An underachiever is a person who fails to achieve their
potential
Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple r ...
or does not do as well as expected by their
peers.
Of particular interest is academic underachievement. Studies of individuals who have not realized their apparent potential have identified
learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty ...
,
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...
, and many other educational problems, and subsequently enabled methods of addressing these problems.
Gifted students can also be
at risk for underachievement.
Current theories among academic scholars prefer to address underperformance problems with remedial help.
The term is also used more generally; for example, a sports team that contains many star players but still loses games against teams with relatively little obvious talent might be termed underachieving. A
stock
Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
which achieves poor
profit
Profit may refer to:
Business and law
* Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market
* Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit
* Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...
and/or
capital gain
Capital gain is an economic concept defined as the profit earned on the sale of an asset which has increased in value over the holding period. An asset may include tangible property, a car, a business, or intangible property such as shares.
...
s despite sound underlying business and/or
asset
In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...
s may be called underachieving.
See also
*
Achievement gap in the United States
*
Overachievement
*
Social mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
*
Twice exceptional
The term twice-exceptional or 2e refers to individuals acknowledged as gifted and neurodivergent. As a literal interpretation implies, it means a person (usually a child or student) is simultaneously very strong or gifted at some task but also v ...
*
Underearners Anonymous
*
Tang ping ( "lying flat")
Further reading
*
*
*
References
Giftedness
Special education
Upsets
{{edu-stub