Kid in pool for both tests but does not have high achievements in academics
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Anonymous
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My DC is in pool but he is truly average in reading and writing. He is in advanced math group only for several concepts and he believes that several kids are smarter than him. For a kid like this, is AAP a fit?
He loves science and asks many very thoughtful questions though. Should we get a WISC test to help us make a decision? I did not talk to AART or the class teacher. I am not confident given his academic behaviors. For the tests, we did not prep cause never thought he would make it. |
Anonymous
I would talk to the teacher to get some feedback. |
Anonymous
| Also, meet with AART in March after files have been sent to central screening committee to review GBRS-you will get a lot of great feedback. |
Anonymous
Reading ability is not a reliable indicator of intelligence. Many late readers/ poor are highly intelligent. Some early readers are not. Plus, if your DC is somewhat delayed on fine motor skills or motor integration, he may not be able to write. What happens when DC dictates? Do the words flow? It may be your DC is getting caught up in the mechanics of learning and not the actual learning. If your DC is reading at grade level (or below or just above) but he scores very high on the tests, I would get him evaluated for dyslexia as a precaution. They can evaluate for dysgraphia too (just in case). Until his reading ability catches up with his intelligence, go to the library and get the books on CD (or download them) that are at his cognitive level. That will help promote his vocabulary and understanding of language. I have found the Central Library in Arlington has the best number of books "on tape". I loved browsing that book shelf. Fairfax has quite a few, but they are interspersed throughout the system so browsing is more problematic (but I am old school so that may be a factor). We have used audio books for long and medium long car rides to get a DC "hooked". |
Anonymous
| I had a child like that who is now in AAP and doing well. I'd err on the side of trying AAP unless you think it would trash his self esteem. If you have LLIV, that might be a great option because if it doesn't work out well, he doesn't have to change schools. |
Anonymous
sounds like a classic AAP kid to me. He'll be right at home. |
Anonymous
| OP, you could have been describing my child two years ago. She was very middle of the road in general ed, but is doing better now with the challenge and experiental learning methods of AAP. Your kid clearly has the smarts. In my humble opinion, it would be a mistake to preemptively judge this kid as unfit for AAP. I agree with the above posters, especially the thoughtful insights from 6:25. |
Anonymous
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Original poster, I agree with others that 6:25's post is excellent. Please consider the things that he or she mentions.
You say that your child asks thoughtful questions. That, to me, is a key indicator of a child who may well find AAP the right place to be. Remember -- tests at this age for AAP are about aptitude, not achievement. The fact you think your son is only average in his acheivement so far does not mean that he lacks the aptitude to flourish in an AAP program. Many, many parents around here seem to have the impression that AAP is for kids who are already, before they enter an AAP classroom, super-achievers who are reciting all the presidents from memory by age four or as someone recently posted, "doing 300-piece puzzles in one sitting." That's not an accurate portrait. AAP kids are as normal as any others and aren't genius kids who read at advanced levels from toddlerhood. All this testing is about finding the child's aptitude to learn -- not to find out what the chiild already knows. So if you son scores well on these tests it indicates that he has the ability to learn at a more in-depth level than you may think possible based just on what you've seen in very early elementary academics. Please be certain to talk to all his teachers (not just his one "homeroom" teacher but also any teachers he sees for other subjects) as well as possibly the school counselor and certainly your school's AAP contact person. Their take on this is important. They will know if they feel he really can do fine in AAP. Remember -- in AAP he likely will encounter other kids who also ask those thoughtful questions, and that could be very good for him and for his development. Don't brush off the idea of AAP based on what he's doing academically right now. |
Anonymous
| We didn't parent refer to AAP for the exact same reason. DC is doing ok in gen ed (all 3s with 4s in math), but DC doesn't like writing. We spoke with DC's teacher and the AART. They both emphasized that AAP has a lot more writing than gen ed. I didn't want to set my kid up to fail. DC's scores were not in pool, but were close (120 NNAT, 90% CogAT). We're going to wait a year and see how things go in gen ed. If your DC excels at math, you may want to check if your school has compacted math for gen ed, if your DC is not selected for AAP. |
Anonymous
Thank you for the info! Yes he is delayed on fine motor skills and fingers are very clumsy. He writes slower than average kids and his teacher has sent me several notes asking for extra practice at home for handwriting. I will get him tested for dyslexia and other processing issues. I called the peds office and the group has an expert to evaluate learning issues. We use MyOn for reading sometimes (audio books provided by Fairfax county). Up until last summer, we had big difficulty getting him to sit down to read. The only thing he was interested in was electronic games. I almost gave up on his reading completely cause each time I said something, he would make a connection with characters in games and then he would talk on and on about them. He was so obsessed with the games that we could not have any meaningful talk. We took the advice from a friend and only allowed him to touch the games on weekends and he became interested in encyclopedia type of books and comedies. I have to admit that I don't have the courage to talk to his teacher about AAP  I may ask the AART in March.
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Anonymous
| OP, also remember -- if your child is in the pool, you can opt INTO advanced academics at ANY point up through middle school! You might start your child out in the base program and in a year or two find that you do indeed think he is up for the challenge and then you can choose to move him to an AAP center or into Level IV AAP at his base school if that's available. Just something to keep in your mind. Not choosing AAP the first year it's available (third grade) does not mean that he is never going to be in AAP ever in his elementary or middle school years. I know families who moved kids into AAP in fifth grade, sixth grade and even in middle school. So there is an option for you if you choose to keep him in base for now and maybe move him into AAP later. |
Anonymous
| Not PP, but please be aware that being accepted into AAP (not being "in the pool") qualifies your child to opt-into the program at any time up to and including 8th grade. |