Reply to No separate AAP student track in FCPS high schools, right?

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Reply to "No separate AAP student track in FCPS high schools, right?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Yes. These comments are commonplace at the center school my kids attend. The AAP kids, for the most part, are extremely sure of themselves and often refer to Gen Ed as "the dumb classes." Nice, right? Especially since the vast majority of Gen Ed and AAP kids are pretty much identical. The administration has had various counseling sessions for the students, to make them more aware of how awful they sound, but frankly, FCPS has created this monster. They've elected to separate very similar kids into two groups, with very distinct labels. The kids are well aware of who is in what class. The parents are very aware also. As another poster said, there is an undercurrent of tension. Of course, someone will chime in and say, "Not at our school! The kids don't care about such things!" But they're seeing it from the point of view of their own AAP kids. If their kids were in the group that certain kids call, "the dumb classes," they would be singing a much different tune. 
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Fortunately, most of this nonsense is significantly reduced in middle school and pretty much ends as the kids get to the part of school that really matters  (high school), when the AAP kids lose their label.  My DC came out of a middle school that was something like 65-67% AAP students.  Based on those stats, you would expect a similar portion of the high school to graduate with honors (over a 4.0 weighted GPA), but it's just not the case.  Many AAP kids who are actually average students are not among the top achievers, and plenty of bright "gen ed" kids whose parents didn't file AAP appeals or spend thousands of dollars on educational and IQ testing will.  It all evens out and the "gen ed" kids have the same shot as anyone else.

It is easy to get wrapped up in it and bent out of shape, however, when you have one of the "dumb" kids in AAP center ES and they are being insulted by their peers over a couple of IQ points. [/quote]

But it doesn't necessarily even out and can be harmful to kids in both groups if they spend their early school years absorbing these smart/dumb messages.  Those former AAP kids who are floundering, may be doing so because they've internalized the 'smart' label and can't cope with difficult classes that challenge that label.  And the 'dumb' can end up performing below where they could because they've learned not to try.   I thought the whole idea from the APP advocates is that the early years DO matter.  Can't have it both ways.[/quote]

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