Underachievement Among Gifted Minority Students (continued)

Psychological/Individual Factors____ Student motivation is consistently low
____ Student has negative attitude toward school
____ Student cannot tolerate structured and/or passive activities
____ Student relates poorly to authority or adult figures (e.g., teachers, parents, administrators)
____ Student has experienced emotional trauma (on more than one occasion, consistently, or frequently)
____ Student has low self-esteem
____ Student has low academic and/or social self-concepts
____ Student has poor racial identity
____ Student has health or medical problems
____ Student attributes failure to lack of ability; attributes success to luck or easy task
____ Student consistently seeks immediate gratification
____ Student's learning style preferences are inconsistent with teaching styles
____ Student suffers from test or evaluative anxiety
____ Student has a learning disability

Student Achievement Behaviors
____ Student has low standardized test scores
____ Student has low grades or grade point average
____ Student exerts little effort on school tasks
____ Student avoids challenging work
____ Student bores easily; dislikes drill work and rote practices
____ Student disrupts the classroom
____ Student procrastinates on school assignments
____ Student has poor study and/or test taking skills
____ Student resists participating in gifted program and services
____ Student has been suspended and/or expelled
____ Student has been truant or does not go to classes

Note. From Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students: Promising Practices and Programs. by D. Y. Ford, 1996. Reprinted with permission of the author. New York.

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TABLE 2. STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE ACHIEVEMENT AMONG GIFTED MINORITY STUDENTS

Goal/ObjectiveTo affirm the self-worth of students and convey the promise of greater potential and success
To provide social and emotional support

Recommended Strategies: Supportive
Provide opportunities for students to discuss concerns with teachers and counselors
Address issues of motivation, self-perception and self-efficacy
Accommodate learning styles
Modify teaching styles (e.g., abstract, concrete, visual, auditory)
Use mastery learning
Decrease competitive, norm-referenced environments
Use cooperative learning and group work
Use positive reinforcement and praise
Seek affective and student-centered classrooms
Set high expectations of students
Use multicultural education and counseling techniques and strategies
Involve mentors and role models
Involve family members in substantive ways

Goal/Objective
To help students develop internal motivation
To increase academic engagement and self-efficacy

Recommended Strategies: Intrinsic
Provide constructive and consistent feedback
Give choices, focus on interests
Vary teaching styles to accommodate learning styles
Provide for active and experiential learning (e.g., role plays, simulations, case studies, projects, internships)
Use bibliotherapy and biographies
Use mentorships and role models
Adopt an education that is multicultural -- culturally relevant and personally meaningful, an education that provides insight and self-understanding
Have nurturing, affirming classrooms

Goal/Objective
To improve students' academic performance in the specific area(s) of difficulty.

Recommended Strategies: Remedial
Implement academic counseling (e.g., tutoring, study skills, test-taking skills)
Teach time management and organization
Use individual and small group instruction
Use learning contracts, learning journals.

Note. Adapted from Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students: Promising Practices and Programs by D. Y. Ford, 1996. New York: Teachers College Press. Reprinted with permission of the author.

ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated, but please acknowledge your source. This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under Contract No. RR93002005. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.