Transcript Underachievement

Underachievement and the
Gifted
Suzanne Myers-Laird, MS Ed.
Waukee Academic Boosters 1/13/09
• “It is not impossibilities which fill us
with the deepest despair, but
possibilities which we have failed to
realize.”
Robert Mallet
Underachievement:
What is it?
• “Children with average, aboveaverage, and even gifted intellectual
abilities who are simply not performing
up to their capabilities.”
» Rimm (1995)
• Severe discrepancy between expected
achievement (as measured by
standardized achievement test scores
or cognitive or intellectual ability
assessments) and actual achievement
(as measured by class grades and
teacher evaluations)
» Reis and McCoach (2000)
• A student not working up to his/her
potential. “You can do better”
» Coil (2004)
Underachievement:
Why should we care?
• It is speculated that approximately
50% of the gifted population fit the
definition of underachievement
» McCoach and Seigle (2008)
» Davidson and Davidson (2004)
» A Nation at Risk (1983)
• Of those gifted students without
underachievement issues:
– 100% attend college
– 83% finish 4 years of college
» Peterson (2000 study)
• Of those gifted students who struggle
with underachievement issues:
– 87% attend college
– 52% finish 4 years of college
» Peterson (2000 study)
• Four years after high school
graduation, high school and college
achievement were strongly correlated.
» Peterson (2000)
• Thirteen years after high school, the
educational and occupational status of
high school underachievers paralleled
their grades in high school, rather than
their abilities.
» McCall, Evahn, & Kratzer (1992 in the largest
longitudinal study of underachievers conducted
to date)
• Between 18-25% of high school
dropouts are identified as gifted
» The Center for Comprehensive School Reform
and Improvement (2008)
Characteristics of
Underachievement
• The Rebel or
“Rebellious Rebecca”
– Disruptive,
delinquent, hostile,
touchy,
temperamental
» Reis & McCoach
(2000)
• The Stressed Learner or
“Perfectionistic Pearl”
– Anxious, perfectionistic, worries about
failure
» Reis & McCoach (2000)
• The Complacent Learner or “Passive
Paul”
– Procrastinates, easily
distracted, seems
unconcerned about work
» Reis & McCoach (2000)
Underachievement:
What does it look like?
• Low self-confidence
• Use reading, tv, and video
games as escapes from
doing homework
• Inability to persevere
• Have creative ideas but
they are rarely brought to
closure
• “School is boring”
• Disorganized
• Possible behavior/learning
problems
• Low academic selfperceptions
• Low self-motivation
• Low effort toward academic
tasks
• Negative attitudes toward
school and teachers
• Daydream and dawdle
• Lack of goals
• Feelings of inferiority
• Avoid competition (unless
they are sure to win)
• Calvin and Hobbes
by Bill Watterson
» Reprint for educational use only
Reprinted for educational purposes only
Early Risk Factors for
Underachievement:
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The “too soon” child
The “overwelcome” child
Birth order
Early health problems
Specific parenting relationships
Giftedness
» Rimm (1995)
Eleanor Roosevelt said,
“The surest way to
make it difficult for
children is to make
it easy for them.”
Possible Familial Causes
• Inconsistent parenting techniques
• Overly lenient/strict/protective
• Treating child as an adult at too young
an age
• Family instability/problems
• Too much pressure
Possible Environmental
Causes (school)
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Strict/repressive/inflexible teachers
Unrewarding curriculum
Overly helpful teachers
Lack of variety in teaching styles
Impossible standards/low expectations
Extremely competitive/no competition
Possible Environmental
Causes (peers)
• High-achieving peers have a positive
influence on gifted students who begin to
underachieve. The reverse is true as well.
One study showed that 66% of high ability
students named peer pressure as the primary
force against getting good grades.
• Studies show that friends’ grades are very
similar by the end of the year.
» Inman Powerpoint
Possible Personal Causes
• Depression and anxiety
• Externalizing issues including rebellion
and nonconformity
• Learning problems
• Deficits in self-regulation
• Social immaturity
• Dual exceptionality
» Reis and McCoach (2002)
“It’s never too late to be what you might
have been.”
George Eliot
Is there no hope???
“Children are not born underachievers.
Underachievement is learned,
therefore it can be unlearned.”
» Davis and Rimm (2004 p. 317)
Underachievement:
What can we do to reverse it?
• As Teachers
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Show acceptance and caring
Encourage extra-curricular interests
Communicate one-on-one
Maintain home/school contact
Suggest counseling (parent, student, or
family)
– Use competition productively
What can we do?
• As Parents:
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Be good models
Refrain from using words like “smartest” and “brilliant”
Emphasize “hard work” and “good thinking”
Instead of reassuring underachievers of their brilliance and
creativity, it’s better to admire their hard work ethic.
Be consistent (individually and together)
Encourage extra-curricular activities
Maintain a positive attitude toward your child, even in the
face of academic failure
Remain calm, consistent, and objective during the
underachievement situation
What can we do?
• Rimm’s TRIFOCAL model
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Assessment
Communication
Changing Expectations
Role Model Identification
Correction of Deficiencies
Modifications of Reinforcements
» Rimm (1995)
What can we do?
• As schools:
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Provide for intellectual challenge and advanced studies
Use independent study
Include student discussion
Make activities/assignments real/relevant to the student
Focus on the process as well as the product
Gifted/advanced classes
Early identification
Use of counselors familiar with underachievement
Mentoring
Promote extracurricular activities
Promote home-school partnerships
What can we do?
• In regards to peers:
– Parents and teachers should encourage
interactions and friendships with other
gifted achievers with similar interests
“I find the harder I work, the more
luck I seem to have.”
Thomas Jefferson
What can we do?
• Seek counseling interventions
– Individual, group, or family
– Concentrate on changing personal and/or
family dynamics that lead to
underachievement
– Coping with frustration
Professor Dumbledore:
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what
we truly are, far more than our
abilities.”
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Works cited
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Coil, C. (2004). Becoming an Achiever. USA: Pieces of Learning.
Davidson, J. a. (2004). Genius Denied. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Davis, G. A. (2004). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Delisle, J. (1994). Dealing with the stereotype of underachievement. Gifted Child Today, 17(6), 20-21.
Emerick, L.J. (1992). Academic underachievement among the gifted: Students’ perceptions of factors that reverse the
pattern. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(3), 140-146.
Inman, T. Underachievement Powerpoint. The Center for Gifted Studies: Western Kentucky University
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
McCall, R.B.; Evahn, C.; & Kratzer, L. (1992). High School Underachievers: What do they achieve as adults? Newbury
Park: Sage Publications.
Peterson, J.S. (2000). A Follow-Up Study of One Group of Achievers and Underachievers Four Years After High School
Graduation. Roeper Review, 22(4), 217-224,
Peterson, J.S. & Colangelo, N. (1996). Gifted Achievers and Underachievers: A Comparison of Patterns Found in School
Files. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 399-407.
Reis, S. M., & McCoach, D. B. (2002). Underachievement in gifted and talented students with special needs.
Exceptionality, 10(2), 113-125.
Reis, S. M., & McCoach, D. B. (2000). The underachievement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we
go? Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 152-170.
Rimm, S. (1995). Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades (and what you can do about it). New York: Three Rivers Press.
Rimm, S., Cornale, M., Manos, R., & and Behrend, J. (1992). Guidebook For Implementing the TRIFOCAL
Underachievement Program for Schools. Watertown: Apple Publishing Company.
Schultz, B. H. (2005). Gifted Underachievement: Oxymoron or Educational Enigma? Gifted Child Today, 28(2), 46-49.
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. (2008). Issue Brief: Gifted and Talented Students at
Risk for Underachievement. Washington, D.C.: Learning Point Associates and SEDL for the U.S. Department of
Education.
Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Alexandria:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.