No way.

My experience is that the homework varies greatly by teacher. My child in AAP has had one teacher who gave a lot of homework, but the other teachers in other years have given barely any homework.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have one kid in AAP and one kid in Gen Ed.

The biggest difference between them is that my AAP kid is more outgoing and quick to raise his hand. He is generally more interested in math and science.

My gen ed kid is sweet and caring. She explains math problems to those who are struggling, but doesn’t often raise her hand. She is less confident, though the counselor described her as a confident, outgoing girl.

Their scores were:
AAP kid
NNAT 144
CogAT 135

Gen ed kid
NNAT 129
CogAT 130

So AAP had a significantly higher score on NNAT, but their CogAT scores were similar. It was the teacher ratings that were remarkably different. Even in first grade, my AAP kid’s teacher told us that he belonged in AAP.

And no, we don’t refer to them as the AAP and the Gen ed kids at home, of course. I’m just doing that because of the topic here.

I actually think my gen ed kid may have a brighter future because she has greater emotional intelligence.

OP, about half my son’s AAP class was not “in pool.” Just try for it. The only reason I wish my daughter was in AAP is that the kids behave better in that class. There are a couple of major trouble makers in her class.

Good luck!

OP here. Thank you, this is a very informative and thought-provoking response. Did you ever try to get your daughter into AAP?

I tried again after third grade, then gave up. She’s at the top of her gen ed class and most of her friends are in AAP, so I think she is doing well and has good influences in her life.

FWIW, my kid in AAP has an hour of homework every night in third grade. My kid in general ed almost never has any homework (currently 5th grade).

That's interesting. Do you think your AAP kid is ahead in terms of what they are doing in school compared to where your other child was at that age? Assuming they are at the same school? Surprised that AAP kids have homework while others do not, but I imagine this varies by school.

Does the school have kids mixed up for specials? Great that your non-AAP kid makes friends across the boundaries. (I know parents on here worry about the segregation.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have one kid in AAP and one kid in Gen Ed.

The biggest difference between them is that my AAP kid is more outgoing and quick to raise his hand. He is generally more interested in math and science.

My gen ed kid is sweet and caring. She explains math problems to those who are struggling, but doesn’t often raise her hand. She is less confident, though the counselor described her as a confident, outgoing girl.

Their scores were:
AAP kid
NNAT 144
CogAT 135

Gen ed kid
NNAT 129
CogAT 130

So AAP had a significantly higher score on NNAT, but their CogAT scores were similar. It was the teacher ratings that were remarkably different. Even in first grade, my AAP kid’s teacher told us that he belonged in AAP.

And no, we don’t refer to them as the AAP and the Gen ed kids at home, of course. I’m just doing that because of the topic here.

I actually think my gen ed kid may have a brighter future because she has greater emotional intelligence.

OP, about half my son’s AAP class was not “in pool.” Just try for it. The only reason I wish my daughter was in AAP is that the kids behave better in that class. There are a couple of major trouble makers in her class.

Good luck!

OP here. Thank you, this is a very informative and thought-provoking response. Did you ever try to get your daughter into AAP?

I tried again after third grade, then gave up. She’s at the top of her gen ed class and most of her friends are in AAP, so I think she is doing well and has good influences in her life.

FWIW, my kid in AAP has an hour of homework every night in third grade. My kid in general ed almost never has any homework (currently 5th grade).

Anonymous wrote:I have one kid in AAP and one kid in Gen Ed.

The biggest difference between them is that my AAP kid is more outgoing and quick to raise his hand. He is generally more interested in math and science.

My gen ed kid is sweet and caring. She explains math problems to those who are struggling, but doesn’t often raise her hand. She is less confident, though the counselor described her as a confident, outgoing girl.

Their scores were:
AAP kid
NNAT 144
CogAT 135

Gen ed kid
NNAT 129
CogAT 130

So AAP had a significantly higher score on NNAT, but their CogAT scores were similar. It was the teacher ratings that were remarkably different. Even in first grade, my AAP kid’s teacher told us that he belonged in AAP.

And no, we don’t refer to them as the AAP and the Gen ed kids at home, of course. I’m just doing that because of the topic here.

I actually think my gen ed kid may have a brighter future because she has greater emotional intelligence.

OP, about half my son’s AAP class was not “in pool.” Just try for it. The only reason I wish my daughter was in AAP is that the kids behave better in that class. There are a couple of major trouble makers in her class.

Good luck!

OP here. Thank you, this is a very informative and thought-provoking response. Did you ever try to get your daughter into AAP?

In our school ~ 25 percent of kids are in the AAP program, so a good chunk of kids who aren't in the "pool" still get selected for AAP.

Our experience with AAP has been that the math moves faster, but overall the program doesn't appear to be significantly different than the non-AAP classes. Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I would take a good teacher and positive environment over being in AAP.

I have one kid in AAP and one kid in Gen Ed.

The biggest difference between them is that my AAP kid is more outgoing and quick to raise his hand. He is generally more interested in math and science.

My gen ed kid is sweet and caring. She explains math problems to those who are struggling, but doesn’t often raise her hand. She is less confident, though the counselor described her as a confident, outgoing girl.

Their scores were:
AAP kid
NNAT 144
CogAT 135

Gen ed kid
NNAT 129
CogAT 130

So AAP had a significantly higher score on NNAT, but their CogAT scores were similar. It was the teacher ratings that were remarkably different. Even in first grade, my AAP kid’s teacher told us that he belonged in AAP.

And no, we don’t refer to them as the AAP and the Gen ed kids at home, of course. I’m just doing that because of the topic here.

I actually think my gen ed kid may have a brighter future because she has greater emotional intelligence.

OP, about half my son’s AAP class was not “in pool.” Just try for it. The only reason I wish my daughter was in AAP is that the kids behave better in that class. There are a couple of major trouble makers in her class.

Good luck!

My child I doing great. All 4’s in AAP with not in pool scores to qualify. They are intelligent but not great at test taking.

AAP is not intense by any means, so I wouldn't stress about it from that angle. At the same time, the reading gap in particular starts to close after 2nd grade, so he may not be languishing for much longer.

If he gets in, give it a go. If he doesn't, see how the start of 3rd grade goes and reassess.

We still haven't gotten CogAT scores but I don't have great optimism about those, given that DC was not in pool (ours is a moderately-high SES elementary school in a ~ "top five" pyramid). NNAT was 124.

So DC wasn't in the top 10% based on test scores. What does this actually mean? I put together as strong of a parent packet as I could without misrepresenting my child, but ultimately I don't know how DC compares to others at school in terms of brightness. (DC's not gifted, but is positive about learning and is bright and learned math/reading at home easily).

Should I rethink this whole AAP thing? If a child isn't in the top 10%, at least in terms of test scores, maybe they don't belong in or need full-time AAP? DC is receiving subject specific enrichment (LII) but I fear it's not enough. I will say that DC is definitely languishing in language arts and math. And we try to supplement at home and provide enrichment so that DC is still learning something as the days pass. It bothers me a lot for DC to be in school not really learning much. But at the same time, I don't have the greatest patience or consistent amounts of time/energy to devote to home enrichment. I do what I can but I feel it's not enough at times.