Reply to What really IS the point of AAP?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
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. 
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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.  [/quote]

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

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/[/quote]

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.  [/quote]

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