What really IS the point of AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

What school is this? That's terrible and shouldn't be happening at any center school. I have experience with both a center school and a LLIV. At neither one did the AAP kids get extra STEAM lab time or extra field trips compared with the gen ed kids.

I do cringe when AAP kids get arrogant or act like they're superior to the gen ed kids. My gen ed kid who got rejected from AAP had higher CogAT (130) and DRA (always maxed out) scores in 2nd, and later higher SOL (always pass advanced, usually 600) and IAAT (98th percentile) scores than the neighborhood kids who got accepted into AAP (120 cogat and frequent pass proficient, 60th-ish percentile IAAT), and yet they all told her that they were the smart kids and she was the dumb one.

[Anonymous]

To get less dumbed down and not to fall too far behind from the typical education elsewhere in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

Wow, you know a whole two students? Have you contacted the american sociological association to publish your study? I was talking ON AVERAGE, genius. Clearly somebody never went to AAP lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

In theory, that's how it should work. In practice, they aren't really looking at the kids' achievement levels when deciding whether they are admitted to AAP, and they aren't looking at the reading or math levels that can be accommodated in the base school. My DD: perfect reading SOL every single year. Always at the maxed out DRA of 1 year above grade level. Rejected from AAP and frequently unable to be placed in a reading group at her level because there weren't any other kids reading a year above in gen ed. At least 2 years had to repeat info from the previous year due to being "folded down" into a lower reading group. Despite screwing over my DD, the teacher still had 4 grade levels to differentiate across, ranging from 3 years below grade level to on grade level.

My DS: Attended the center. Was reading 2 years above grade level. The teacher met with his group at most 15 minutes per week because there was a below grade level reading group and an on grade level reading group in AAP. The teacher still had 4 levels to differentiate across, ranging from 1 year below through 2 years above. The teacher was pressured to focus on the below kids at the expense of the above kids.

So glad they stopped that above group/below group stuff at our center school.

There shouldn't be any below or on grade level instruction in an Advanced Academics program. All instruction should be above grade level, and parents should withdraw their children from the program if they can't handle this.

Except that many very intelligent kids are 2e and have learning disabilities that affect one type of subject (usually reading but could be math). They need the challenge and are intelligent enough, but have a hole and need accommodations.

Personally, I think centers should not exists at all but just explaining how kids can have super IQs but also LDs. It’s common knowledge/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

I have an AAP kid (now grown) and I would disagree that they all have better salaries. Intelligence is necessary but extraordinary intelligence doesn’t bring proportional rewards. You need to be just smart enough and have social skills to make money: that is not necessary the case with every AAP kid.

You are looking for a formula that does not exist:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

In theory, that's how it should work. In practice, they aren't really looking at the kids' achievement levels when deciding whether they are admitted to AAP, and they aren't looking at the reading or math levels that can be accommodated in the base school. My DD: perfect reading SOL every single year. Always at the maxed out DRA of 1 year above grade level. Rejected from AAP and frequently unable to be placed in a reading group at her level because there weren't any other kids reading a year above in gen ed. At least 2 years had to repeat info from the previous year due to being "folded down" into a lower reading group. Despite screwing over my DD, the teacher still had 4 grade levels to differentiate across, ranging from 3 years below grade level to on grade level.

My DS: Attended the center. Was reading 2 years above grade level. The teacher met with his group at most 15 minutes per week because there was a below grade level reading group and an on grade level reading group in AAP. The teacher still had 4 levels to differentiate across, ranging from 1 year below through 2 years above. The teacher was pressured to focus on the below kids at the expense of the above kids.

So glad they stopped that above group/below group stuff at our center school.

There shouldn't be any below or on grade level instruction in an Advanced Academics program. All instruction should be above grade level, and parents should withdraw their children from the program if they can't handle this.

Except that many very intelligent kids are 2e and have learning disabilities that affect one type of subject (usually reading but could be math). They need the challenge and are intelligent enough, but have a hole and need accommodations.

Personally, I think centers should not exists at all but just explaining how kids can have super IQs but also LDs. It’s common knowledge/

No, the below grade level reading group is not the dyslexic kids. It's the below grade level kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The regular curriculum in this country is designed for students with academic capabilities lower than average.

This is pretty much it. Schools can’t track the lowest 20% in elementary school so they track the highest 20%. It’s the only way to keep those students in the public school system.

This actually sounds right. AAP is, frankly, nothing special, but it does make the parents feel good. I’ve had a kid in AAP and one in gen pop. Both could do the AAP work so the Gen Ed one was pushed down below her level. Thankfully, we left FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

By that same reasoning, public schools, police and fire departments are all socialist. Should we abolish these to meet some arbitrary standard or maybe accept that they work well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

IOW, they're living the dream.
Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get less dumbed down and not to fall too far behind from the typical education elsewhere in the world.

The regular curriculum could be less dumbed down. AAP exists to provide segregation which appeals to some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

In theory, that's how it should work. In practice, they aren't really looking at the kids' achievement levels when deciding whether they are admitted to AAP, and they aren't looking at the reading or math levels that can be accommodated in the base school. My DD: perfect reading SOL every single year. Always at the maxed out DRA of 1 year above grade level. Rejected from AAP and frequently unable to be placed in a reading group at her level because there weren't any other kids reading a year above in gen ed. At least 2 years had to repeat info from the previous year due to being "folded down" into a lower reading group. Despite screwing over my DD, the teacher still had 4 grade levels to differentiate across, ranging from 3 years below grade level to on grade level.

My DS: Attended the center. Was reading 2 years above grade level. The teacher met with his group at most 15 minutes per week because there was a below grade level reading group and an on grade level reading group in AAP. The teacher still had 4 levels to differentiate across, ranging from 1 year below through 2 years above. The teacher was pressured to focus on the below kids at the expense of the above kids.

So glad they stopped that above group/below group stuff at our center school.

There shouldn't be any below or on grade level instruction in an Advanced Academics program. All instruction should be above grade level, and parents should withdraw their children from the program if they can't handle this.

Except that many very intelligent kids are 2e and have learning disabilities that affect one type of subject (usually reading but could be math). They need the challenge and are intelligent enough, but have a hole and need accommodations.

Personally, I think centers should not exists at all but just explaining how kids can have super IQs but also LDs. It’s common knowledge/

If AAP operated as a real gifted program, you would have a point. It instead acts as a mildly accelerated program that in a perfect world decreases the levels across which a teacher must differentiate. If a kid needs an on grade level or below grade level reading group along with a disproportionate share of the teacher's time, that's already available in gen ed classrooms. There's no reason to put that kid in AAP and then expect the teacher to differentiate down for that kid when she already has 2 or 3 levels across which she needs to differentiate. Likewise, if a kid needs a ton of remediation and teacher attention in AAP math, the solution isn't slowing down the math or expecting the teacher to go above and beyond. The solution is putting the kid in gen ed math.

Most of the kids in the below and on grade level reading groups in my kid's center weren't there due to LDs. They were mostly upper middle class kids who got accepted into AAP despite not being especially advanced. A lot of them seemed to be boys who were very good at math and very average at reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

Wow, you know a whole two students? Have you contacted the american sociological association to publish your study? I was talking ON AVERAGE, genius. Clearly somebody never went to AAP lol

lol, AAP is a fairfax county thing, didn't exist where I grew up. My point is that AAP and even TJ do not have the long-lasting impact that you seem to think it does. Also, outside of this small community, nobody cares what high school you or your kid went to. Do you think tech bros out west are asking Brendan and Ella what high school they went to when they're interviewing for jobs? Nope nope nope.

- Ivy league undergrad, turned down an ivy league grad school for a better more rigorous curriculum, worked in tech for 20 years, now retired at 45. Tell me your quals, sweetie pie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science nerd mom here. Tax bracket is over 250k.

Yes my kids play sports. Healthy bodies are important to us.

Yes my kids are in AAP. Healthy minds are important to us.

AAP is the only reason why we are in FCPS or living in Fairfax county. We would otherwise live in CA.

AAP exists in part to keep the tax bracket average here high. Without it, a good portion of Fairfax county would just move. It’s very expensive to live here, and honestly without kids we could live in a more affordable area. The tracking works for us.

Creating this kind of competitive educational system also does one more thing: instead of teaching 1-4 different levels of kids in one class at a school, it’s down to about 1-2 for gen Ed and and AAP. It is a little easier for teachers. And I think helpful is raising kids up without lowering kids down.

Do I think it’s fair? The reality is that it is done in other counties/states but not so blatantly and not so much on such a large scale. The other reality is that a lot of parents assume their kids will get in and get mad when their kids don’t get in. So the OPs question gets posted much more often because people become aware of the difference. This is leads to my next observation:

I have one kid who is extremely intelligent (in aap) and another who is not as gifted in math (not in aap). But both do well because they know there is another group of kids who are in the smart class. The awareness that intelligence is awarded is important to them at this age and having local level IV is good.

In that aspect, it’s nice to have AAP. I think if there was a longitudinal study to see the effects of having this separation on overall graduation levels and advanced education in fcps that would most likely be the reason to keep aap vs eliminate it. But my observation is that it is good for our kids overall- even if they don’t get into aap.

But it IS lowering kids down. AAP kids frequently act entitled and like they are better than he general Ed kids and are frequently treated that way, too. Our school has a “fusion lab” with really cool stem stuff. My AAP kid is in there frequently and says it’s super fun, but my non-AAP kid has never been in there. The AAP class this year got an extra field trip that the gen ed kids didn’t get. How do you think that makes the gen ed kids feel? Like they’re not good enough.

Oh well. Life's not fair. Those AAP kids will also be getting higher salaries and live in nicer neighborhoods. Or do you think all of society should convert to socialism?

Hahahahaa, this is absolutely not the case. I know two former AAP/TJ kids - both are government employees. One lives in Burke, the other lives in Reston.

Wow, you know a whole two students? Have you contacted the american sociological association to publish your study? I was talking ON AVERAGE, genius. Clearly somebody never went to AAP lol

lol, AAP is a fairfax county thing, didn't exist where I grew up. My point is that AAP and even TJ do not have the long-lasting impact that you seem to think it does. Also, outside of this small community, nobody cares what high school you or your kid went to. Do you think tech bros out west are asking Brendan and Ella what high school they went to when they're interviewing for jobs? Nope nope nope.

- Ivy league undergrad, turned down an ivy league grad school for a better more rigorous curriculum, worked in tech for 20 years, now retired at 45. Tell me your quals, sweetie pie.

I live in California and am a hiring manager at a tech company. I agree. We do not care AT ALL where folks went to HS, even if it is the much beloved TJ. Our company actually doesn’t care where you went to college either (although some do). Can you do the job? Are you a team player who is east to work with and not arrogant? You’re hired. We care about skills not credentials.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, PP here. Should be “easy to work with.”