Reply to Why is FCPS trying to keep high performing students out of AAP?

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Reply to "Why is FCPS trying to keep high performing students out of AAP?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The in pool scores for higher SES school is significantly higher than lower SES schools.  It seems like FCPS is trying to keep students from wealthier schools from accessing AAP.  Students scoring in the 99th percentile are not “in pool” at some elementary schools.  I can understand lowering the “in pool” requirement for schools that traditionally have less AAP students; but it makes absolutely no sense to try to keep students scoring in the 98th/99th percentile from accessing A
The Advanced Academic Program.

FCPS is trying to “dumb down” the higher performing high schools by lowering the academics for students starting in 3rd grade.  Less kids in AAP will mean lower I-ready/SOL scores, less kids taking advanced math in middle school, overall less prepared students for AP/DE classes in high school.  [/quote]

My understanding is that AAP is supposed to ensure kids who have enrichment needs in their school are getting them.

However, my question is, if this is true, how did the old system work to ensure this? A school-specific in-pool cut off makes sense but a county-wide one does not, as the latter would surely lead to some schools being overrepresented in the review process, no?

Can someone who has been in FCPS for a while help me understand? Is it that the goal of AAP has changed overtime or is it that the approach was misaligned with the goal and has become more aligned? (or something else entirely?)[/quote]

The original goal of the program was to serve gifted students (using the traditionally-understood definition of IQ above 98th percentile or IQ proxy above 98th percentile) by providing them a self-contained classroom with a sufficient cohort.  Over the years, they have expanded the program to try to catch "undiscovered" gifted kids.  For a long time, there has been a lot of hostility to the program because it is by definition not equitable, and people have tried to get rid of it for years.  With the new change in pool selection, and the rollout of Local Level 4 at every elementary school, especially in cluster form, the program was supposed to go away.  Parents like it, however, and continue to choose the center school option for their children.  So it hasn't gone away yet.[/quote]

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