Attitudes of male and female college students are compared after having taught a successful or unsuccessful simulated student who was labeled as either an underachiever or overachiever. The data showed that the performance of the child was the major factor in determining the teachers' attitudes. (Author/RC)

This article reports on the characteristics of students classified as being over or underachievers. The concepts of over and underachievement are most frequently defined in terms that relate to expectations based on ability measures. During the past 30 years there have been attempts to isolate the causal determinants of achievement. Variables such…

Results indicate that the sex difference in over-achievement is probably an artifact of the sex differences in major field choice. (Author)

Provides additional evidence concerning the efficiency of Edward's need achievement scale as a supplement to standard tests of academic aptitude in predicting academic achievement and to discriminate between over- and under-achievers. Also examines an alternative to overall GPA as the criterion for studies of academic achievement. (RC)

This investigation was designed to explore the differences between 6th grade underachievers, average achievers, and overachievers in reading in their later achievement and behavior and to compare relationships to reading achievement that occur for students with high socio-economic status (SES) background and low SES background, and students with…

Surveys issues related to recent and prospective schooling investment in developing countries, including educational levels, changes, and demands between 1960-81, and identifies under- and over-achieving countries. Standard estimates overstate schooling impacts by not controlling for school quality, childhood family background, and geographical…

Explores the differential impact of negatively rated and positively rated trigram paired-associate materials on underachievers and overachievers in high school. (AE)

Delineated characteristics of over- and under-achievers within a sample of 372 randomly selected public school students aged 6 through 17 years from 3 racial-ethnic groups and 2 levels of socioeconomic status. Found discrepant achievement not to be unique to particular race, intelligence, gender, age, family size, or degree of family intactness.…

In this study the responses of 30 colleges seniors who over-achieved in terms of predicted grade point average (GPA), were compared with those made by 38 high ability under-achievers. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and GPA's were compared with those for two groups of students performing as predicted. Over-achievers were found to be…

Describes a study of community college students attending a City Colleges of Chicago campus, who received high grades through diligent study rather than high aptitude. Interviews conducted with 26 students revealed that participation in learning, review/restudy, selectivity in classes and teachers, and planning were responsible for students'…

This study explored the relationship of two distinctive types of divergent cognitive styles, "cold" creativity and "hot" creativity, to academic overachievement. The "cold" divergent cognitive style was found to be a controlled, problem-solving approach to stimuli, whereas the "hot" divergent cognitive style was a freer, more impulsive response to…

Presented is a procedure that could be used by a school system to identify by the end of first grade those children who are likely to underachieve (achieve or overachieve) in reading by the third grade. The procedure consists of (1) Defining underachievers, achievers, and overachievers through use of regression and its standard error, (2)…

This article discusses findings by pediatric psychologists studying destructive stress responses and other psychological costs of overdriven competitiveness in gifted students. Warning signs indicative of depression or antisocial withdrawal are described, as are contributing factors such as parental expectations. Suggestions for avoiding…

Tutoring services, known in the federal No Child Left Behind Act as "supplemental services," arguably represent the federal government's largest free-market experiment in education. In the rush to capture market share, more than 1,000 tutoring providers have signed up for the program. But market uncertainty, combined with differences in…