Those of you with kids in both AAP and gen ed...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drastic differences. Gen ed they teach nothing. AAP was too much for one of my kids but Gen Ed was a joke. I really wish there was something in between. Gen ed was such a disservice to my child who did not need AAP-level of challenge but did need to actually learn something in the classroom. Maybe the issue was our particular ES but there was a huge gulf at our school. Like they were teaching AAP kids 2 grade levels ahead and the Gen ed they were doing basically nothing. No HW, no reading, etc.

Not my experience at all.

Mine stayed "gen ed" even though could have done AAP. DC didn't want to and I didn't feel strongly about it.
DC is in MS and all honors now, which our MS says is the same curriculum as AAP except in maybe 1 or two classes. All As last year and this (even before COVID).

I know lots of non-AAP kids who went on to equal or surpass AAP kids in terms of where they went to college, performance, etc. (the usual metrics on this board).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course there are differences. The peer group is most different.

Both my kids are in AAP and they do not get mixed with gen Ed kids. It is like a segregated school at their AAP center.

I’m an AAP parent and parents like you are so insufferable. The reality is that except for a small minority, the difference between bright gen ed kids and AAP is minimal. In middle school, it matters less and in high school, it doesn’t matter at all.

This made me laugh out loud, heartily.

We were at an AAP Center school and I assure you that "segregated" is more or less how it was run. They did not mix for electives, field trips, nothing. When 6th grade graduation came around -a big deal at our school- the AAP parents wanted a separate ceremony for them. And I had one parent tell me, thinking my child was in AAP, that they were nervous about MS but hoped the "AAP kids could just stick to themselves."

Insufferable applies here but not to who you think it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course there are differences. The peer group is most different.

Both my kids are in AAP and they do not get mixed with gen Ed kids. It is like a segregated school at their AAP center.

I’m an AAP parent and parents like you are so insufferable. The reality is that except for a small minority, the difference between bright gen ed kids and AAP is minimal. In middle school, it matters less and in high school, it doesn’t matter at all.

This made me laugh out loud, heartily.

We were at an AAP Center school and I assure you that "segregated" is more or less how it was run. They did not mix for electives, field trips, nothing. When 6th grade graduation came around -a big deal at our school- the AAP parents wanted a separate ceremony for them. And I had one parent tell me, thinking my child was in AAP, that they were nervous about MS but hoped the "AAP kids could just stick to themselves."

Insufferable applies here but not to who you think it does.

That sounds awful. I’m glad we are a local level IV school.

[Anonymous]

I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gen ed is a joke. Seriously, it's really bad.

AAP is exactly the same curriculum, just faster. I don’t know why people act like it’s so revolutionary and special. It’s not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the difference in middle school? Does it improve once gen ed kids can take honors?

Of course. And once high school rolls around and kids are free to take APs, there is no difference at all. It’s a shame FCPS sees fit to separate these kids at an early age. They all wind up together in high school anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

It is a wash out by High School. Some kids just click with school a bit later than others. I suspect that most of the people who are really concerned with being accepted into AAP are at poorer performing schools and want to move their kids to a better school or are very interested in TJ and see AAP as a way to get to Algebra Honors in seventh grade.

I know families who bought a house in a Title 1 school boundary and they were very focused, very fast on programs they could use to move their kids out of those schools. They couldn't afford the same size house in different areas so they saw AAP as their vehicle to improve their kids school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen ed is a joke. Seriously, it's really bad.

AAP is exactly the same curriculum, just faster. I don’t know why people act like it’s so revolutionary and special. It’s not.

you do realize that that is a self contradictory statement? if it's faster, the implication is that more material is covered, hence it's a different curriculum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish more gen ed parents would weigh in on how their kids did in middle and high schools.

Gen Ed parent here. None of my bright kids were in AAP, which of course made them feel less bright because many AAP kids enjoy lording that over the GE kids. However, once they started middle school, they took honors classes and added APs in high school - right along with kids who were previously in AAP. There was no difference. Honestly, the only thing AAP really does is give AAP kids a false sense of superiority and GE kids a false sense of inferiority. That is my honest, unvarnished opinion of this silly program which should be made into an actual gifted program (as it was years ago) for kids who are highly gifted and unable to learn in a typical classroom. And the current AAP curriculum should simply be the GE curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

Exactly this. FCPS has created a real monster.

[Anonymous]

Child 1 was in a stronger gen ed program with LIII, highest reading group, and advanced math, and child 2 was in a weak AAP center. I don't think there was any substantial difference between the quality of their education. AAP child actually had more pointless projects and busywork, whereas gen ed child had much more free time for independent reading. The gen ed advanced math class was frequently ahead of the AAP one and slightly more in depth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish more gen ed parents would weigh in on how their kids did in middle and high schools.

Gen Ed parent here. None of my bright kids were in AAP, which of course made them feel less bright because many AAP kids enjoy lording that over the GE kids. However, once they started middle school, they took honors classes and added APs in high school - right along with kids who were previously in AAP. There was no difference. Honestly, the only thing AAP really does is give AAP kids a false sense of superiority and GE kids a false sense of inferiority. That is my honest, unvarnished opinion of this silly program which should be made into an actual gifted program (as it was years ago) for kids who are highly gifted and unable to learn in a typical classroom. And the current AAP curriculum should simply be the GE curriculum.

+1

We put up with it for 3rd and 4th and moved twins out of FCPS for 5th grade. I'm disappointed we had to pay and take so much extra time out of school for supplementing and then private school in order to get the same education that kids in AAP got for free. We never would have chosen Fairfax County if we had known what it would be like for non-AAP kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course there are differences. The peer group is most different.

Both my kids are in AAP and they do not get mixed with gen Ed kids. It is like a segregated school at their AAP center.

I’m an AAP parent and parents like you are so insufferable. The reality is that except for a small minority, the difference between bright gen ed kids and AAP is minimal. In middle school, it matters less and in high school, it doesn’t matter at all.

+1

I've got kids in both. When my oldest wasn't placed in AAP the parent rumor mill at my school had me believing he was going into the GenEd prison population. It was ridiculous and I learned a very valuable lesson around getting wrapped up in nonsense. My oldest is now in HS and in all the same classes as his ES AAP peers so it ultimately didn't matter at all that he wasn't in the program.

[Anonymous]

+1

For all the drama AAP admission provides, it all evens out in HS. Advanced math is the only significant, long-term benefit of AAP and you can get that in Level III/principal placement, summer school, enrichment.

Quality of both AAP and Gen Ed education is not just dependent on school - it is dependent each year on teacher and kids in classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

It is a wash out by High School. Some kids just click with school a bit later than others. I suspect that most of the people who are really concerned with being accepted into AAP are at poorer performing schools and want to move their kids to a better school or are very interested in TJ and see AAP as a way to get to Algebra Honors in seventh grade.

I know families who bought a house in a Title 1 school boundary and they were very focused, very fast on programs they could use to move their kids out of those schools. They couldn't afford the same size house in different areas so they saw AAP as their vehicle to improve their kids school.

The “clicking with school” statement is just silly. Plenty of kids love school and are good at it - they click just fine. Maybe they simply didn’t do well on the NNAT or CogAt. Regardless, not being in AAP doesn’t mean children don’t “get” school.