My AAP HS student has excelled in HS with all honors in MS and all IB in high school while still maintaining all As. He's been able to do this while competing at a top level in his athletics. School has never been that much of a struggle for him and he is very self motivated. The AAP center for ES was an excellent experience!

My non-AAP HS student is taking a couple of honors classes as I knew he would not be able to easily handle the load nor does he want that kind of pressure. He took only the honors classes his teachers recommended (this included 7th grade honors Algebra) and has done well. He's an A/B student and happy with where he is.

I feel at this point, they need to take ownership of their academics and understand that it will dictate the direction that will take in life.

They are two completely different kids so no regrets here.

If your DC was not in AAP, did he or she take honors or AP classes in high school? If so, how many per year? How did that work out?

Also, what were your child's grades in elementary middle? (straight A, A/B, C or below, or all over the place due to motivation issues?)
And how organized is your kid?

On the other hand, if you had a kid who sailed through AAP like it was a joke, how many AP classes could he or she handle per year? I have heard that the recommended load is no more than two per year, but I assume there are kids who can handle a lot more than that and would be bored silly in regular or honors.

I'm asking because high school is a couple of years away for us and I have kids with widely different levels of ability and motivation and would like to know how to counsel each one.