What is the big deal about AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Honors classes in MS are excellent and the same curriculum as the AAP classes (AAP parents will dispute this and link to the FCPS page that shows the "difference" between AP and Honors, but there is no substantial difference (IME,individual teachers are a bigger determinants of the rigor of the class than the AAP or Honors designation.- My experience is at Longfellow with both AAP and Honors classes), and then they back off and say it is the cohort that matters).

A class is more than simply curriculum.
And I agree that the AAP and Honors classes cover the same curriculum.
I do not agree that AAP and Honors classes are the same.
(And yes, I mean more than the peer group.)

What do you mean "more than the peer group"? How are they different?

The depth and breadth is greater in AAP than Honors. The projects are different in AAP than Honors. There is a greater amount of project work vs. worksheets in AAP as compared to Honors. There are more applied problems in AAP than Honors.

At my child's middle school, the AAP English curriculum was definitely different than the honors curriculum. We were given handouts at curriculum night for both honors and AAP classes and they were different. There were two very different lists of works of literature that would be read by the classes, with the AAP list containing more advanced and complex works.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Honors vs. AAP at middle school seems to vary based on the teacher. My DS has all honors classes in 7th grade and one of his teachers mentioned that he gives both Honors and AAP the same work, while another mentioned that it's almost the same. The teachers recognize that there are bright and motivated kids outside of AAP.

Now that my kids are older, the fuss over AAP seems silly - it ends at 8th grade. In 9th grade and 10th grade, in core courses, the choice the kids have is Honors or general ed. Honors and AAP kids both take honors and both seem adequately prepared. You can take an AP class even if you've never set foot in an honors class before. AAP might be more useful for instilling the kind of cutthroat competitiveness that prepares a kid for applying to TJ or HYP later in life, but it's not worth worrying about if your bright kid tests 2% less than gifted. A brighter-than-average kid who isn't in AAP will still have plenty of opportunities for challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that Honors vs. AAP at middle school seems to vary based on the teacher. My DS has all honors classes in 7th grade and one of his teachers mentioned that he gives both Honors and AAP the same work, while another mentioned that it's almost the same. The teachers recognize that there are bright and motivated kids outside of AAP.

Now that my kids are older, the fuss over AAP seems silly - it ends at 8th grade. In 9th grade and 10th grade, in core courses, the choice the kids have is Honors or general ed. Honors and AAP kids both take honors and both seem adequately prepared. You can take an AP class even if you've never set foot in an honors class before. AAP might be more useful for instilling the kind of cutthroat competitiveness that prepares a kid for applying to TJ or HYP later in life, but it's not worth worrying about if your bright kid tests 2% less than gifted. A brighter-than-average kid who isn't in AAP will still have plenty of opportunities for challenges.

This has definitely been our experience with two high schoolers. Taking AAP classes through 8th grade has no bearing on future success in high school. It's a shame parents of younger kids who read DCUM get the impression that AAP is the only thing that matters. It's just a slightly more accelerated program which follows the exact same curriculum as GE, though many AAP parents try to spin it as some sort of magical track without which your child is a lost cause. By 9th grade, no one cares who was or wasn't in AAP.

[Anonymous]

AAP and Honors differs from school to school. There are four middle schools that will be clustering their AAP-eligible students on a single team so their project work will be much different from the Honors classes.

Cooper Middle School has a great video describing these differences:

http://youtu.be/ohEJujldqgA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP and Honors differs from school to school. There are four middle schools that will be clustering their AAP-eligible students on a single team so their project work will be much different from the Honors classes.

Cooper Middle School has a great video describing these differences:

http://youtu.be/ohEJujldqgA

OMG, that woman has the most annoying voice ever. I would never be able to learn from someone whose voice is so distracting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that Honors vs. AAP at middle school seems to vary based on the teacher. My DS has all honors classes in 7th grade and one of his teachers mentioned that he gives both Honors and AAP the same work, while another mentioned that it's almost the same. The teachers recognize that there are bright and motivated kids outside of AAP.

Now that my kids are older, the fuss over AAP seems silly - it ends at 8th grade. In 9th grade and 10th grade, in core courses, the choice the kids have is Honors or general ed. Honors and AAP kids both take honors and both seem adequately prepared. You can take an AP class even if you've never set foot in an honors class before. AAP might be more useful for instilling the kind of cutthroat competitiveness that prepares a kid for applying to TJ or HYP later in life, but it's not worth worrying about if your bright kid tests 2% less than gifted. A brighter-than-average kid who isn't in AAP will still have plenty of opportunities for challenges.

I agree with you except in cases where a bright child learns so quickly and easily that he doesn't ever learn the mechanics of how to study. The AAP provides both a more challenging curriculum so that the child needs to work some to learn, and teachers who know how to guide bright kids to learn how to study. Kids like this used to fall through the cracks and have problems when their coursework became more difficult in late high school or college but being in the AAP helps them to learn the skills they need while they are younger. I grew up in a place without programs like this and I struggled at one point because I truly did not know how to study because before that time I simply listened in class or read the book and I knew the material. I had to figure out for myself how to actually study for tests, and it is more difficult to change your habits when you are older. I am sure that my own kids have been more successful in high school and college because of the challenging work they encountered in AAP/GT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a better education. I didn't realize it until my second child entered the program and saw how much more she was challenged compared to my first child in gen ed.

No it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a better education. I didn't realize it until my second child entered the program and saw how much more she was challenged compared to my first child in gen ed.

No it is not.

It really depends on the school and the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that Honors vs. AAP at middle school seems to vary based on the teacher. My DS has all honors classes in 7th grade and one of his teachers mentioned that he gives both Honors and AAP the same work, while another mentioned that it's almost the same. The teachers recognize that there are bright and motivated kids outside of AAP.

Now that my kids are older, the fuss over AAP seems silly - it ends at 8th grade. In 9th grade and 10th grade, in core courses, the choice the kids have is Honors or general ed. Honors and AAP kids both take honors and both seem adequately prepared. You can take an AP class even if you've never set foot in an honors class before. AAP might be more useful for instilling the kind of cutthroat competitiveness that prepares a kid for applying to TJ or HYP later in life, but it's not worth worrying about if your bright kid tests 2% less than gifted. A brighter-than-average kid who isn't in AAP will still have plenty of opportunities for challenges.

This has definitely been our experience with two high schoolers. Taking AAP classes through 8th grade has no bearing on future success in high school. It's a shame parents of younger kids who read DCUM get the impression that AAP is the only thing that matters. It's just a slightly more accelerated program which follows the exact same curriculum as GE, though many AAP parents try to spin it as some sort of magical track without which your child is a lost cause. By 9th grade, no one cares who was or wasn't in AAP.

Finally...someone who gets it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a better education. I didn't realize it until my second child entered the program and saw how much more she was challenged compared to my first child in gen ed.

No it is not.

It really depends on the school and the teacher.

Exactly...and there are some GENED teachers that are much better teachers than the AAP teachers....yet people want to act like AAP is like getting into Harvard.

[Anonymous]

^ if your DC can't get in it's a moot point, innit? If your kid does get in, go ahead and do it. The curriculum might not be that much different, but the students are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a better education. I didn't realize it until my second child entered the program and saw how much more she was challenged compared to my first child in gen ed.

No it is not.

It really depends on the school and the teacher.

Exactly...and there are some GENED teachers that are much better teachers than the AAP teachers....yet people want to act like AAP is like getting into Harvard.

And there are some AAP teachers that are much better teachers than other AAP teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that Honors vs. AAP at middle school seems to vary based on the teacher. My DS has all honors classes in 7th grade and one of his teachers mentioned that he gives both Honors and AAP the same work, while another mentioned that it's almost the same. The teachers recognize that there are bright and motivated kids outside of AAP.

Now that my kids are older, the fuss over AAP seems silly - it ends at 8th grade. In 9th grade and 10th grade, in core courses, the choice the kids have is Honors or general ed. Honors and AAP kids both take honors and both seem adequately prepared. You can take an AP class even if you've never set foot in an honors class before. AAP might be more useful for instilling the kind of cutthroat competitiveness that prepares a kid for applying to TJ or HYP later in life, but it's not worth worrying about if your bright kid tests 2% less than gifted. A brighter-than-average kid who isn't in AAP will still have plenty of opportunities for challenges.

This has definitely been our experience with two high schoolers. Taking AAP classes through 8th grade has no bearing on future success in high school. It's a shame parents of younger kids who read DCUM get the impression that AAP is the only thing that matters. It's just a slightly more accelerated program which follows the exact same curriculum as GE, though many AAP parents try to spin it as some sort of magical track without which your child is a lost cause. By 9th grade, no one cares who was or wasn't in AAP.

Finally...someone who gets it.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ if your DC can't get in it's a moot point, innit? If your kid does get in, go ahead and do it. The curriculum might not be that much different, but the students are.

Another ridiculous fallacy about AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ if your DC can't get in it's a moot point, innit? If your kid does get in, go ahead and do it. The curriculum might not be that much different, but the students are.

Another ridiculous fallacy about AAP.

Absolutely. Because we all know that all GenEd students are exactly the same, so all AAP students must also be exactly the same. And we all know that all schools are exactly the same, and all classrooms are exactly the same.