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Gifted Underachievers
There is a misconception among regular education teachers that all gifted students are
high achievers (Myths About Gifted Students, 2016). The reality is that some gifted students are
underachievers because of a lack of interest or skills necessary to be successful. These students
have a large gap between their ability and their performance. I see this often in 7th grade, which is
the first year of middle school in Clay County. Some gifted students breezed through elementary
school only to struggle when the rigor and expectation are ramped up in middle school. The
study skills and task commitment that many other students had to learn in elementary school
have not made it into their toolbox. Other underachievers are simply not interested in the content
and are keen enough know that not doing well for a time and doing well before or after will
result in an overall passing grade. I have seven gifted students that I would classify as
underachieving. Of these seven, two have Bs, four have Cs, and one currently has an F. The
data for these students is represented in Table 2 and Graphs 4-6 below.
Learning Goal
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
1.
2.
Percent of
Students
with the
Correct
Idea
(After)
Percent of
Students
with a
Partially
Correct Idea
(After)
Percent of
Students
with an
Incorrect
Idea
(After)
Percent of
Students who
Dont Know
or Left the Box
Blank
(After)
46
(69)
48
(31)
5
(0)
1
(0)
6
(75)
18
(23)
58
(2)
18
(0)
25
(72)
60
(28)
12
(0)
3
(0)
29
(63)
50
(30)
14
(7)
7
(0)
3
(42)
36
(50)
41
(8)
20
(0)
5
(58)
33
(40)
30
(2)
32
(0)
Common
Misconceptions Prior to
the Unit
0
(28)
27
(56)
35
(18)
38
(0)
Oceans cause
earthquake.
Earthquakes are a
common cause of
volcanism.
Many students
listed sonar or radar
as a way to
determine where an
earthquake
occurred. Some
students were not
familiar with the
word magnitude.
Many students
listed sound waves
as being needed to
find the location of
an earthquake.
75
69
72
63
58
46
42
40
25
20
29
28
3
4.0
4.0
0
1.0
2.0
3.0
3.0
Before
After
0
5.0
Learning Goals
60
48
40
31
20
23
18
28
50
30
50
36
56
40
33
27
Before
After
0
1.0
2.0
3.0
3.0
4.0
4.0
5.0
Learning Goals
60
Percent of Students
41
40
20
0
5
0
1.0
2
2.0
12
0
3.0
14
3.0
4.0
Learning Goals
35
30
18
2
4.0
5.0
Before
After
Learning Goal
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
Number of
Students
with the
Correct
Idea
(After)
Number of
Students
with a
Partially
Correct Idea
(After)
Number of
Students
with an
Incorrect
Idea
(After)
Number of
Students who
Dont Know
or Left the
Box Blank
(After)
Common
Misconceptions
The phrases
plate tectonics is often
used in place of tectonic
plates.
Earthquakes
commonly cause
volcanoes to erupt.
1
(4)
6
(3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(5)
1
(2)
2
(0)
4
(0)
0
(6)
6
(1)
1
(0)
0
(0)
2
(4)
2
(3)
2
(0)
1
(0)
0
(2)
3
(5)
1
(0)
3
(0)
0
(6)
3
(1)
1
(0)
3
(0)
0
(1)
2
(6)
3
(0)
2
(0)
Oceans cause
earthquake.
Some students
were thrown off by the
use of the word
seismologists.
Earthquakes are a
common cause of
volcanism.
Many students
listed sonar or radar as a
way to determine where
an earthquake occurred.
Some students were not
familiar with the word
magnitude.
Many students
listed sound waves as
being needed to find the
location of an
earthquake.
4
2
6
4
Before
0
1.0
0
2.0
0
3.0
3.0
0
4.0
1
0
4.0
After
0
5.0
Learning Goals
6
3
Before
3
1
After
0
1.0
2.0
3.0
3.0
4.0
4.0
5.0
Learning Goals
3
Number of Students
1
0
0
0
1.0
0
2.0
0
3.0
0
3.0
Before
1
0
4.0
0
4.0
Learning Goals
After
0
5.0
References:
Myths About Gifted Students. (2016). Retrieved March 16, 2016, from
https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/myths-about-gifted-students