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Current theoretical and operational definitions of underachievement require that students show sustained suppressed academic achievement. Yet, early detection may allow for effective intervention before underachievement becomes a chronic issue. While existing identification procedures were not designed to detect underachievement before low academic performance occurs, the integration of self-regulated learning (SRL) into these practices may promote earlier identification and intervention. This conceptual paper (a) anchors gifted underachievement within Zimmerman's SRL model, (b) examines existing gifted literature investigating SRL components to demonstrate the benefits of applying an SRL model, and (c) proposes a comprehensive measurement and intervention technique to capture important motivational variables at the task level. By measuring SRL processes and underachievement at a task-specific level, we can target interventions to specific needs, address underachievement before it becomes a persistent problem, and help learners reach their academic potential.

This study utilized a task-specific, structured interview (microanalysis) to examine self-regulated learning (SRL; e.g., self-efficacy, strategic planning, strategy use, and self-evaluation) while students engaged in a creative problem-solving task. Participants included 58 fifth and sixth graders. Regressions examined the variance explained by SRL processes in relation to four creative performance outcomes including fluency (i.e., number of solutions generated), flexibility (i.e., number of categories of solutions generated), originality (i.e., uniqueness of the answer), and usefulness (i.e., quality of response). Results indicated that specific SRL variables are differentially related to creative outcomes. After controlling for prior performance on a standardized language test, self-efficacy significantly predicted fluency and flexibility. Regarding the strategic planning measures, plans regarding how to complete the task predicted fluency and flexibility, whereas plans of how to address a challenge predicted fluency and originality. A measure of self-evaluation accuracy significantly explained the usefulness of ideas, but was significantly, negatively related to originality. Although strategy use significantly correlated to fluency and flexibility, it did not explain a significant amount of unique variance in these creative outcomes.