2.5.4 Uncovering Gifted: A Profile of an Underperformer

Underachievement is widely recognised as a substantial discrepancy between potential and performance. The ability to determine an underperformer is based on a reliable measure of what the student is capable of in comparison to their output. Once they have been recognised, and identified for teachers, expectations of these students are often shifted upwards, with research indicating strong links to improved academic performance with higher teacher expectations. In low-socioeconomic schools, the education model is focused strongly on deficits, with much attention directed to students failing to meet minimum academic benchmarks and cursory attention given to those above average performers. Students with As and Bs are often grouped together and given more work while being encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities, but without intrinsic (or extrinsic) motivation to succeed many students become bored and skate by rather than flourishing. This phenomenon can be exemplified by one particular student (Male X) from my school context in South East Queensland. Male X has maintained a place in the top academic class since joining high school in Year 7, by meeting minimum standards and achieving well intermittently on national standardised testing. In primary school his results were in the top band during Years 3 & 4 but following this plateaued and have not rebounded. Male X has been told he is “smart” and “not working to potential” but refuses to accept this title and therefore this has had minimal impact on his motivation to do more than just "good enough". Through analysis of his school data, and recorded interviews with Male X, the implications of this underperformance become clear. The need for improved teacher training around underperforming gifted, and ways in which to engage these students is central to the ability to improve outcomes and futures for our students. In late 2018 Male X underwent WISC V testing which has revealed an IQ of 130 with significant strengths in Verbal Comprehension and Fluid Reasoning. Armed with this information and a new program in the school, attempts will be made to close the gap between performance and potential.

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