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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We're in a diverse (not title I) school and I am the child of a non LLIV in a class with LLIV kids. I will say that my child is doing MUCH better in this class than she was in a class with less advanced children. This is a boon for non-AAP kids - everyone is living up to their true potential. My child is in a class with ESOL kids, too, they're doing really well. It's great for ALL kids which is what we should all be wanting out of our school system.

#Sorrynotsorry if this is not what you want to hear.[/quote]

As a parent of a rising 3rd grader at a similar school setting, this is great to hear. But I’m curious how you know that the ESOL students are doing really well. Do you work in the school?[/quote]

This is what I gather from check-ins with the teacher and my friend who is a specialist at the school. My other child is in a class with a bunch of troublemakers and his teacher is on the verge of a nervous breakdown - but they're in 1st and from what I've read on DCUM and Reddit, first grade is a mess across the board!

Did I give you the "gotcha moment" you were looking for? [/quote]

Wasn’t looking for a gotcha moment, but thought you had the inside scoop as a teacher at the school. Defensive much?[/quote]

Absolutely -- there are so many AAP parents here who put down normal children and their parents. They don't want to hear that including normal kids in their advanced classes is beneficial for EVERYONE. They'll just deny, deny, deny. You can see it in the responses so far. The so-called teacher, for example. Sorry, I'm friends with teachers at our school, and they're not as discrete as that so-called teacher claims she is.[/quote]

I would argue that there are more [b]parents of non-AAP students here determined to tear down the program out of pure jealousy.[/b] It's hard to hear, I know, but not every kid can keep up with the AAP pace. There is nothing wrong with that. But it's a shame when, in the name of equity, the AAP program is diluted to appease these desperate parents.

Having "normal" students in a classroom is not beneficial for everyone. The pace is slowed, the learning is less, and the teacher is unduly burdened.
[/quote]

If it makes you feel better, I'm a parent of an AAP child who wants to tear the program down, because it's ridiculous.  The AAP program was already diluted to appease people like you and let you feel like your snowflake is somehow special, rather than being indistinguishable from the LIII kids.  Math was constantly slowed down for the AAP kids who struggled to grasp the materials.  6th grade AAP math was merely gen ed math given one year early with no AAP extensions.  My kid's reading group was largely ignored due to the AAP kids who were at or below grade level and needed tons of the teacher's time.  My AAP kid was bored out of his mind and learned next to nothing. Most of the kids in his AAP classroom would have been perfectly fine in regular gen ed and would have thrived in a cluster model.  If a kid is merely one grade level ahead in reading and merely ready for FCPS advanced math, rather than far beyond, that kid is garden variety bright and in no need of a special "gifted" program.

tl;dr. The best solution would be to return AAP to a real gifted program serving only the top 2% of FCPS kids.  The rest would be served perfectly well in a cluster setting.  [/quote]

So limit it to kids in-pool or with CogAT scores over? I am pretty sure that a CogAT of 132 is 99th percentile, I am not certain what the lowest 98th percentile score is but I would guess it is between 128 and 130? Or how are you going to determine that?

I wish that FCPS just moved to Advanced Math and Advanced LA and placed kids in the appropriate group. Math becomes Math and Science and LA is Social Studies and LA. We have two groups that kids can move between and can be adjusted based on performance during the school year and testing. [/quote]

I'm assuming PP meant the top 2% looking at FCPS students students only, which would be quite different than the top 2% of CogAT scorers per the national norms currently reported.  Who knows what the top 2% of scores would look like within the FCPS population alone--probably 140+.[/quote]

PP here.  I meant the top 2% nationally, but not on a low ceiling, vulnerable-to-prep, poor instrument like the CogAT.  Realistically speaking, FCPS has at most twice as many legitimately gifted kids as would be expected.  So at most, 4% of the kids have an IQ of 130+, and if you're an equity warrior with consistent viewpoints, then clearly FCPS only has the expected 2%.  The only reason another 6-8% test at 98th percentile + on CogAT is due to prepping and the use of an instrument with very low ceilings.  A FCAG report showed that 19% of the 3rd-6th grade population had a LIV designation, and another 8% were principal placed.  That's a ton of kids with IQs in the 115-129 range being placed in self contained gifted classrooms who should be well served in gen ed.  It's hardly a surprise that the gifted kids are finding the program too watered down for their needs to be met.

The simplest solution would be Advanced math for the kids who operate best at 1-2 years above grade level.  Advanced language arts could serve the kids who are 1-2 years above grade level in language arts.  An AAP system would then be able to serve the kids who are 2+ years above grade level and additionally need more depth than is otherwise provided.

[/quote]

I have two kids, one 140+ on the WISC test and one 120, both in AAP.  The program is set up to include kids in the 98-99 percentile and some kids below that to fill out the cohort.  It's expanded recently, maybe too much, but it's always been a large program, by design.  [/quote]

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