Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Underachieving or making excuses?

Since many children are receiving their report cards, I began to wonder: when a gifted child is not a straight A student, are they always underachieving? DD8 has a report card that is not flattering, although she is scoring well on exams in 4th grade. But her attention, organization and use of time is scored so low that she is about C average overall. DH and I surprised that this aspect is scored and figured into their overall average and an academically A student becomes a C student due to these other factors. I know DD is bored and has a difficulty starting a task when she finds it of little value or challenge to her. She is also a perfectionist and if she feels the task is not going to be perfect, she will put it off as long as possible.

Does it sound like we are making excuses or is she truly underachieving? DD does not need to be an A student, but this is how the school district decides gifted classes, acceleration etc. I doubt she will ever be the most organized person (judging from her parents:)) and she has inherited perfectionist tendencies that will stick around. I know academically she is not having a challenge as the work she does at home in the challenge math book is much more advanced than the work at school. I'm curious what others think about this...

Jeni

Jeni-

All of the traits you are describing could very well be signs of a gifted kid who isn't getting enough (or any?) challenge. It is also quite possible that you have a twice exceptional child who is both gifted and ADD or somehow learning disabled. There may be an auditory processing issue, a visual problem, etc.

I don't like to put too much emphasis on grades, but if a gifted child is getting C's regularly, that sets off warning bells for me. There's something that needs to change.

best wishes-

My son gets B, some high and some low. He isn't underachieving, he's placed with kid who are 18 to 30 months older than himself to REVERSE underachievment, which he had while he was making all A's, but not learning to study. If he had been in a school that included "effort" in it's core grade, he would also have been getting "C's."



She's 8. Be afraid, be very afraid. Can you imagine this situation when she is in Middle School and doing 3 month long projects?

Don't say that you aren't worried about Middle School because there is a gifted program, until you give me a lot more information about the gifted program, and her special educational needs, and if they are a fit, or even likely to be a fit.

Has she had any individualized testing? Was last year's testing group or individual? Does she seem to need another skip? Subject acceleration? Homeschooling? What would it take to get her near material that would match her readiness level? Sometimes an early enterance isn't enough. Is there a gifted co-ordinator who is familiar with giftedness at your daughter's level?

I think you are correct to be alarmed. I remember hearing about a school that gave a Product grade and an Effort grade. If the Product grade was high and the Effort grade was low, the student was immediatly moved up to the next higher level of challenge, until the Product and Effort grades equalized. Sounds reasonable to me!

Best Wishes,
Trinity

DS has never been graded specifically on effort, but I do know his teachers would always comment that he was the least organized person in class--the last one to get his stuff ready to go out the door and then he usually had to go back in one or two times to get something he had forgotten.

Now he is in middle school and taking 8th grade "advanced" math (he's getting HS credit). The logistics are *more* complicated, but he is doing *better.* He has to manage the stuff in his locker, get from his hallway to the eighth grade hallway, and all kinds of other logisitics. He still forgets things like his jacket, his lunch box, and various papers, but he never has any trouble getting to math and he never forgets his math homework. It's amazing how they can rise to the occasion if they need to.

We did manage in elementary school by making sure that there was one area of extra challeng: the HS spelling list, or self-paced math for example. So he always had one area to work hard, and that was almost always the area where he was also most organized.

I agree with you on elementary grading. The primary grades here (k-2) use a 1-3 system, and teachers just don't give 3's very often. It's very hard for parents to interpret such numbers, especially when we know what our children can do. DD8 is now in third grade and getting A's on her report card, although not on all assignments.

I'm also surprised that "effort" and "attention" and similar things figure into grades. Our kids receive conduct scores which incorporate these things but are unrelated to performance.

Dottie,

Our school is very much into "procedures" and this is an area DD has always been graded low. I would describe her as the absent minded professor type who gets lost in her thoughts and has difficulty starting something if she has something better going on inside her head. Her math class uses timed tests, which do not suit her well. I am not as concerned about the grades, if it weren't the deciding factor for gifted classes and other enrichment at school. In 4th grade it is still by teacher recommendation.

Lorel,

I wondered if DD had some ADD type behaviors, but this is situation specific. Someone with true chemical based attention problems could not have the focus and attention DD does when she researches something of interest to her or when she does more challenging work.

Trinity,

You are so true. DD is one grade ahead her age, there are children 18 months older than she is in her class as well. Even with that said, I wonder if she is getting enough challenge? DD was tested individually in pre-K admission and was in the 99th percentile for everything except fine motor skills. In 3rd grade she was tested with her schools achievement tests and her cognitive readiness test was in the exceptional range (CSI 140 with a 141 ceiling) and her subject specific tests were in the gifted range. She will take the EXPLORE test in Jan. which I hope will give the school and us a way to discuss the future.

Jeni

As a side note, DD brought home a math sheet, that had more advanced algebra. All answers were wrong on it. I asked her about it and she said it was a group assignment and two girls demanded to lead the group and told everyone what to put down. We discussed the strategy for these problems and DD got all of them right. I thought it was strange that although she knew the right answers, she was willing to put down a wrong one to please the group. Maybe being younger has something to do with it, or because she has be bullied this year makes her less likely to speak up.

Jeni

Hi Jeni -
I'm glad the Explore test is coming. Can you get into the next grade level up and sit in a classroom for a while? Check out the various teachers and see if you think any of them would be good for your daughter? How often does the gifted program meet? Will it mess up your daughters chances if she skips over the Holiday break?

Steps -
Observe Potential "Recieving Classrooms"
Get the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual and fill it out. At this point she has enough data.
Write a WritteN letter to the Principle, with written copies to the Gifted Coordinator, teacher, requesting and evaluation for a grade skip. Include that you hope it can be done over the holiday transition, as lots of review takes place in January. Site the algebra worksheet as proof that she is being intimidated in the classroom, and that she isn't at her readiness level.

BTW - the fact that she is willing to go along with the louder girls can be a sign of strength - she is aware, and cares about the social aspect. It can also be a sign that she is not in a safe environment. Or Both, I suspect. Let's face it, if it were my son, he would be screaming and crying and the teachers would say he's acting immature and innapropriate and he wouldn't be reccomended for the gifted program - remember the book "Catch- 22?"

Best Wishes,
Trinity