AAP Curriculum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curriculum is one of those things about AAP that is almost impossible to figure out, other than just go through it year to year. Because of SOLs they do tend to follow the FCPS curriculum but probably more in-depth - no real proof since both ours are AAP so can't compare. I've heard that they do sometimes switch stuff around though because 1 kid we know switched back to the home school after 1 year at center and ended up repeating a bunch of stuff, especially in science.

Depends on the AAP center but in our area it's different in the following ways: math - different texts, even from compacted at base school. Use of Caesar's English in 3-5 and Word within the Word in 6th grade - they learn lots of Latin roots/stems, Socratic Seminars, Civilization creation/archeology dig, artifact museums - maybe more open-ended projects than base school, Wordmasters, more science fair requirements etc.

haven't had a single science fair project in three years at a school dubbed for "arts and sciences"; plenty of poetry, dancing and recorder playing though.

which school is this?

[cbright]

Math simply skips a grade at our school. It was a bit much for the teacher, and a bit much for our boy. We had to put in a lot of extra hours going over 3rd grade math to keep up. I am sure that it is a better program elsewhere, but at least the rest of the curriculum was balanced and appropriate for a bright child.

[Anonymous]

When I went to the local level IV orientation, it was explained that the center and the local level 4, follows the same curriculum that they receive from Dr. Carol Horn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I went to the local level IV orientation, it was explained that the center and the local level 4, follows the same curriculum that they receive from Dr. Carol Horn.

The INTENDED curriculum is the same -- the difference is the peer group.

A Center peer group of all Center-eligible kids will be (some would argue markedly) different from a Local Level IV peer group of some Center-eligible kids and others that are not Center-eligible and are simply selected by the principal. If the Local Level IV peer group is comprised of a majority of not Center-eligible kids, there is a (some would argue strong) chance that the pace and depth will not be at the same speed or depth as that of a similar Center class comprised of all Center-eligible kids.

In addition, a Center school with more than one class of Center-eligible kids per grade will find it logistically easier to further differentiate by grouping similar ability kids across classes. That is often not the case with Local Level IV as there is often a single Local Level IV class per grade.

Therefore, a 3rd grader that has already mastered 5th grade mathematics (as an example) will likely find it difficult to be challenged in math in a Local Level IV setting. That is less likely the case in a Level IV Center setting. As an example, my DS (who is a 5th grader at a Center) told me about two of his friends in 3rd grade that are placed in the 6th grade AAP class group for math. My DS and his 3rd grade friends took the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test in January and will be taking the 7th grade Math SOL this month.

[Anonymous]

From the FCPS website:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/faqs/esfaqs.shtml

How does Local Level IV differ from the Full-time AAP Center?

The teachers in both settings are trained in gifted education and teach the same advanced academic curriculum to students who are ready for a highly challenging instructional program in the four core subject areas. The main difference is in the make-up of the class. All of the students in a full-time AAP center-based class have been identified as center-eligible by a central selection committee and will be coming from several neighborhood schools to comprise the center class. In a Local Level IV classroom, the students are a mix of students who are center-eligible and high achieving students who are capable of working at advanced levels, all enrolled in their local school.

Many schools that offer Local Level IV services add students to the Level IV class in areas of academic strength through flexible grouping. This is an important avenue of access for students who have traditionally been underrepresented in advanced academic programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I went to the local level IV orientation, it was explained that the center and the local level 4, follows the same curriculum that they receive from Dr. Carol Horn.

The INTENDED curriculum is the same -- the difference is the peer group.

A Center peer group of all Center-eligible kids will be (some would argue markedly) different from a Local Level IV peer group of some Center-eligible kids and others that are not Center-eligible and are simply selected by the principal. If the Local Level IV peer group is comprised of a majority of not Center-eligible kids, there is a (some would argue strong) chance that the pace and depth will not be at the same speed or depth as that of a similar Center class comprised of all Center-eligible kids.

In addition, a Center school with more than one class of Center-eligible kids per grade will find it logistically easier to further differentiate by grouping similar ability kids across classes. That is often not the case with Local Level IV as there is often a single Local Level IV class per grade.

Therefore, a 3rd grader that has already mastered 5th grade mathematics (as an example) will likely find it difficult to be challenged in math in a Local Level IV setting. That is less likely the case in a Level IV Center setting. As an example, my DS (who is a 5th grader at a Center) told me about two of his friends in 3rd grade that are placed in the 6th grade AAP class group for math. My DS and his 3rd grade friends took the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test in January and will be taking the 7th grade Math SOL this month.

Could you explain this again please? Who took the IOWA test, was it the 5th grader or 3rd grader, or both? Even the 5th grader sounds early, am I correct?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Could you explain this again please? Who took the IOWA test, was it the 5th grader or 3rd grader, or both? Even the 5th grader sounds early, am I correct?

The IAAT is given in January of 6th grade for students taking advanced math (as is the case with 6th grade AAP classes).

My 5th grader gets pulled out of his 5th grade AAP Center class and joins the 6th grade AAP Center class for math. His two friends in 3rd grade (in the 3rd grade AAP Center class) also get pulled out to join the 6th grade AAP Center class for math. The three of them took the IAAT, as did all of the 6th grade AAP Center students.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for explaining this. DC is in 4th bumped up to a 5th grade math class, which is why I asked about this. I have heard that if they pass the IAAT then they would be bussed to the middle school for math. Is that going to be the case for your child? At least it sounds like there would be a few of them going together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you so much for explaining this. DC is in 4th bumped up to a 5th grade math class, which is why I asked about this. I have heard that if they pass the IAAT then they would be bussed to the middle school for math. Is that going to be the case for your child? At least it sounds like there would be a few of them going together.

We don't know yet what DS will do for math next year (as a rising 6th grader). In order to get bused to the middle school AAP Center for Algebra 1, students need to score a 91 or higher on the IAAT and score pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL. We will not get that SOL score until the summer (August?) so we wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even for AAP students, it is all about the SOLs. They have to stick with the "current" year curriculum in everything but math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found the homework in 3rd grade to be much more than it was in 4th or 5th, and then it picked back up again in 6th. In our AAP center, the AAP kids have science every day, and spelling work is an occasional thing. There are a lot of projects and writing that are done at school only, mainly so the work is genuinely that of the kids and not of the parents. The kids were expected to do short answer (paragraph) type answers on tests and short essays on tests starting in 5th. Wordmasters and math contests are given as part of the curriculum. The curriculum has seemed a lot more challenging than what my other ds recieved in general ed. There is a distinct lack of busy work in AAP, and the assignments given often have requirements that allow the kids to capitalize on their strengths, but require them to push themselves in areas that aren't.

This is very close to our experience too (have a 6th grade AAP student). There is a lot of creative discussion too -- my child tells me in detail about some very interesting talks the kids have in class with each other and their teachers on a lot of topics related to what they're doing in classes. I think the teachers at our center in this grade go into depth and also know when to let the kids discuss and even go off a bit on tangents, if it shows they are thinking. We are also fortunate to have a daily writing rotation -- just writing, and reading/language arts is another rotation of its own. Good prep for increased writing in middle school.So I think the AAP curriculum experience depends a lot on what center or school, what grade and what the teachers are like.

The curriculum topics are the same but the level and style of what's done in the classroom can (and really should) be very different in AAP.

I was at a presentation at our middle school for next year where the science and history teachers gave examples of the differences. This is a very basic summary, but for instance, in middle school general ed history, the kids might be expected to write a biography paper of (example only) three pages, with X number of sources. Honors MS kids would be expected to do a longer paper, more sources, maybe get into different aspects of the person's life etc. AAP MS would do a much longer paper, many more sources, and be expected to speak to questions such as "How do you think your subject would respond to one of today's major international issues" (for instance, what would Teddy Roosevelt do and how would he react regarding some specific crisis today). I am not doing a detailed job of remember it, but it was a good look at some specific differences in handling the same curriculum for different groups.

For elementary the differences have depended on the teachers -- some years the teachers are more motivated and more creative with the curriculum for the AAP students. But we have had an overall good experience. Clearly some parents on here haven't had that. If not -- demand that your kids get that science fair if you're at a "science and arts school" and so on. Push for your kids to get challenged or teachers won't know that you're paying attention and that you care.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, 22:40, for the terrific post!