High ability child who underperforms

[Pamelajackson]

Sorry, posting here for traffic.

I have an 8 yo DD who has a high ability. She's in an academic prep school (due to some undiagnosed SEN) and is very able. They work 1 year ahead in maths and she learns everything very quickly. However, her school work is not reflecting her ability and in the half year report the teachers have written something along the lines of: 'with hard work she will be able to consistently produce work that reflects her true ability'.

This is something we hear every year but looking at her maths book, she does very little in the class now in Y3. Even less than before. Teachers are saying she gets distracted easily, she is slow to start and loves a good chat too.

She can be fast (for instance she is a 'Rock legend' in TTRS (times tables), if that makes sense 😆, so can get the answers in less than 2 secs.

If you can relate to this, I'd love to know how do your children do when it comes to exams.

She won't cope with a big comprehensive, she'll need to go to a smaller and nurturing school that most probably will have entrance exams. I'm getting a bit worried though as we don't know what's she going to be like in a couple of years time and we want her to achieve her potential. In Y1 we just let her be, but she's half way through Y3 and we see no improvement.

She’s very young still, what is the school doing to support her?

She is 8!! clam down and let her be a child.

I would ignore the TTRS for now. Both my boys were under 0.5 seconds per question, but that comes with lots of practice. And while that speed would be impossible for some, it's also not an indication of higher ability.

Learning quickly is one thing, but you need to understand why her school work doesn't reflect it. Try working with her at home to see what's blocking her progress. If she really is as able as you say, then it may be a matter of being able to reproduce what she knows

I wasn't gifted, buy aside from that, all my reports sounded the same. I have dyspraxia now diagnosed amd am highly likely adhd and the right support would have made a world of difference. Get her diagnosed and make sure they assess short term/working memory.

If her school work doesn’t reflect her abilities, what are you basing the idea that she is gifted on?

Is she rushing her work?

I’d recommend getting her assessed by an Educational Psychologist

You say undiagnosed SEN, get her diagnosed and see what support she needs.

You need to get her assessed by an Ed psych to find out what her potential is. Sometimes children excel in one area, which confuses everyone for a while - but then the cracks start to show.

I am not suggesting your daughter is autistic, but just as an example, some autistic children are precocious readers or extremely good at arithmetic.

An Ed psych report will be a great start. It should highlight if there are other areas for you to look at, such as adhd, Speech and language. If you can afford it, I would also get her seen by a Speech and Language therapist and an OT.

She is very young, I wouldn’t worry at this point. She might be fine in a big school, on paper my DD would have suited a small nurturing school, but she has excelled in a large one. You’re over thinking it. My DD is a high achiever, but she didn’t show this until year 10.

Your OP sums it all up perfectly: she is an able/v. clever pupil working at a high level (one year ahead) in maths and making a good fist of it but she has underlying (mild?) SEN and is in yr 3 - those two factors account for her friendly (chatty) behaviour. She is developing social skills - sometimes an issue for SEN - and perhaps her SEN is making her distracted/chatty.

So I think it's all going fine for yr 3 and you/the school could slowly further assess her SEN to give her greater support.

That said, she is a person and only in yr3. Try to let her have some down time, even in (gasp) lessons. 😎

This was me. Aced the tests when I got to high school too, but couldn’t focus in class/always talking.

I have ADHD. This was touched upon when I was 11 (in the 70s!), and sedatives were offered. My mum declined, thankfully!

It's a maturity thing. DS was exactly the same until Y6 when he clicked with a teacher and started to try hard rather than do the minimum.

Does high ability equal gifted? She isn't gifted, she's an able child. Teachers are saying she understands/learns everything very quickly, produces pretty accurate work but very little work if that makes sense. She's very slow and easily distracted.

In terms of school support, she sits at the front to avoid extra distractions and sits next to quieter girls (avoiding disruptive ones). Other than that she doesn't get any help.

We think she has both mild ASD and ADHD.

Lovely to heat that! ❤️

Thank you for your advice ❤️

Please don’t rush to get a ‘diagnosis’. It is likely you will pay a fortune for it and it will have little to no impact other than giving her a pointless label. We seem to have forgotten about individual differences as a society.

Your daughter is bright, chatty, 7 or 8 year old, who you say is managing with school work for the year above. She’s fine!

If you are thinking she will need to be able to manage 11+ entrance exams then this is something to start exploring towards the end of year 4. She will probably need to have some tutoring for specific school entrance tests as they do vary.

And if you’re keen to see what she can actually do now there are so many free resources out there to explore. ‘Twinkl’ has loads, all linked to the national curriculum.

Thank you, we are thinking of that.

I find this thread confusing. You do know that a lot of the reason for "achievement" in exams etc (which is what you seem concerned about) is down to concentration and work ethic? Kids aren't just thick or clever...there are many millions of people in the world who could have a "better" job than the one they have but they can't be arsed or didn't have the opportunities. It's not because they are less able. Your daughter might have the potential to get good grades (like many other children) but may never get them because she's not willing or able to put in the work to get them.

This was me. I felt like a massive disappointment to everyone, as I just couldn’t perform on paper under pressure. I didn’t do massively well academically- went to uni but bombed under the pressure.

I would put your time and energy into self esteem, nurture, stress management and organisational skills. Her paper work will catch up as more strategies are available to her. I’m a very capable adult. I just wish I hadn’t been constantly failing as a child.

Encouragement at all round stuff- practical, art, let her explore all the things, don’t make her stick at it past her interest level. She’ll find her way if she’s allowed.

Does she actually have high ability, I remember a lot of my mum friends saying this about their DC? They said they are really bright but their work isn’t reflecting this.

😶

How do you know she has ‘high ability’?

That's what the teachers are telling me.