Abstract
There are very few studies in Spain that treat underachievement rigorously, and those that do are typically related to gifted students. The present study examined the proportion of underachieving students using the Rasch measurement model. A sample of 643 first-year high school students (mean age = 12.09; SD = 0.47) from 8 schools in the province of Alicante (Spain) completed the Battery of Differential and General Skills (Badyg), and these students' General Points Average (GPAs) were recovered by teachers. Dichotomous and Partial credit Rasch models were performed. After adjusting the measurement instruments, the individual underachievement index provided a total sample of 181 underachieving students, or 28.14% of the total sample across the ability levels. This study confirms that the Rasch measurement model can accurately estimate the construct validity of both the intelligence test and the academic grades for the calculation of underachieving students. Furthermore, the present study constitutes a pioneer framework for the estimation of the prevalence of underachievement in Spain.
Highlights
The concept of underachievement has been widely studied in the educational field in the last 50 years, showing a clear impact in high education studies and in professional careers (Conklin, 1940; Shaw and McCuen, 1960; Gurman, 1970; Delisle and Berger, 1990; Rimm, 1997; Smith, 2005; McCoach and Del Siegle, 2011)
We used an approximate range of 0.8–1.2 for Infit and Outfit (Bond and Fox, 2007, pp. 243), in addition to the observation of each of the item characteristic curves (ICCs)
The present study describes an estimation of the proportion of underachieving Spanish students in the first course of compulsory secondary education
Summary
The concept of underachievement has been widely studied in the educational field in the last 50 years, showing a clear impact in high education studies and in professional careers (Conklin, 1940; Shaw and McCuen, 1960; Gurman, 1970; Delisle and Berger, 1990; Rimm, 1997; Smith, 2005; McCoach and Del Siegle, 2011). It is important to note that there is not a unique and accepted definition, due to conceptual problems mainly related to the arbitrary operationalization of the discrepancy between ability and achievement (Ziegler et al, 2012) This fact has resulted in a diversification of studies that can include from students with emotional and behavior disorders (Lane et al, 2002) to students with learning disabilities (Fletcher et al, 2005). Including or not these kind of diversifications, the consequences of being underachieving could imply insufficient support (Ziegler et al, 2012), low academic self-perceptions (Matthews and McBee, 2007) or low goal-valuation (McCoach and Siegle, 2003; Baslanti and McCoach, 2006), among other negative processes (McCall et al, 2000).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
