The term "low achiever" sometimes refers to those children with IQ levels lower than average but not low enough to categorize them as learning disabled or mentally disabled. Potentially, this category can include up to half of the children in a given school system or classroom. However, this does not cover all low-achieving students. Some children who fall into the low-achievement category actually have above-average, even high, intelligence levels as determined by standardized tests; however, they become bored with the regularized presentation of learning materials because they have exceeded those milestones.
Teacher awareness forms an important element of best practices in learning strategies for low-achieving students. Through this awareness, the teacher can go on to consider implementation of varying learning techniques that support the low-achieving child’s progress. Barriers to a low-achieving child’s progress include such routine or high-pressure learning environments as teaching geared to the passing of high-stakes tests, and peer pressure associated with the accomplishments of higher-achieving classmates.
The sense of camaraderie and cooperative learning can bolster both morale and motivation in the low-achieving child. Group learning strategies can involve a mix of levels of achievers and innate IQ levels, or can involve comparable peers learning together. Whichever model a teacher applies to a specific project, however, the teacher ensure that the low-achieving child or children in the group manage the project so that it operates as a cooperative, versus a competitive, learning activity.
Another learning strategy that can enhance the learning accomplishments of the low-achieving child involves individual attention. A teacher can sometimes provide some of this individual attention. However, working with an individual tutor, or a variety of tutors in different subject areas, can give the low-achieving child not only additional individual attention but exposure to a different educator perspective. This, in turn, may enhance progress across all subject areas.