Why aren't children re-evaluated for AAP annually?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they score how the AAP kids scored to get into the AAP program, they can join AAP classes. It’s not fair for AAP kids to be evaluated every year. If you don’t want to get evaluated every year, appeal and join AAP classroom.

It doesn’t work that way. There are kids with 99th percentile WISC scores who get rejected. The reality is that kids with high GBRS and high scores sometimes get rejected. Many of the kids who accepted score around a 120-130 CogAT and are only mildly advanced. It’s absurd that the first group constantly has to prove themselves and the second is guaranteed placement through 8th, no matter how poorly they perform

In center schools isn’t the cutoff score 132? Then why do they reject kids with 99% scores and admit kids with 120 to 130 scores? Please help me understand this. My child is in 2nd grade now and am waiting for cogat results.

This is not possible unless GBRS is too low. If your claim is based on what is written from this forum then know that this is a public forum, take anything written here with pinch of a salt .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So a gen Ed kid in advanced math who isn’t gifted, just a very good student, can be sent down if they slip and that’s fine, but an AAP kid who turns out to be a terrible student can’t because they might get sad and that ok somehow?

No this is not ok. Kids who are underperforming in AAP should be kicked out too. Feelings and self esteem of ALL kids should be considered.

+1. The hypocrisy is stunning. If struggling AAP kids can’t be removed from the program because it might damage their self esteem, then level III, advanced math, and principal placement should likewise be permanent so they don’t feel bad.

I’m a fan of removing failing AAP students because they drastically slow down the program. My kid wasn’t able to receive much needed extensions because the teachers were too busy helping the struggling AAP students.


We have 1 parents report of what they say 1 admin told them. Likely the teachers thought their kid was capable and that the parent was overreacting to the normal adjustment to a faster pace in AAP so they said don't be too hasty to remove because it would be bad for self-esteem--turns out they were right because the kid is now successful in AAP the next year.
In our AAP center, kids regularly switched back to base if they struggled in AAP beyond initial adjustment or an odd blip in the year--the teachers counsels parents to if it makes sense. It likely varies by center so they should have some consistent guidelines for the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So a gen Ed kid in advanced math who isn’t gifted, just a very good student, can be sent down if they slip and that’s fine, but an AAP kid who turns out to be a terrible student can’t because they might get sad and that ok somehow?

No this is not ok. Kids who are underperforming in AAP should be kicked out too. Feelings and self esteem of ALL kids should be considered.

+1. The hypocrisy is stunning. If struggling AAP kids can’t be removed from the program because it might damage their self esteem, then level III, advanced math, and principal placement should likewise be permanent so they don’t feel bad.

I’m a fan of removing failing AAP students because they drastically slow down the program. My kid wasn’t able to receive much needed extensions because the teachers were too busy helping the struggling AAP students.

We have 1 parents report of what they say 1 admin told them. Likely the teachers thought their kid was capable and that the parent was overreacting to the normal adjustment to a faster pace in AAP so they said don't be too hasty to remove because it would be bad for self-esteem--turns out they were right because the kid is now successful in AAP the next year.
In our AAP center, kids regularly switched back to base if they struggled in AAP beyond initial adjustment or an odd blip in the year--the teachers counsels parents to if it makes sense. It likely varies by center so they should have some consistent guidelines for the process.

That's the key part. The parents have to agree once the kid is placed. If the parents say no, the kid stay in AAP.

[Anonymous]

Why do strangers care if someone else's kids are failing AAP? If the kid is okay with it and the parents are okay with it being on their record why do you care? AAP doesn't have a limited number of seats. Even if that kid in AAP fails every assignment and test, that still doesn't mean your kid will get in. The sour grapes on this forum regarding AAP is unreal.

[Anonymous]

and to add... just because a kid fails doesn't mean he isn't advance or gifted. There are lots of lazy and gifted kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do strangers care if someone else's kids are failing AAP? If the kid is okay with it and the parents are okay with it being on their record why do you care? AAP doesn't have a limited number of seats. Even if that kid in AAP fails every assignment and test, that still doesn't mean your kid will get in. The sour grapes on this forum regarding AAP is unreal.

Because the Teachers are required to slow down class to help the struggling kid catch up. So the kids who are on pace or even advanced are forced to slow down for the sake of kids who are not able to handle the pace. The kids not able to handle the pace should be in Gen Ed. Yes, they would be at the top end of Gen Ed but in AAP they are holding the class back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do strangers care if someone else's kids are failing AAP? If the kid is okay with it and the parents are okay with it being on their record why do you care? AAP doesn't have a limited number of seats. Even if that kid in AAP fails every assignment and test, that still doesn't mean your kid will get in. The sour grapes on this forum regarding AAP is unreal.

Because the Teachers are required to slow down class to help the struggling kid catch up. So the kids who are on pace or even advanced are forced to slow down for the sake of kids who are not able to handle the pace. The kids not able to handle the pace should be in Gen Ed. Yes, they would be at the top end of Gen Ed but in AAP they are holding the class back.

I don't believe its required for teachers to slow down. This hasn't happened in all the years my kid has been in AAP. My kid tells me of the friends that are struggling with work piled up and they still keep moving on to new subjects at a quick pace. Its up to parents to pull them if it isn't working for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do strangers care if someone else's kids are failing AAP? If the kid is okay with it and the parents are okay with it being on their record why do you care? AAP doesn't have a limited number of seats. Even if that kid in AAP fails every assignment and test, that still doesn't mean your kid will get in. The sour grapes on this forum regarding AAP is unreal.

I care because it slows down the AAP class for everyone else. My kid in AAP didn't get the extensions he needed, rarely got reading groups with the teacher, and was bored out of his mind because the teacher was too busy working with the kids struggling in AAP. If the teachers actually maintained rigor in AAP, I couldn't care less if struggling kids are there. When the teachers allow struggling AAP kids to consume the lion's share of the teacher's time, then it does affect the other kids. The same is true later for honors and AP classes. If the teacher maintains the proper pacing, and a lot of kids get low grades, it isn't my problem. When the teacher slows down the class because enough kids are struggling, it is a problem for the kids who needed that faster pace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and to add... just because a kid fails doesn't mean he isn't advance or gifted. There are lots of lazy and gifted kids.

Sure, but why does gifted and lazy need AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
In our AAP center, kids regularly switched back to base if they struggled in AAP beyond initial adjustment or an odd blip in the year--the teachers counsels parents to if it makes sense. It likely varies by center so they should have some consistent guidelines for the process.

Your center is doing things correctly then. At my kids' center, no one ever drops back to the base. A lot of kids seem to leave for private school, but none of them drop down to FCPS gen ed. This is also a center where they spend a full month drilling for the SOLs, even in AAP. Despite that, only about half of the AAP kids score pass advanced. At multiple conferences, the AAP teachers apologized that they couldn't provide the extensions that my DS needed, because they had to focus on the struggling kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and to add... just because a kid fails doesn't mean he isn't advance or gifted. There are lots of lazy and gifted kids.

In FCPS, it either means the kid is 2E or the kid isn't gifted. The content is so basic and the demands are so low that gifted kids will ace everything without even trying. My kids are lazy and gifted. They sailed through AAP and aced everything without lifting a finger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
In center schools isn’t the cutoff score 132? Then why do they reject kids with 99% scores and admit kids with 120 to 130 scores? Please help me understand this. My child is in 2nd grade now and am waiting for cogat results.

This is not possible unless GBRS is too low. If your claim is based on what is written from this forum then know that this is a public forum, take anything written here with pinch of a salt .

The AAP equity report showed that GBRS is 4x as influential as any test score. They also recommended moving away from the WISC, so a 99th percentile WISC might not carry any weight. Plenty of kids with 99th percentile scores get rejected. In-pool is 98th percentile+, and 1/3 of those kids get rejected. Low GBRS is a huge reason. Other reasons are probably poor or sloppy work samples, coming across like the kid is prepped, coming across as arrogant or presumptuous in the application, or some randomness in the selection system.

I've worked with a lot of AAP kids. Most of them are above average, mildly advanced, reasonably well behaved, high executive function, UMC kids. If your kid is like that, your kid will most likely get in. They're not looking for outliers. They're looking for bright kids who can handle a more advanced curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do strangers care if someone else's kids are failing AAP? If the kid is okay with it and the parents are okay with it being on their record why do you care? AAP doesn't have a limited number of seats. Even if that kid in AAP fails every assignment and test, that still doesn't mean your kid will get in. The sour grapes on this forum regarding AAP is unreal.

I think you're confused about who is complaining - some of us are frustrated because even AAP teaches to the lowest denominator. So your kid who only got into AAP because you coached her to get in and is now struggling is the reason that the rest of the class isn't able to do more advanced work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because risk of “failing out” is not appropriate for young children. Their parents can always decline if it’s not working.

It's not "failing out" if you just don't place them in AAP the following year. It's just the normal switch up of classes that happens to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because risk of “failing out” is not appropriate for young children. Their parents can always decline if it’s not working.

Is it appropriate to tell young children that they're not smart and can't be educated in the same classroom as their friends? Is it appropriate for gen ed advanced math kids to "fail out" of advanced math if they don't get a pass advanced on the SOL? Is is appropriate for principal placed kids to lose their placement even if they're doing fine, simply because there isn't space? All of these are very common in FCPS. Why do you and FCPS only care about the emotional wellbeing of AAP kids and not the bright gen ed kids?

If you are so concerned about the fall out of Gen Ed kids, who is stopping them to take WISC, Cogat and any other IQ or eligibility tests? If they score how the AAP kids scored to get into the AAP program, they can join AAP classes. It’s not fair for AAP kids to be evaluated every year. If you don’t want to get evaluated every year, appeal and join AAP classroom.
In case of kids who are only advanced in math, I’m sure you can stop the fall out by excellent cogat quantitative scores and preforming well on math tests.

Why are you after AAP kids and trying to pull them and their parents down?

LOL, I see that we've found the mom of a child who is struggling in AAP.