Reply to Anyone's child not able to stay in AP?

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Reply to "Anyone's child not able to stay in AP?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]

I think this is much more widespread than parents with kids in AAP realize. We are seriously considering pulling our third grader from the program next year and his teacher has told me that we aren't the only parents thinking about that option.

I think that there is a real issue at work here that the county is not acknowledging or addressing. All of our kids take a series of tests that measure critical and creative thinking. All of the tools used to assess their abilities are about what they can achieve, not what they have already learned. And then they are thrown in this hyper-accelerated curriculum that expects them to come in with a set of skills and work habits that I don't think is realistic. Some rise to the occasion, but I think many of them don't.

And for those that don't, there is little to no support. When we got called into the classroom, we were told that the teacher cannot take the time to teach my son to study or to catch him up on his spelling and math (he's "just" at a 3rd grade level so he's behind). So our only choice was to get a tutor and work with him ourselves. If this was a regular classroom, I'd be fine with that. But they tested him, they assessed him and they said he belonged in THIS accelerated program. I actually challenged that way back then and I was assured that I wasn't understanding his potential. And now they are saying he isn't meeting their standards and it's my job to fix it on my own, because they can't take the time. And if that doesn't work, then he should just leave this program, because clearly he is just the wrong fit for the program they said was the right choice for him based on their assessments.

A few years ago they changed the entire program to be an accelerated academic program instead of a gifted and talented program. But they still screen kids using gifted and talented instruments. The time has come to change the screening methods and admit kids who meet the standards of the new model.[/quote]

I think this is a really interesting post and observation. I agree that the screening tools do not seem to match the program's focus. I disagree slightly with your call for more support. IF this were a true G&T program, then I think that it is fine to assume a student has the habits and base skills to achieve in a G&T setting. If a kid doesn't have those habits of mind, it doesn't mean that they are not smart, it just means they aren't cut out for a gifted program. But as you point out, you have gifted assessments being used for an advanced academic program. That doesn't seem right and in that setting, it would seem reasonable to expect the school to have supports for him to master his program.

Apparently, work needs to be done on the screening system. [/quote]

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