UNDER-ACHIEVEMENT

Under-achievement



Under-achievement

Q: How 'under-achievement' would be defined in the context of your age phase or subject area. What evidence is there that students underachieve in your subject area or age phase? Where there is evidence, consider the strategies which may lead to improvements for the particular group of students.

Ans: The term “underachievement” appears to have been used initially within the literature about students identified as academically gifted (i.e., those perceived to have high learning potential) whose performance in school (usually measured by grade point averages, sometimes measured by behaviors) falls below anticipated achievement. Despite evidence of the existence of underachieving students among those identified as having high learning potential, prior to 1980 there existed almost no substantive research on the topic of gifted underachievement. Reasons cited in the literature tended to focus primarily on the individual student and issues unrelated to school: (a) poor family relationships, particularly between father and son, (b) low self-image or self-concept, often generating feelings of nonacceptance by peers and social isolation, and (c) asocial personality traits and blaming others for poor performance. Male students generally were perceived more likely to become underachievers than female students. These notions of underachievers in schools tended to place the burden of responsibility on the students or families or on academic performance and behaviors associated with one gender.

Researchers such as (Whitmore, 2006) originally devised intelligence tests to predict who would be more likely to do well in school; in general, they are successful in making such predictions. It is also possible to use intelligence test scores to alert us to discrepancies between measured abilities and actual achievement. Such discrepancies are often referred to as “underachievement,” and although this is clearly not just an issue for the gifted, it may well be that the loss to society is greater with this group.

(Vidovic, 2007) cites research findings that between 10 and 20 percent of high school dropouts are in the tested gifted range. Of the top 5 percent of high school graduates, 40 percent do not complete college. Only 50 percent of high school underachievers go on to complete college. These are dramatic differences, but there is also evidence that for a significant minority, underachievement begins in elementary school (Smith, 2008).

Initial indicators of underachievement are often manifested in late elementary grades by student behaviors and attitudes such as unfinished work, disorganization, excuses for forgotten assignments and homework, uninterest in most academic subjects, and descriptions of school as boring or useless. Children who are hyperactive, rebellious against authority, highly critical of others, physically under coordinated, and socially isolated by peers suffer from low self-esteem and chronic inattention. Over time these behaviors and attitudes lead to poor study habits, lack of perseverance, procrastination, and use of external escapes (e.g., video games, social life, drugs) that support a student's energies toward learning avoidance (Rimm, 2005). Prolonged illness, emotional stress caused by family changes, perceived academic inabilities based upon race or language, and learning difficulties requiring differentiated services also contribute toward fostering ...