NGAT results are available
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Anonymous
https://www.fcps.edu/academics/advanced-academic-programs-aap/family-resources-advanced-academic-program-aap/screening See the part on local building norms. |
Anonymous
| But the AAP class at our well regarded centre school is about 20-25 kids. So if only 8 kids are getting the in pool notification, then they are surely accepting kids beyond the top 10% |
Anonymous
First, the center AAP kids in 3rd will come from several elementary schools' 2nd grade classes. Not every school is a center, so kids from other surrounding schools who get into level 4 can choose to join your center. So they are not just coming out of those 80 kids in your second grade class. They might come from 300 other kids in four other second grade classes. Second, there are other pathways to referrals to be considered like teacher/staff and parent referrals. |
Anonymous
My kid did not get a universal screener designation with a 139. I understand that FCPS kids do better than average on these tests, but I would be surprised if there were 10% of kids in his class with a higher score, unless I’m reading the z score wrong, that means that 10% of the kids in his second grade class got greater than a ~99.5%. Are we sure it’s top 10%? |
Anonymous
| My DD was not in pool and got in. |
Anonymous
It is the top 10% and yes, other kids scored better than yours at your school. People were asking where to get prep materials within days of the new test being announced. Kids are in academic enrichment starting in pre-K. Not every kid who scores high on these tests has been prepped or been going for math since they were 4 but a surprisingly number have done just that. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w792x0ggyo I give you the South Korean educational culture to read about so you understand the cram school, test prep phenomenon as it comes out of South Korea. And yes, other Asian countries are doing the same thing. It is a different set of cultural norms. |
Anonymous
There were schools where less then 10% of the student body were in-pool when they used a County wide score of 132. They shifted to local school norms to capture the top 10% at each school. |
Anonymous
One thing I’ll say is this. We know that the individual tests are 100 mean 15 sd, max 160. We know the total score is max 175, but AFAIK (despite all the claims upthread) there’s no public info on the distribution of the total score (there is one reference somewhere that says there are two different ways of combining them, but not even sure of that). |
Anonymous
Totally fair. Someone did post a url that had a PowerPoint that made it seem like the distribution was 100 with a std dev of 15 or 16, but it was not a bastion of clarity. Immaterial now, but in case anyone is keeping track for future years, 139 on NGAT was not a universal screener score for my kid. |
Anonymous
which elementary is this ( high school division?) If you are in the McLean or Langley area that makes sense, or Vienna. |
Anonymous
| With such a high cut off, I’m not really seeing it reflected in the AAP classroom instructions. The curriculum in language arts, social studies and science is not advanced at all and they just have a few more projects I believe. Math is advanced but only picks up speed in the middle of the 4th grade. I have two kids already in AAP and I’m not that impressed by the curriculum. It’s basically the same and for my younger one the cohort actually has a few very disruptive kids in their class which undermines the peer argument. |
Anonymous
Yup. People point this out regularly, but it doesn't seem to matter. AAP does go into a bit more depth. Advanced Math is good but not enough for kids who are strong at math. AAP classes have kids who are disruptive in them, there are kids with ADHD and other issues who are very smart and capable but who have the impulse control issues and emotional regulation issues that come with ADHD. And there are plenty of smart kids who could care less about school and don't apply themselves, regardless of how strong a teacher they have. You can be smart and not curious. You can be smart and do the work easily enough and not care to push yourself. There are plenty of above average kids who are curious and push themselves and do well in a program like AAP. It is a challenge for those students, and that is a good thing. AAP is nice to have but it isn't a gifted program, it really doesn't meet the needs of the kids who are in the 99th percentile and curious. |
Anonymous
Yes. There were 10% that scored better. In a class of 70, you just need 7 that did better. That’s totally believable if you are in a school that feeds to one of the TJ feeder middles (like Rachel Carson or Longfellow). |
Anonymous
I’m an educator and title of “gifted” is given away much too frequently. Every other parent walks in saying their kid is “gifted.” I certainly don’t see that gifted behavior in my classroom! Gifted kids are still writing two sentences instead of a full story. Smart hard working kids, are however, completing things, asking questions etc. Frankly I prefer the latter. Also, I have a middle schooler who is a very smart kid in AAP. I wouldn’t say he’s gifted. He’s very bright and works hard and does way better than the so called gifted. |
Anonymous
define disruptive. If you are referring to Defiant, argumentative, and constantly correct teachers and telling teachers a more efficient way, making passive aggressive jokes and emotional outbursts when not heard, that’s not disruptive, that’s an exceptionally gifted mind at play ( IQ test above 99.9%, usually above 145 on WISC tests). These kids cannot function in a normal classroom, general ed classroom teachers don’t understand them, they don’t obey, they process information very differently. If they remain in those class they will not thrive academically. The general classroom’s mission is to train future workforce that follow rules and obey society’s standards, and don’t thin on their own. Like most adults today, they get the news and believe it as it is, and never think of the deep implications and meaning, and whom might want you to believe that way. These kids mind don’t work like that they find issues and make things better, the last thing they want to do is learn something and accept it as it is, they test what they learned until it doesn’t work. Human society moves forward because of these type of people that challenge the status quo. When these kids move to a place with similar minds they feel heard and challenged the teacher together, AAP teachers are usually ok with these, half of my older kids’ class are like this, they pack together and challenge the teacher and back each other up. When he was in general ed classroom in 2nd grade, he was the one being yelled at constantly by the teacher, and eventually he told the teacher that she should go back to school instead of teaching. |