Underachievement Quiz

Parents and Teachers

Do you wonder if your child (or student) is at risk for underachievement or is underachieving? To find out, ask yourself the following questions.*

Score 1 point for each "yes" response and total the points for each section. Scores are explained after each section. (If you are a teacher, substitute "my student" for "my child.")

Section 1:

Does my child forget to do homework assignments? Does my child give up easily?

Does my child avoid competitive activities unless he/she is almost sure to win?

Does my child start working late on homework each night?

Does my child watch two or more hours of TV (or play two or more hours of video games) on school nights?

Total Points for Section 1:

4-5: My child has characteristics that indicate a very serious underachievement problem.
2-3: My child has characteristics that indicate a fairly serious underachievement problem.
1: My child has characteristics that indicate only minor underachievement problems.
0: My child has no characteristics of underachievement.

Read Chapter 1 of Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades to understand the characteristics of underachievers.

Section 2:

Was my child the center of an unusual amount of attention for the first three years of his/her life?

Were my child's parents divorced before he/she was a teenager?

Does my child have a same gender sibling who is less than three years younger or older than he/she?

Does my child want a lot of one-to-one attention?

Total Points for Section 2:

4-5: My child encountered very serious risks for underachievement.
2-3: My child encountered fairly serious risks for underachievement.
1: My child encountered only minor risks for underachievement.
0: Indicates no obvious risk factors that would lead to underachievement.

Read Chapter 2 of Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades to learn about risk factors that may initiate underachievement.

Section 3:

Is the mother or father in this child's family perfectionistic?

Does my child tend to ignore his/her mother, father, or teacher when they make requests?

Did the mother or father in this child's family not like school?

Is the mother or father in this child's family unhappy in his/her career?

Is the mother or father in this child's family disorganized?

Do the mother and father in this child's family have very different approaches to child rearing?

Is one parent in this child's family a more rigid disciplinarian than the other?

Do my child's grandparents live nearby and overindulge him/her?

Total Points for Section 3:

5-8: My child has very serious problems related to imitation of family patterns.
3-4: My child has fairly serious problems related to imitation of family patterns.
1-2: My child has minor problems related to imitation of family patterns.
0: My child has no apparent problems related to imitation of family patterns.

Read Chapter 3 of Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades to understand how your child or student may be unconsciously imitating problem parental attitudes or behaviors.

Section 4:

Dependent Underachiever: Dominant Underachiever:
Do other childern seem to pick on my child? Does my child brag a lot when he/she does something well?
Is the mother or father in this child's family overprotective? Does my child often disobey his/her mother, father or teacher?
Does my child need lots of parent help with homework? Does my child blame others or find excuses?
Does my child often play the class clown? Does my child often convince a parent of teacher to change his/her mind?
Does my child cry, whine, or complain a lot? Does my child get one parent (or teacher) to say yes after the other parent (or teacher) says no?

Total Points for Dependency: Total Points for Dominance:
4-5: My child has very serious dependency problems. 4-5: My child has very serious dominance problems.
2-3: My child has fairly serious dependency problems. 2-3: My child has fairly serious dominance problems.
1: My child has only minor dependency problems. 1: My child has only minor dominance problems.
0: My child has no dependency problems. 0: My child has no dominance problems.

Read Chapter 4 of Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades if your child is a dependent or dominant underachiever.

Section 5:

Is my child bored with school?

Does my child seem to ask for more teacher help than most children?

Does my child tend not to finish class assignments?

Does my child disrupt the class by talking too much?

Does my child complain that schoolwork is too easy?

Is socializing the most important part of school for my child?

Does my child's class emphasize competition in almost everything?

Does my child's class attempt to eliminate all competition?

Total Points for Section 5:

5-8: My child has characteristics that indicate a very serious underachievement problem.
3-4: My child has characteristics that indicate a fairly serious underachievement problem.
1-2: My child has characteristics that indicate only minor underachievement problems.
0: My child has no characteristics of underachievement.

Read Chapter 5 of Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades to discover what classroom risks can cause underachievement.

*Quiz questions taken from Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades by S. B. Rimm, Great Potential Press., Scottsdale, AZ, 2008.