The study investigated motivation factors in 368 students in grades 4 through 9, including 180 students identified as academically gifted. Ss were administered the Junior Index of Motivation (JIM Scale) which measures six motivational factors: positive-negative school attitude, belongingness-alienation, idealism-pragmatism, personal control-fatalism, optimism-pessimism, and flexibility-dogmatism. Ss' responses were sorted by grade clustering (4 to 6--elementary, 7 to 9--secondary) and gifted vs. nongifted. Among findings were that individual responses by gifted Ss indicated that the secondary student feels less challenged by the activities assigned and feels less in control in the areas of topic choice and type of activity assigned. (SB)