What to do NOW to get into and do well in AAP?

[Anonymous]

Parents act like this is a college application. It's a judgement call, just express interest with the AART and teacher and they'll get in as long as their test scores are decent. Don't bother submitting any materials, the teachers have that covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Join the PTA!! At our school, all the AAP kids have PTA parents.

This is completely false and stupid when people say it. The head of the PTA for years at our elementary school + a room parent every single year, had lots of children and none were in AAP.

[Anonymous]

As a parent, I would not "force" AAP upon a child. I would notice what interest(s) the child has and would encourage him/her in that direction, be is STEM, arts whatever.

OP I am curious why are you so keen on AAP for your child ?

[Anonymous]

For everyone saying that you did not notice favoritism at your school, that’s great. I am glad you are a school that values fairness.

When I started thinking about AAP I asked this board if I should do anything special with the teachers and principal at DC’s school, and everyone said “no.” Then I actually went through the process and saw how unfairly the school tanked my kid in GBRS, despite scores well into the 99th percentile.

The county AAP committee puts more weight on GBRS than anything else. Those scores are incredibly subjective and if you are at a school like mine where you are not spending tons of time volunteering and kissing up, and have a kid who is super smart but also very quiet, you are going to get hit on the GBRS. The teachers know how to score the GBRS to telegraph “accept this kid” or “don’t accept this kid.”

We got in on Appeal after a lot of energy went into counteracting the poor GBRS with work samples, additional testing, and a very carefully crafted parent essay. So maybe I should look at this more positively and say the process eventually worked and my DC got in after appeal, but it was so much rockier than it needed to be given the biases of the local school.

So make sure you are talking to the teacher, the AART and the principal about your kid now. Get lots of face time and volunteer for lots of committees. I also agree with the previous poster about telling your kid to raise their hand, do the extra busy work, and add silly flourishes to their work because that is apparently the stereotype teachers are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be a room mom and suck up to the teacher next year. It's all about the gbrs.

Is it really all about the GBRS? What is a room mom?

Room mom is a volunteer admin assistant to the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read to your kid and have them read to you enough that they will be above grade level in reading. Get some math workbooks and make sure your kid is fluent in basic 1st and 2nd grade math. Work on your kid's handwriting and art skills, so their work looks nice and stands out. Teach your kid to raise their hand a lot and volunteer a lot in class. Teach your kid to do any extra work offered by the teacher.

AAP admissions are not about being gifted or needing something extra. They're all about making sure your kid comes across as a bright, motivated, pleasant child to have in class. Almost every kid who is considered advanced, whether they're just mildly advanced or many grade levels ahead, will get "Consistently Observed" in the first two GBRS categories. The big difference is whether your kid is seen as creative and motivated. Pretty handwriting and art skills tend to cause teachers to give high creativity ratings. They also lead to prettier work samples. Raising your hand a lot, doing extra work, and coming across as a pleasant child tend to lead to high motivation scores. The flip side is often true, too. If your kid is very highly gifted and light years ahead, but isn't into art and doesn't explain their thought processes to the teacher, they're likely to get a low Creativity score. Likewise, if they're not interested in doing extra busywork, they're likely to get low Motivation scores.

Now I know why my kid got in AAP despite "low" NNAT and CogAT scores. They did all of the above. They are thriving at AAP center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Pretty" art and handwriting, and willingness to do busywork, does not sound like evidence of giftedness or need for AAP, but ok. I guess it's more about being "bright, motivated, and pleasant." With pretty drawings to boot.

They are unofficial rules of the game. Do you want to play or sit out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Pretty" art and handwriting, and willingness to do busywork, does not sound like evidence of giftedness or need for AAP, but ok. I guess it's more about being "bright, motivated, and pleasant." With pretty drawings to boot.

They are unofficial rules of the game. Do you want to play or sit out?

NP. No, those aren't the rules. Sheesh.

None of these posters are serious. I'm not saying they're trolling (some of them are), I'm just saying they're ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Pretty" art and handwriting, and willingness to do busywork, does not sound like evidence of giftedness or need for AAP, but ok. I guess it's more about being "bright, motivated, and pleasant." With pretty drawings to boot.

They are unofficial rules of the game. Do you want to play or sit out?

NP. No, those aren't the rules. Sheesh.

None of these posters are serious. I'm not saying they're trolling (some of them are), I'm just saying they're ridiculous.

You're a parent without kid in AAP, and not in the selection committee. No offense, but why should we listen to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Pretty" art and handwriting, and willingness to do busywork, does not sound like evidence of giftedness or need for AAP, but ok. I guess it's more about being "bright, motivated, and pleasant." With pretty drawings to boot.

They are unofficial rules of the game. Do you want to play or sit out?

NP. No, those aren't the rules. Sheesh.

None of these posters are serious. I'm not saying they're trolling (some of them are), I'm just saying they're ridiculous.

You're a parent without kid in AAP, and not in the selection committee. No offense, but why should we listen to you?

Of course I have children in AAP. Why else would I be posting?

Actual advice for OP: take your DC to the library/bookstore regularly. The end.

[Anonymous]

Many aspects of the AAP selection process seem ridiculous, but that does not mean they do not exist in practice at many FCPS schools.

Most of the posts in this thread have been helpful and are trying to be realistic about the actual process at many FCPS ESs, rather than being about some theoretical process written down someplace.

[Anonymous]

When it's NNAT time, take a look at your child's score. If it's in the 80-110 range, wait for the CogAt and honestly be ready to tap out if there's not a big jump. There are some kids who can handle AAP with those scores in 3rd and 4th grade but it usually falls apart for them by 5th grade when advanced math starts even if you spend a fortune on tutors and outside help. If it's in the 120-130 range, buy a CogAt prep book from Amazon and have your kid do a couple pages per night. A CogAt score over 132 will get your kid in at all but the highest SES schools unless they're a very mediocre student. A CogAt score in the mid to high 120s might cut it if your kid is a very strong student but if it doesn't, you may end up having to appeal and have to pay out of pocket for a WISC. You aren't going to be able to increase a CogAt score by 25 points with a prep book, but you can bring a 125 up to a 132 pretty easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Pretty" art and handwriting, and willingness to do busywork, does not sound like evidence of giftedness or need for AAP, but ok. I guess it's more about being "bright, motivated, and pleasant." With pretty drawings to boot.

They are unofficial rules of the game. Do you want to play or sit out?

NP. No, those aren't the rules. Sheesh.

None of these posters are serious. I'm not saying they're trolling (some of them are), I'm just saying they're ridiculous.

I'm serious and not trolling. There's a huge variance in the ability of 2nd grade teachers to understand giftedness and judge appropriately on GBRS. For some teachers, the points made in the thread will help your child get a better GBRS. Also, if your child is not gifted but rather above average, the advice on this thread is your best shot of cramming your kid into AAP anyway.

[Anonymous]

Sleep with the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS”s handwriting is atrocious and his art work is crap, love the boy but his writing is just bad and he is not an artist. He was accepted into LIV first round. He did well in school, had strong test scores (135], and good GBRS (3CO, 1FO). He dis used things he learned outside of school that related to what they were doing in class. He read books that tied into what they were learning in class when he finished his work. He did the extra work available and then read or wrote stories for fun. He is an easy going kid who doesn’t get in trouble in class.

We read to him at home, played lots of games, and went to some museums. He plays sports and does Scouts. There is no magic formula.

This is basically my kid, too, with slightly different test scores and GBRSs.