Why AAP?
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Anonymous
| Kids came to Fairfax after 1st/2nd grade testing so were not automatically screened for AAP, but were given the cogat. All were 98th and 99th percentiles and have been above grade level on SOLs. We decided not to apply for level 4 but am intrigued by the obsession with AAP / the AAP level 4 label / going to center pull out schools. For parents angling to get their kid IDed as AAP, I am curious why? By middle school all have access to advanced classes. Legitimately wondering, does this make a difference in the kid's entire school path, SAT scores and what college they get into? What am I missing? |
Anonymous
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Most parents are looking for a class that will engage their child or at least, not bore them. There are many paths to engage kids, like language immersion, but many of those start in K or First grade. AAP is a chance to provide a curriculum that might engage their kids.
Parents of kids at Title 1 schools see AAP as the only chance to have their kids in a class that engages kids that are ahead. Some parents see AAP as necessary to get into TJ, although it is not. Some parents see AAP as prestige. |
Anonymous
| AAP is prestigious. It's on probably on par with gaining entry to UVA, William and Mary, or UMD (out of state). It's a PC way of saying your kid is smart. It's also about socialization. Who do you want your kid to spend 5 years of their lives with every day for most of the year? |
Anonymous
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It does not. I’m not suggesting it isn’t a great experience for kids, but it doesn’t make a difference in terms of long term achievements or access to rigor. By middle or high schools,
it’s meaningless and has no bearing on anything and any AAP label has been forgotten. Independent of AAP, if you have a math-inclined kid, make sure they’re in a position to take Algebra I by 7th if you want them to access an extra- accelerated math path. Before people freak out, I’m not saying AAP is useless, im just saying that not being in AAP in no way limits outcomes, nor goes it give an advantage by high school. |
Anonymous
I certainly hope that second sentence is sarcasm!! It made me laugh. |
Anonymous
Why? It's true |
Anonymous
| My kids are young adults now but I still look back on the 3rd Grade AAP madness with extreme PTSD. Parents go absolutely nuts over this. I was no exception. Did getting into AAP have any lasting ng term impact on my kids? I don’t know. My inclination is that they learned early on that they achieved an academic accolade that was making everyone’s parents crazy. So in a weird way it instilled in my kids some level of confidence in their own smarts. And it did set the trajectory for the type of kids who became their peers—for better or worse. |
Anonymous
Getting into FCPS AAP LIV at age 7 is not the same as getting into UVA or W&M. The latter is (more typically) based on real academic achievement and effort. Further, I’d love to see the overlap of LIV admits and those that got into UVA. I bet it would be a let down for a lot of LIV parents. If you’re just suggesting it’s similar in terms of percentage admitted, that’s a silly comparison and I refuse to engage further. |
Anonymous
Is this a joke? |
Anonymous
Do you have regrets about your children being in AAP? |
Anonymous
| AAP kids are tracked through HS. They tell you it stops but it doesn't. |
Anonymous
The first part of this response is odd. But second part is spot on. Your kids are at school for 7 hours a day five days a week and will be in a class with other kids. AAP exists as a program. It’s already there. So your kid will either spend those hours in a classroom with other kids who are all performing at same high-achieving academic level OR they will spend those hours in a classroom where reading levels and match ability varies from at or above grade level to 3-4 years below grade level. If your kid fits into the latter category of 3-4 levels below grade level then they will be just fine in a gen ed classroom because attention will be given to them. But if your kid is performing at grade level and is not in the AAP class, it will be a constant source of frustration for you/your kid because they will not be challenged and not get much attention from the teacher. Your kid will be fine regardless. But the overwhelming majority of kids in AAP classrooms tend to put more effort into school and have home environments that emphasize importance of education. This does t mean that there aren’t some kids in the non-AAP classes who don’t also fit that description of focus and home environment. It is just more prevalent to find in the AAP classrooms. So if it matters to you that your kid spends 7 hours a day with other academically motivated typically high achieving kids whose families also value education, then having your child on an AAP class would be a goal that aligns with this. |
Anonymous
+1. I think this says more about the mentality of some of the parents than being anything that is remotely close to being objectively true. It might be prestigious for some but for others its not anything to brag much about. |
Anonymous
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OP, we also came to FCPS in late elementary. Kid was given COGAT and wound up being 97-99th percentile across all, 99th percentile composite. Did not think to apply for AAP and did not find out about score until after parent referral deadline which made us think twice, but we still net out ok in gen ed.
At this point AAP kids are already taught a year ahead in math so I do not think it is worth it to push my kid into higher math in 5th/6th when they did not learn the basic skills that other kids did. Also, they can take honors in middle school. |
Anonymous
| Wow. I don't know why I'm being crucified for speaking the truth. Sour grapes. |