DOCUMENT RESUME ED 414 687 EC 306 032 AUTHOR Reis, Sally M.; Hebert, Thomas P.; Diaz, Eva I.; Maxfield, Lori R.; Ratley, Michael E. TITLE Case Studies of Talented Students Who Achieve and Underachieve in an Urban High School. Research Monograph 95120. INSTITUTION National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Storrs, CT. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1995-09-00 NOTE 284p. CONTRACT R206R00001 PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Asian Americans; Black Students; Case Studies; Cultural Differences; Disadvantaged Youth; Family Environment; *Gifted; *High Achievement; High School Students; High Schools; Hispanic Americans; Homogeneous Grouping; Parent Participation; Poverty; Puerto Ricans; *Resilience (Personality); Self Esteem; Sex Differences; Social Support Groups; Student Characteristics; *Underachievement; *Urban Education; White Students ABSTRACT This 3-year study compared characteristics of high ability students who were identified as high achievers with students of similar ability who underachieved in school. The 35 students attended a large urban high school comprised of 60 percent Puerto Rican students, 20 percent African American, and the remainder White, Asian, and other. Qualitative methods were used to examine the perceptions of students, teachers, staff, and administrators concerning academic achievement. The study found that achievement and underachievement are not disparate concepts, since many students who underachieved had previously achieved at high levels and some generally high achieving students experienced periods of underachievement. A network of high achieving friends was characteristic of achieving students. No relationships were found between poverty and underachievement, between parental divorce and underachievement, or between family size and underachievement. Successful students supported the concept of grouping in honors and advanced classes, had supportive adults in their lives, and participated in multiple extracurricular activities. High achieving females usually chose not to date. High achieving students characteristically had a strong belief in self and resilience to negative factors. Cultural and gender differences were also found. Case studies of the 35 students are included. (Contains approximately 250 references.) (DB) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** rc_ THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON THE GIFTED AND TALENTED The University of Connecticut The University of Georgia The University of Virginia Yale University Case Studies oT Talented Students Who Achieve and Underachieve in an Urban High School Sally M. Reis Thomas P. Hebert Eva 1. Diaz 78 5 Lori R. Maxfield The University of Georgia Michael E. Ratley U.S. DEPARTMENT Office of Educational OF EDUCATION Research and EDUCATIONAL Improvement RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) techisdocument has been rdceived from the reproduced as originating it. person or organization Minor changes have been made improve reproduction to quality. Points of view document do notor opinions statedin this necessarily represent official OERI positionor policy. The University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut September 1995 Research Monograph 95120 2 teLEST COPY AVANABLE Case Studies of Talented Students Who Achieve and Underachieve in an Urban High School Sally M. Reis Thomas P. Hebert Eva I. Diaz Lori R. Maxfield Michael E. Rat ley The University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut September, 1995 Research Monograph 95120 3 THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON THE GIFTED AND TALENTED The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) is funded under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, United States Department of Education. The Directorate of the NRC/GT serves as the administrative unit and is located at The University of Connecticut. The participating universities include The University of Georgia, The University of Virginia, and Yale University, as well as a research unit at The University of Connecticut. The University of Connecticut Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli, Director Dr. E. Jean Gubbins, Assistant Director The University of Connecticut Dr. Francis X. Archambault, Associate Director The University of Georgia Dr. Mary M. Frasier, Associate Director The University of Virginia Dr. Carolyn M. Callahan, Associate Director Yale University Dr. Robert J. Sternberg, Associate Director Copies of this report are available from: NRC/GT The University of Connecticut 362 Fairfield Road, U-7 Storrs, CT 06269-2007 Research for this report was supported under the Javits Act Program (Grant No. R206R00001) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their professional judgement. This report, therefore, does not necessarily represent positions or policies of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. ii Note to Readers... All papers that are commissioned by The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented may be reproduced in their entirety or in sections.All reproductions, whether in part or whole, should include the following statement: Research for this report was supported under the Javits Act Program (Grant No. R206R00001) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their professional judgement. This report, therefore, does not necessarily represent positions or policies of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. This document has been reproduced with the permission of The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. If sections of the papers are printed in other publications, please forward a copy to: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented The University of Connecticut 362 Fairfield Road, U-7 Storrs, CT 06269-2007 iii Dedication This research monograph is dedicated to A. Harry Passow (1921-1996), a pioneer in the efforts to identify and serve gifted students from all ethnic and socio-economic groups. Acknowledgements We wish to thank the 35 young men and women who participated in this study for the time, information, insight, and inspiration they provided. We greatly appreciate the cooperation of these participants, their families, their teachers, and administrators. We also acknowledge the contributions of the following research assistants at The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented: M. Katherine Gavin, Dale Bishop Schimmel, Amy Mullen, G. Fred Woodworth, Leticia Hernandez, and Mary Rizza. We particularly acknowledge the comments of the external reviewers whose time and expertise improved this manuscript: Dr. Penny B. Kolloff, Dr. Sydney Moon, and Beverly Coleman. Case Studies of Talented Students Who Achieve and Underachieve in an Urban High School Sally M. Reis Thomas P. Hebert Eva I. Diaz Lori R. Maxfield Michael E. Ratley The University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ABSTRACT In this study, high ability students who were identified as high achievers were compared with students of similar ability who underachieved in school. Thirty-five students participated in this three year study which was conducted in a large urban high school. In this school, 60% of the students were Puerto Rican, and approximately 20% were African American and the remaining 10% were a mixture of White, Asian, and other racial/ethnic groups. Qualitative methods were used to examine the perceptions of students, teachers, staff, and administrators about the reasons that some academically talented students fail to achieve in school, while others who come from similar types of homes and families, achieve at high levels. The findings in this study indicate that achievement and underachievement in this urban high school are not disparate concepts. In many cases, students who underachieved had achieved at high levels in the previous year or semester in school. Some of the high achieving students also experienced periods of underachievement in school; however they were supported in their achievement by a network of high achieving peers who refused to let their friends falter in school. For these students, achievement was like walking up a crowded staircase. If students started to underachieve and tried to turn and walk down the staircase, many other students pushed them back up the staircase. Once, however, the cycle of underachievement began and a student went down that crowded staircase, it was extremely difficult to turn around and climb back up. Other findings include the following: No relationship was found between poverty and underachievement, between parental divorce and underachievement, or between family size and underachievement. Students who achieved in school acknowledged the importance of being grouped together in honors and advanced classes for academically talented students. Successful students received support and encouragement from each other and from supportive adults including teachers, guidance counselors, coaches, and mentors. Students who achieved in school took part in multiple extracurricular activities both after