 79-86). Eleven of the 17 participants showed improved achievement; 13 of the 17 students appeared to exert more effort within their classes; and 4 of the 17 students showed marked improvement in their classroom behavior. The authors also include suggestions for those interested in pursuing potentially promising new lines of research and inquiry in this area. Underachievement in Gifted Children. Future research could explore the generality of the underachievement phenomenon and investigate whether interventions that are successful with gifted students might also apply to the wider spectrum of underachieving students. Since the identification of gifted underachievers depends on defining both underachievement and giftedness, discussing criteria for identification is no less complicated. Rimm, S. (1995). Chapter. Whereas parental emphasis on achievement tends to inspire higher academic achievement (Brown et al., 1993), parents of underachievers may exhibit disinterested attitudes towards education (Jeon & Feldhusen, 1993). Lupart, J. L., & Pyryt, M. C. (1996). Achievement motivation and gifted students: A social cognitive perspective. Dowdall, C. B., & Colangelo, N. (1982). Jeon, K. W., & Feldhusen, J. F. (1993). Two methods can help reduce heterogeneity of the criterion variable (Raph et al., 1966). The plethora of definitions and identification methods contribute to the difficulty in studying the characteristics of this population. Frankel, E. (1965). Being aware of these factors could change teacher and parent perceptions of the student as an underachiever. When a gifted student is performing only at grade level in those content areas, there may be a justifiable cause for concern. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Finally, several fundamental philosophical issues surround the entire concept of underachievement. If a student spends much of his or her free time reading about world religions or volunteering at the local hospital, but fails to complete mundane homework assignments, does that represent underachievement or a personal decision reflecting a wise use of time? Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 329-339. Students whose gifts and subsequent underachievement go unrecognized are sometimes called hidden underachievers (Ford, 1996) who underachieve because educational systems do not recognize their potential. Let us define underachievement as a discrepancy between expected achievement and actual achievement. These findings suggest that reversing the underachievement pattern may mean taking a long, hard look at the underachievers curriculum and classroom situation. The psychology of underachievement. To be gifted and learning disabled: From identification to practical intervention strategies. Fine, M. J., & Pitts, R. (1980). Broedel, J., Ohlsen, M., Proff, F., & Southard, C. (1965). ), Self-regulation of learning and practice (pp. Borkowski, J. G., & Thorpe, P. K. (1994). Family environments of underachieving gifted students. In addition, many professionals add a temporal dimension to the identification procedure (Mandel & Marcus, 1995). Bireley. ), Underachievement (pp. First, we must recognize the talents in culturally diverse youth. Baum, S. M., Olenchak, F. R., & Owen, S. V. (1998). Identifying distinguishing characteristics of gifted and talented learning disabled students. Ideally, the researcher would standardize both the predictor and the criterion variables and would identify as underachievers those students whose actual achievement is at least one standard deviation below their expected achievement level. Family, school, and individual factors all seem to contribute to the emergence of underachievement behaviors (Baker, Bridger, & Evans, 1998). Therefore, such studies will require the attention of researchers who can utilize sophisticated design techniques. 152-170 Thorndikes four reasons that explain why the correlation between measured intelligence and measured achievement is less than perfect provide insight into current issues regarding Underachievement. We have tended to become preoccupied with scholastic aptitude measures because they do correlate substantially with later achievement, and consequently do permit some improvement in the accuracy of predictions. Underachievement occurs when a child's performance is below what is expected based on the child's ability. The attitude achievement paradox among Black adolescents. In M. C. Wang & E. W. Gordon (Eds. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. In addition, Diaz (1998) found that the absence of early appropriate academic experiences impeded Puerto Rican students opportunities to develop their abilities when they reached high school. In L. K. Silverman (Ed.). WebUnderachievement in Gifted and Talented Students with Special Needs Sally M. Reis, Ph.D. Web Who is the gifted underachiever? Psychological Bulletin, 111 (1), 127-155. Researchers and educators may need to adjust their views of both giftedness and underachievement when attempting to identify and address the phenomenon within a culturally diverse student population. Rimm and Lowe studied the family environments of 22 underachieving gifted students. (1992). Please note, the Davidson Institute is a non-profit serving families with highly gifted children. (1992). In other words, if we predict that students will not succeed, and then they fail, they have not performed below our initial expectations. From potential to performance: Motivational issues for gifted students. Includes types of underachievers, suggestions for motivating students and some famous underachievers. Although these profiles may provide educators with convenient categories for various underachievers whom they encounter, they also illustrate the difficulty in trying to create a coherent profile of a typical underachiever. However, other intervening environmental influences and experiences that may not be obvious to school personnel or parents also affect achievement. Dropping out among Hispanic youth. Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Association of Gifted Education, 1-7. Further research in this area must focus on developing multiple approaches to both preventing and reversing underachievement. Taylor, R. D. (1994). Unfortunately, little research has focused specifically on culturally diverse underachievers (Ford, 1996; Reis, Hebert, Diaz, Maxfield, & Ratley, 1995). Families with underachieving children tend to exhibit less positive affect (Mandel & Marcus, 1988). In addition, bright students who receive poor grades may demonstrate mastery in standardized achievement testing situations (Colangelo, Kerr, Christensen, & Maxey, 1993; Lupart & Pyryt, 1996). Most of the self-contained classroom studies lacked suitable control groups. Earl A Grollman High Pendarvis, E. D., Howley, A. Even the research on common characteristics in underachieving gifted students is often inconsistent. New York: Teachers College Press. First, psychometric definitions tend to ignore important behavioral causes and correlates of underachievement (Ford, 1996). Psychosocial development in intellectually gifted children. Counselors and therapists can help underachievers strengthen deficient reward systems, modify passive-aggressive propensities, and alleviate emotional deficits; educators can help students fill educational gaps and alleviate or compensate for cognitive handicaps. In M. Kornrich (Ed. Therefore, operational definitions of underachievement as a discrepancy will overidentify underachievement in students with higher ability levels and underidentify students with lower ability levels (Frick et al., 1991).