What to do NOW to get into and do well in AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The gifted will standout with their scores (>140 NNAT and CoGAT, with a similar WISC, regardless of poor GBRS). The borderlined will need the parents to work hard to build a good relationship with the teacher for a nice GBRS.

Our teacher at a center school said this profile would not be admitted to AAP because it was clearly a prepped kid. Said you need both the test scores AND the class work/behavior to get in.

That's odd since prep is usually a golden ticket to these programs.

Not anymore. The preppers broke it. Now they get this new admission system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP is slightly better than general ed. It is actually at a level that every kid should be taught at. Nothing even remotely advanced.

You dont need to prepare to be "able to survive AAP". It is not MIT. Anyone who gets to school on time would do well.

This falsehood doesn't do gen ed students any favors. Or AAP students.

[Anonymous]

AAP is not the be all and end all. Back in the 80s and 90s they only took kids with Full Scale IQs of 140. They lowered the bar and now have lots of bright, motivated kids. My child was accepted into Level IV and I did not send her, because we were already in a good school and the center was a long travel away. She did fine in a good FCPS school, did the full IB diploma in high school, got into a selective private university with scholarships where she graduated with honors.

If you live in a weak school district, then push for AAP Level IV. I’ve been in the county for a long time. There are some truly gifted kids there, but many are smart kids from families who provide enrichment as part of parenting.

Please don’t pressure your little kid. Please enjoy them for who they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When it's NNAT time, take a look at your child's score. If it's in the 80-110 range, wait for the CogAt and honestly be ready to tap out if there's not a big jump. There are some kids who can handle AAP with those scores in 3rd and 4th grade but it usually falls apart for them by 5th grade when advanced math starts even if you spend a fortune on tutors and outside help. If it's in the 120-130 range, buy a CogAt prep book from Amazon and have your kid do a couple pages per night. A CogAt score over 132 will get your kid in at all but the highest SES schools unless they're a very mediocre student. A CogAt score in the mid to high 120s might cut it if your kid is a very strong student but if it doesn't, you may end up having to appeal and have to pay out of pocket for a WISC. You aren't going to be able to increase a CogAt score by 25 points with a prep book, but you can bring a 125 up to a 132 pretty easily.

This all used to be true but it isn't anymore. The GBRS rules now.

I don't assume that the teachers and AART pick "favorites"? I think that they make some understandable but very biased assumptions that ultimately shape what AAP is like. They give high GBRS to kids that they think will be successful in AAP; in other words, kids who have strong organizational skills and executive functions. This makes sense in a way, given that AAP is an accelerated program, not a gifted program, that really does not present material in any especially different or interesting way.

Of course there are exceptions to this rule but overall admission to AAP used to be almost guaranteed with a high CogAt and pretty much guaranteed with a high WISC. Now a mediocre GBRS will overrule those, just as a strong GBRS will overrule mediocre scores.