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
