Why do gifted learners underachieve and what does the research say?

One of the most intriguing, and often frustrating, puzzles for those who study individuals with great intellectual and creative promise is why some bright students never reach the level of success of which they seem so capable (Clinkenbeard, 2012). Underachievement of gifted learners has been a much debated topic among researchers for a number of decades (Reis & McCoach, 2000; Gross, 2004) with much of the argument centred on the actual model of giftedness being used in the discussion and the resulting beliefs as to how underachievement should be defined and identified (Delise, 2004; Gross, 2004).