underachiever_casestudy

Back to Home Page

~﻿by Maggie Cowne

Evading Education: A Look at James

Our text, //Education ﻿ of the Gifted and Talented//, defines underachievement as “a discrepancy between the child’s school performance and some index of his or her actual ability”(p. 288). James, a fifth grade student in my English/Language Arts class, immediately came to my mind when considering this assignment. James is an eleven year old male who has attended our elementary school since kindergarten. He was identified as gifted and began participating in the gifted program in 2nd grade. He was referred for evaluation by his teacher who recognized his high creative and divergent thinking, particularly in the area of mathematics. He is the third of five sons. Both of his older brothers were identified as gifted. His parents are very supportive of the school system and take an active role in their sons’ education. Although his creative and intellectual abilities qualified him as gifted, his performance in the classroom has not matched those abilities. The term “underachiever” has been used to describe this student on multiple occasions by multiple teachers. He was even put on probation from the gifted program in the 4th grade as a result of low grades. All of this considered, I felt that he was the perfect candidate for this case study.

Based on my own observations of this student and discussions with his other content area teachers and his gifted teacher, James exhibits 12 of the characteristics of underachievers listed on the checklist on page 294 of our textbook. Among these include poor performance on classroom tests. These low grades are not specific to any one content area; however his best scores are in Social Studies where his teacher reported that he was extremely interested in their study of WWII and had performed well on those assignments and tests. He also consistently does not meet grade level benchmarks on reading fluency measures and basic math fact fluency assessments, even though he has shown he is capable of meeting these expectations during isolated student-teacher meetings in the past. James is easily distracted and unable to focus attention on tasks. All of his teachers report that he often daydreams in class and requires repetition of directions and/or redirection during class. His organizational skills are also lacking and he is frequently not prepared for class. His parents have expressed a concern over his inattention. They reported that he has difficulty at home completing tasks such as homework and chores. This is in contrast to his other siblings, and they are consulting with their family physician about the possibility of Attention Deficit Disorder. One of the characteristics that is most prevalent is the gap between the level of his oral and written work. In my classroom, I have observed that he is more involved in the brainstorming phase of the writing process when it is a class discussion or one on one conference. He is willing to offer his ideas orally, but consistently resists doing this work once I ask him to put his pencil to paper. His reading teacher also reported that he will often discuss their readings in a class discussion, but is reluctant to offer a response if it is in a written form such as a double entry journal. This “pencil anxiety” as described on p. 300 of our text often prompts many avoidance behaviors. The descriptions of avoidance behaviors in our text provide an extremely accurate image of James’s day-to-day performance. The cartoons on page 296 of our text reveal hidden meanings behind avoidance behaviors which suggest that these behaviors “protect underachievers from the primary problem of low self-esteem and the related feelings of low personal control” (Davis, Rimm, &Siegle, 2011). James also has difficulty in peer relationships and has only a few friends in the grade level. When I talked with him about whom his friends were, he immediately mentioned that his best friend had moved out of the state last summer, and that he really wished the friend would move back to our school system next year. He also mentioned that his two best friends do not attend our school, but he “sees them regularly” at church. He has a few friends that he plays with at recess but doesn’t relate to them as being “best friends.” Since underachievement is a learned behavior that can be unlearned (Davis, Rimm, &Siegle, 2011), it is important for teachers and parents to work together to reverse these behaviors. Based on the observations and underachieving characteristics that James exhibits, I would make the following recommendations to reverse his pattern of underachievement. The first action that should take place is a parent-teacher conference. In //Education of the Gifted and Talented//, the authors state that, “communication between parents and teachers is an important component of the reversal of underachievement” (p. 316). From previous conversations with James’s parents, it is clear that they recognize that his potential ability and his actual achievement do not match. This meeting should focus on his specific patterns of underachievement to make sure that these behaviors are not unintentionally being reinforced at home or school. Another area that needs to be addressed is James’s low self-esteem. As the middle child of five with two older siblings who are also identified gifted, James expresses that he deals with some sibling rivalry and can get “lost in the crowd.” One recommendation for James is to match him with a mentor. Our text points out that “a critical turning point for the underachieving child is the discovery of a role-model for identification” (p. 318). Our school system has an established mentor program that matches students with community members who have volunteered to mentor students. The school counselor can help coordinate matching an appropriate mentor with James. References:

Davis, G.A., Rimm, S. B., Siegle, D. (2010). //Education of the Gifted and Talented// (6th Edition). New York: Prentice Hall.