Level III vs Level IV

[Anonymous]

I have submitted a parent referral for Level IV already. Do the results in April only say if the child is accepted in Level IV or not? Or, do they make a decision on whether they belong to Level II or Level III? In other words, if DC doesn't get into Level IV, does FCPS require parents to submit a separate referral for Level III next month?

What is the difference between Level III and Level IV on a day to day basis? I understand Level IV are clustered together in separate classes. What do Level III do as part time AAPers?

[Anonymous]

The county assesses level IV (full-time they say they want to call it now) eligibility as a county and sends decisions only on that.

Level III elgibility is at the school level and when you submit a referral they have to respond in a month. At our school kids are automatically assessed for level III in May for the following year if the parent referred for level IV. Separately kids who test well (iReady/SOL) are offered placement in advanced math.

[Anonymous]

Level III is a once a week pull out that is supposed to be 1 hour a week. Not every school is great with having regular pull outs or meeting for an hour.

Not every child who was considered for LIV ends up in LIII, I know kids who were in-pool for LIV and did not end up in LIV or LIII initially. I understood the reasoning because I know the child. Smart but not curious or motivated to do more then the minimum. They will rise to the occasion if required but complain the entire time. They ask to drop to the lower level so they can do less. The LIII group has shifted a lot over the years my child has been in it. Kids are added and dropped, many by request, every year and throughout the year.

Advanced Math is the main thing that kids not accepted into LIV should be looking to get into because that is where there is actual acceleration. It is also the main reason why kids won't be accepted into LIV. Either their scores are strong only in the Quant section so the committee is worried that they will struggle with the rest of the curriculum or they are strong in the other areas but the Quant score is a lot lower and there are concerns about the child's ability to keep up with the math.

Advanced Math and LIII are school level decisions. Every school has their own formula for both programs. Most will end up looking at SOL scores, grades, iReady, and independent assessments (especially for Advanced Math.)