Parents of AAP kids: is your kid an actual genius or works hard?

[Anonymous]

No. Mostly kids being pushed at home to do extra math, etc.

[Anonymous]

If we ignore inflated CogAT/NNAT scores due to prep and assume that FCPS kids follow roughly the same IQ distribution that the general population follows, the numbers look like this:

There are very roughly around 2000 kids in AAP per grade level and 14,000 kids total. If 2% are +2 SD "gifted", that's 14,000*0.02 = 280 kids. If 0.1 % are 3 or more SD above the norm, that's 14 kids. So, in theory, in an entire grade level at FCPS, there are 14 "geniuses", another 280 gifted kids, and around 1700 bright hardworkers.

The gifted shares are possibly higher, since Fairfax county has a more educated population than average. They're probably not a lot higher, since some portion of gifted kids are in private school or are homeschooled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One is bright but lazy. The other less bright but more diligent.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we ignore inflated CogAT/NNAT scores due to prep and assume that FCPS kids follow roughly the same IQ distribution that the general population follows, the numbers look like this:

There are very roughly around 2000 kids in AAP per grade level and 14,000 kids total. If 2% are +2 SD "gifted", that's 14,000*0.02 = 280 kids. If 0.1 % are 3 or more SD above the norm, that's 14 kids. So, in theory, in an entire grade level at FCPS, there are 14 "geniuses", another 280 gifted kids, and around 1700 bright hardworkers.

The gifted shares are possibly higher, since Fairfax county has a more educated population than average. They're probably not a lot higher, since some portion of gifted kids are in private school or are homeschooled.

*. I mean within a grade level of AAP, there are in theory around 14 geniuses, 280 gifted kids, and 1700 bright, hardworkers. In FCPS as a whole, there would be another 12,000 kids in the grade level. Probably at least 1000 of the kids there are also bright, hardworkers who are indistinguishable from the ones who were admitted to AAP.

[Anonymous]

My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

Sure, my nieces and nephews are also good at singing the SOHCAHTOA song.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we ignore inflated CogAT/NNAT scores due to prep and assume that FCPS kids follow roughly the same IQ distribution that the general population follows, the numbers look like this:

There are very roughly around 2000 kids in AAP per grade level and 14,000 kids total. If 2% are +2 SD "gifted", that's 14,000*0.02 = 280 kids. If 0.1 % are 3 or more SD above the norm, that's 14 kids. So, in theory, in an entire grade level at FCPS, there are 14 "geniuses", another 280 gifted kids, and around 1700 bright hardworkers.

The gifted shares are possibly higher, since Fairfax county has a more educated population than average. They're probably not a lot higher, since some portion of gifted kids are in private school or are homeschooled.

first, IQ is right skewed, not normally distributed; second, FCPS parents likely have a significantly higher IQ that the general population

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

So you mean that your nephew dabbled in some trig concepts in 3rd grade, but he wasn't taking a full class or anything like that. A lot of bright kids can dabble with the concept of variables in 1st grade. It's exceedingly rare for one of them to be capable of sitting in an Honors Algebra I classroom, independently doing all of the work, and earning an A in the course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

So you mean that your nephew dabbled in some trig concepts in 3rd grade, but he wasn't taking a full class or anything like that. A lot of bright kids can dabble with the concept of variables in 1st grade. It's exceedingly rare for one of them to be capable of sitting in an Honors Algebra I classroom, independently doing all of the work, and earning an A in the course.

I never said anything remotely like your last sentence, and your interpretation is bizarre. My spouse and nephew were absolutely doing problems like the ones I did in trig in high school and are definitely beyond dabbling, but there’s a big difference between that and getting an A in high school course. I don’t understand your point or why this seems like something you need to refute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

So you mean that your nephew dabbled in some trig concepts in 3rd grade, but he wasn't taking a full class or anything like that. A lot of bright kids can dabble with the concept of variables in 1st grade. It's exceedingly rare for one of them to be capable of sitting in an Honors Algebra I classroom, independently doing all of the work, and earning an A in the course.

I never said anything remotely like your last sentence, and your interpretation is bizarre. My spouse and nephew were absolutely doing problems like the ones I did in trig in high school and are definitely beyond dabbling, but there’s a big difference between that and getting an A in high school course. I don’t understand your point or why this seems like something you need to refute.

You originally claimed that "you don't have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade." I guess that all depends on what your definition is of "doing" algebra. I somehow doubt that your nephew will be ready to sit for the AP Calc exam in a couple years, which would be expected for a kid who is truly "doing trig" right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

So you mean that your nephew dabbled in some trig concepts in 3rd grade, but he wasn't taking a full class or anything like that. A lot of bright kids can dabble with the concept of variables in 1st grade. It's exceedingly rare for one of them to be capable of sitting in an Honors Algebra I classroom, independently doing all of the work, and earning an A in the course.

I never said anything remotely like your last sentence, and your interpretation is bizarre. My spouse and nephew were absolutely doing problems like the ones I did in trig in high school and are definitely beyond dabbling, but there’s a big difference between that and getting an A in high school course. I don’t understand your point or why this seems like something you need to refute.

You originally claimed that "you don't have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade." I guess that all depends on what your definition is of "doing" algebra. I somehow doubt that your nephew will be ready to sit for the AP Calc exam in a couple years, which would be expected for a kid who is truly "doing trig" right now.

NP, there are a handful of kids in FCPS doing trig and/or calc in MS right now. Based on my experience with accelerated kids, I would wager that these kids already know the material and are not actually learning trig/calc in the FCPS school itself. It's not incredible to think that PP is the aunt of such a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD in AAP works pretty hard and enjoys learning but is definitely not a genius. AAP feels appropriate but also challenging for her. She is not one of those kids who is bored in AAP.
Also, a side note— you don’t have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade. I have multiple nieces and nephews doing algebra and trig in 2nd/3rd grade and it is because their parents enjoy teaching them and they enjoy learning. Obviously a unique situation but it helped me see that kids can learn a lot with the right teacher / attention.

What sort of algebra and trig?

I have no idea but I’m guessing it is intro stuff and they do not go too deep. It is truly a math loving family (the adults - including my spouse — occasionally send math puzzlers to the group chat and people enjoy spending hours trying to figure them out) so it’s not surprising. I know my spouse knew about logarithms (trig) by 9, and my nephew that age recently learned sin/cos so I guess he’s doing trig too.
The adults’ abilities are way beyond mine but it’s cool to see math turn from something just done on paper to something that can be discussed, debated over.

So you mean that your nephew dabbled in some trig concepts in 3rd grade, but he wasn't taking a full class or anything like that. A lot of bright kids can dabble with the concept of variables in 1st grade. It's exceedingly rare for one of them to be capable of sitting in an Honors Algebra I classroom, independently doing all of the work, and earning an A in the course.

I never said anything remotely like your last sentence, and your interpretation is bizarre. My spouse and nephew were absolutely doing problems like the ones I did in trig in high school and are definitely beyond dabbling, but there’s a big difference between that and getting an A in high school course. I don’t understand your point or why this seems like something you need to refute.

You originally claimed that "you don't have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade." I guess that all depends on what your definition is of "doing" algebra. I somehow doubt that your nephew will be ready to sit for the AP Calc exam in a couple years, which would be expected for a kid who is truly "doing trig" right now.

NP, there are a handful of kids in FCPS doing trig and/or calc in MS right now. Based on my experience with accelerated kids, I would wager that these kids already know the material and are not actually learning trig/calc in the FCPS school itself. It's not incredible to think that PP is the aunt of such a kid.

The kids doing pre-calc and calc in FCPS middle schools are geniuses. They also likely didn't learn trig in the 2nd/3rd grade, which is what PP claimed her nephew was doing. Let's be reasonable here. Either PP's nephews and nieces are extreme outlier geniuses, or PP is using a very broad definition of what it means to be "doing" trig. PP's original statement that "you don't have to be a genius to do algebra in 1st grade" is ludicrous. The kid either is a genius, or the algebra and trig that they are doing is being grossly exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax hasn't produced the next Terence Tao, so no there aren't any geniuses or prodigies here. And if there were, it obviously wouldn't be because of AAP. Prodigues are doing university math in early ES way before FCPS has a chance to get involved.