Gifted kid - APS, FCPS, or Nysmith?

[Anonymous]

took just five years to reply to post from 2019. Sleeping beauty was going to wait for another ten years, but it got ruined!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi. We have a gifted child and are considering a move to either Arlington County or Fairfax County. We are flexible in terms of where we live, so we could live in Arlington or Fairfax.

Does anyone have any basis to compare the two districts in terms of their gifted program? Or comparing either of their AAPs to Nysmith? We could also afford private school, but would prefer public. However, ultimately we just want the best program for our child whose IQ is in the upper 150s range. We'd like to see a lot of differentiation, but also a healthy peer group dynamic that is not focused on all-out competition.

Thanks for sharing advice or experience you might have with gifted programs in the area.

6 years later, curious where the high IQ student is now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The PP is incorrect, most years students need a 131-133 on the CogAt to be in the pool. Parents do fill out forms to have their child considered if they fall below that line, but unless the teacher has a very strong recommendation, they still need a score of 130or so on another test like the WISC. When Fairfax decided to do its own version of the CogAt because of remapnt cheating, there was a bubble group year where more were accepted because there was quite a bit of leeway.

A huge number of kids are admitted via parent referrals and have no scores at or even close to the 132 in-pool threshold. My AAP DD and most of her AAP friends had scores in the low to mid 120s, and are bright, motivated students. My DD isn't way above grade level and her test scores seem pretty accurate. She was given a 15 GBRS for being a good student, and she's solidly average in her AAP classes. I don't think a 150 IQ kid would be well served in AAP, but I'm not sure that he would be well served anywhere.

Yes, kids with lower scores at low income/low performing schools will still get into AAP ever since they switched to allowing in the top x% of kids at every school instead of the top x% of kids overall. We know a family that moved in 2nd grade so their kid could in to AAP, and then sent their child to the center for 3rd+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbors daughter did not get in. IQ 136. CogAt 134. For those who don’t know, CoGAt is not an IQ Test.

It is not, but it is meant to be a substitute/easier, cheaper approximation of a kid's IQ score. As seen with your neighbor, her IQ and CogAT are very close. Mt son had a 142 (unprepped) on the CogAT. Years later he had an IQ test in connection with a larger evaluation and his IQ is 145. Similar.

[Anonymous]

Many APS parents would say that APS lacks a meaningful G&T program.

The DCUM contingent also mostly would say to live in the NW corner of Arlington to be zoned for the better stack of APS schools.

My own suggestion is to go to a top local private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like an average kid in AAP who has had an actual WISCONSIN. Nysnith is for the kids who don’t get into AAP.

That’s completely inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The PP is incorrect, most years students need a 131-133 on the CogAt to be in the pool. Parents do fill out forms to have their child considered if they fall below that line, but unless the teacher has a very strong recommendation, they still need a score of 130or so on another test like the WISC. When Fairfax decided to do its own version of the CogAt because of remapnt cheating, there was a bubble group year where more were accepted because there was quite a bit of leeway.

A huge number of kids are admitted via parent referrals and have no scores at or even close to the 132 in-pool threshold. My AAP DD and most of her AAP friends had scores in the low to mid 120s, and are bright, motivated students. My DD isn't way above grade level and her test scores seem pretty accurate. She was given a 15 GBRS for being a good student, and she's solidly average in her AAP classes. I don't think a 150 IQ kid would be well served in AAP, but I'm not sure that he would be well served anywhere.

Yes, kids with lower scores at low income/low performing schools will still get into AAP ever since they switched to allowing in the top x% of kids at every school instead of the top x% of kids overall. We know a family that moved in 2nd grade so their kid could in to AAP, and then sent their child to the center for 3rd+.

Even average kids at high-performing schools get into AAP with an appeal and private diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like an average kid in AAP who has had an actual WISCONSIN. Nysnith is for the kids who don’t get into AAP.

That’s completely inaccurate.

Highly gifted is pretty tricky thing. One day they test at 155 and the next day at 145. A couple of generations ago, most kids in AAP would have had 140+ IQ, then people started getting upset because their above average kids were not being treated as gifted. Now almost 15% of fcps 3rd graders are in AAP.

Nysmith is more selective than AAP. it's also a stem focused private school that used to be a bit of a feeder school to TJ. But now there is a heavy bias against private schools in the admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:took just five years to reply to post from 2019. Sleeping beauty was going to wait for another ten years, but it got ruined!

FCPS further watered-down AAP recently with their ridiculous “HOPE” rating scale replacing the prior GBRS scale.

The “HOPE” scale includes the ability for parents and teachers to include examples, such as:

“ Please indicate all content areas where the student shows exceptional talent beyond their same age peers.
☐ Math
☐ Reading
☐ Writing
☐ Social Studies
☐ Science
☐ World Languages ☐ Visual Arts
☐ Performing Arts”


Link: https://www.fcps.edu/system/files/forms/2023-10/hoperatingscale.pdf

Yes - visual and performing arts. Let’s put a child in an accelerated math class because they are good at drawing pictures or they took a dance class, lol.

Seek out private school over FCPS.