Characteristics of Underachievement in Gifted Students

There are many characteristics that I've observed in gifted students in my classroom throughout my teaching career that cause a discrepancy between their ability level and their achievement level.  Lack of organizational skills and failure to complete assignments seems to be the most common characteristics, as well as poor listening skills.  Often times gifted students that do not preform to their abilities rush through assignments without reading or listening to oral directions and have trouble staying focused, especially if it's a topic that does not interest them.  Inept time management skills also present a dilemma for many gifted students who fall short of their academic potential.  

Lucas, a student in my classroom this previous school year, identified as gifted in both math and language arts, is a classic underachiever.  His organizational skills and failure to complete assignments were just two reasons why his numeric grade point average did not reflect his true academic level.  Lucas also suffers from ADHD, and displayed many of the characteristics.  At the beginning of the school year, he did not turn in homework assignments, did not write information in his interactive student notebook, and was disruptive in class.  As a result, his grade suffered and he was often "lost."  However, on formal assessments, he always scored extremely high and participated in class discussions with high interest.  After working with Lucas and conferencing with his mother (who is also a teacher), we determined a plan of action to help him become accomplished and feel successful.  Lucas is a social person with a creative sense of humor that is often seen as disrespectful by many teachers, so we had to find a way to channel his comments so that he would not be disruptive.  We also had to focus on his lack of organization and time management skills.  Since Lucas gets bored easily, finding ways to interest him and keep his learning focused was also a top priority in order for him to succeed.  

We focused mostly on instructional intervention strategies in order to help Lucas progress.  First of all I worked with Lucas on his organizational skills in his interactive student notebook, his binder, his backpack, and his locker so that he could get a "fresh start."  I periodically checked with him to make sure he was still on track, and assisted him when needed.  In order to motivate him, I focused on activities that would interest him and corresponded to his learning style.  He is an auditory learner and has a high level of creativity, yet he despised writing (as in steps or explanations to a math question).  I gave Lucas the opportunity to explain in words verbally instead of requiring him to write down all of his explanations.  I also paired him up with a struggling student who had impeccable organizational skills, and at the end of each class she would help him organize his materials while he would help explain any misunderstandings that she had from that day's objectives.  They both benefitted tremendously from this arrangement.  As with most of my students, I pre-assed Lucas before exploring new information to determine his specific needs.  Several times he demonstrated mastery of the topic on his pre-assessment, so he was able to complete independent studies, which demonstrated his creativity.  If he struggled with one or two specific topics on his pre-assessment, those were the only topics that I required him to complete homework for.  

Poor concentration and listening skills, disruptive behavior, substandard organizational skills and failure to complete assignments, all characteristics of gifted underachievers, can create a discrepancy between student ability and student achievement.  By intervening with individualized instructional strategies such as making instruction relevant and focusing on the student's learning style, underachieving gifted students can be successful.  As in the case with Lucas, he made classroom progress and showed substantial growth on his math end of grade test, scoring in the 99th percentile in North Carolina, and demonstrating that the gap could be closed between his achievement and his ability. 

Reis, S., & McCoach, D. (n.d.). Underachievement in Gifted and Talented Students with Special Needs.  Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Retrieved June 14, 2015, from http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/general/faculty/reis/giftedunderachievers.html

Smutney, J. (December, 2004) Meeting the Needs of Gifted underachievers-Individually! Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Retrieved June 14, 2015 from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10442.aspx