Reis, S. & McCoach, D. Gifted Child Quarterly National
Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Vol. 44, No. 3, pp.
152-170 This article by Sally Reis and D. Betsy McCoach reviews
years of studies on underachievement among the gifted. It
explores some of the problems of identifying these students. The
authors also include suggestions for those interested in
pursuing potentially promising new lines of research and inquiry
in this area. The process of defining underachievement,
identifying underachieving gifted students, and explaining the
reasons for this underachievement continues to stir controversy
among practitioners, researchers, and clinicians. Despite this
interest, the underachievement of gifted students remains an
enigma. This article reviews and analyzes three decades of
research on the underachievement of gifted students in an
attempt to clarify the present state of research. The problem
inherent in defining and identifying underachieving gifted
students are given special attention. The authors also i