What really IS the point of AAP?

[Anonymous]

Serious question. What is the point for elementary and middle when anyone can take AP in high school? It also seems like unless you have a goal for TJ, there really is no actual purpose earlier on... My child got accepted and will be starting this year but I am still boggled on whether it’s actually worth something so early on. Would love feedback on what you feel your child gained from the program overall...Or if they gained anything at all?

[Anonymous]

AAP is not for high school. It's for ES kids who do not need but really do better in a faster paced and/or deeper classroom.

It's also for the kids who have already learned not to volunteer or "act smart" in class, who are struggling socially to find friends and accepting classmates, and who benefit from teachers who expect and accept them by challenging and supporting them.

[Anonymous]

To make wealthy white praents feel good about their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To make wealthy white praents feel good about their kids.

Ironic that you say that because majority of AAP kids are Asian.🙄

I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To make wealthy white praents feel good about their kids.

Yes - this. They relive through the kids. School, friends, afterschool sports, etc. They are shitty micromanagers of their kids lives!
No AAP means they cry every night in embarrassment and shame while hugging their pillow.

[Anonymous]

It made a difference for my kid. There are faster paced classes, fewer distractions, and socially my child finally found a group of friends where they fit in bc their peers are more quirky, academically-driven students v. the sports-obsessed kids in GenEd. I’m not arguing one is better than the other but in our experience AAP has been a better fit for my child and they finally feel like they fit somewhere.

[Anonymous]

It keeps kids who can learn faster motivated, and pushes them to learn at their full potential.

[Anonymous]

I see accelerated math as beneficial

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It made a difference for my kid. There are faster paced classes, fewer distractions, and socially my child finally found a group of friends where they fit in bc their peers are more quirky, academically-driven students v. the sports-obsessed kids in GenEd. I’m not arguing one is better than the other but in our experience AAP has been a better fit for my child and they finally feel like they fit somewhere.

Plenty of sport kids in aap. Also, plenty of distracting kids in aap, too.

[Anonymous]

I feel like this question comes up a lot. If your base school has the majority of kids at or slightly above grade level, AAP is one of those things that’s probably not necessary for most kids, except for the advanced math part. If your base school has 20+% of kids who are 2-3 grades behind, AAP is the only reason a lot of families with kids who are above average will consider staying at the school. Teachers can’t differentiate that much within a single classroom and even if they could, the kids who are behind are going to require/ receive much more attention.

[Anonymous]

There is no point period.

I did gifted and talented 30 years ago in elementary school and there is absolutely no point.

There is no point to accelerate math, there is no point to attend afterschool training classes, there is no point for TJ either.

Accelerating math does more harm than good in many cases. Most folks aren't actually learning the material properly, additionally 1 class of Calculus in high school is plenty. Skipping more than one math sequence in college is universally panned.

The workplace does not care about AAP or TJ.

Success in life is based on who you know and your work ethic. Raw intelligence can make things easier and faster sometimes but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

DS attends a title one school. You wouldn't believe how far behind most of the class is. The class and most of the school is not on grade. This isn't the fault of the teachers. Teachers are given WAY too much of a range of abilities. It would be easier if they could just focus on teaching the basics at a very slow pace versus teaching basics and trying to teach the curriculum to others. AAP is the only differentiation possible.

I went to gifted as a kid at a title one school and enjoyed the class discussions. I felt like I fit in versus being ridiculed in regular classes or bullied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this question comes up a lot. If your base school has the majority of kids at or slightly above grade level, AAP is one of those things that’s probably not necessary for most kids, except for the advanced math part. If your base school has 20+% of kids who are 2-3 grades behind, AAP is the only reason a lot of families with kids who are above average will consider staying at the school. Teachers can’t differentiate that much within a single classroom and even if they could, the kids who are behind are going to require/ receive much more attention.

This is exactly what it is. My two kids were in local Level IV. I live in an area that is convenient for me but the school has wayyy too many poor kids that create classroom problems. If my third kid doesn't get into AAP in a few years we are going to move to the Langley pyramid. I don't enjoy maxing my housing budget but I am prepared to do it.

[Anonymous]

Its to keep your kids out of general ed and all the problems that go with it.

Thats it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no point period.

I did gifted and talented 30 years ago in elementary school and there is absolutely no point.

There is no point to accelerate math, there is no point to attend afterschool training classes, there is no point for TJ either.

Accelerating math does more harm than good in many cases. Most folks aren't actually learning the material properly, additionally 1 class of Calculus in high school is plenty. Skipping more than one math sequence in college is universally panned.

The workplace does not care about AAP or TJ.

Success in life is based on who you know and your work ethic. Raw intelligence can make things easier and faster sometimes but that's about it.

There's no point in anything, really. No point in getting a high school diploma, or a job, or anything. We all die anyway.

Raw intelligence can be helpful, but it can also make it harder for some kids to stay on track. For some kids, AAP may help them stay on track in the early part of their school career.