Anonymous wrote:Thank you all! This is really helpful information. I searched a little bit online but can't find the 5th and 6th grade curriculum. If anyone has the link, could you share? Thank you!

The 6th grade Program of Studies can be found here:

https://insys.fcps.edu/PublicPOS/#/reportPanel/6/0

This is the main link for all of Elementary:

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-k-6

There aren't a whole lot of details, but it does give you a general idea of what is covered in different grades. In your shoes, I would have him take an old Virginia 6th grade SOL, to see if you can identify where he needs to come up to speed, so that he can be successful if he gets into AAP.

https://www.solpass.org/released_sol_tests/6MathSOL2013.pdf?section=study-0

We moved to the area last summer when my son was a rising 6th grader. I applied via the website and since he already had an NNAT score and was part of the gifted program from where we were moving, I submitted those paperwork and they approved him immediately. The only additional thing he has to do was take a separate Math Placement test (actually multiple tests over 2hours) at the county office to ensure that he can handle the AAP curriculum.

Also, only 6th grade AAP (or level 3 with advanced math) will take IAAT (iowa algebra aptitude test) and 7th grade SOL. Kids are only allowed to take Algebra I honors in 7th grade only if they score at least 91 percentile in IAAT and 500 (pass advanced) in 7th grade SOL. I am not sure how this placement works if the kid gets into AAP only in the 7th grade. So, if the kid can handle it comfortably, its probably better to try for AAP in 6th grade than wait till middle school.

I couldn't find a definite link for 5th and 6th grade curriculum for Fairfax schools. Except for few topics (varies with teacher/school too), the curriculum will be more or less same for most school systems which especially true for math. We can probably refer to other school systems if they have it online. For reference, fcps 6th grade AAP math covers pre-algebra, inequalities, intro geometry, statics, angles etc.

Thank you all! This is really helpful information. I searched a little bit online but can't find the 5th and 6th grade curriculum. If anyone has the link, could you share? Thank you!

You should still try to apply provided your kid has good test scores and WISC etc - nice if the scores are comfortably about the cut-off (which is usually around 132 for NNAT and COGAT). Teacher recommendations from previous school, good grades and work samples and/or other stem activities would help (since your kid didn't have GT in elementary school).

However, I must stay it is little tricky to catchup if your kid hasn't already completed 6th grade level math in previous school as 6th grade AAP math is one full year ahead of PBL i.e., they will be covering full 7th grade math in 6th grade AAP and kids will even take 7th grade math SOL. I am not sure how advanced science and language arts are as compared to PBL class though, but AAP kids do have different teachers for all the core subjects. According to my DS, teachers in general expect more work from AAP kids and also classes are generally more competitive. The gap between PBL and AAP gradually widens from 3rd grade to MS and the later the kid enters the program, more difficult it will be to catch up.

Having said, if you think your kid has a good chance getting into 6th grade AAP, you might want to catch up on 6 grade material ahead of time in the summer.

Anonymous wrote:They both prep kids for AP/IB. AAP kids are guaranteed the AAP classes. Anyone can choose to enroll in honors. Kids in 6th grade AAP will be working on 7th grade math.

That’s the biggest difference. Did your kid just finish 5th grade math?

They both prep kids for AP/IB. AAP kids are guaranteed the AAP classes. Anyone can choose to enroll in honors. Kids in 6th grade AAP will be working on 7th grade math.

Thank you all for your responses!! I is currently NOT in a GT program in the state we are coming from. Our current district only has GT starting middle school.

Given this, I think it may be wiser for his 6th grade teachers to get to know him first before asking to be accepted into IV.

Is there really a huge difference between Honors and IV in middle school? I assume both prep the students for AP/IB in highschool?

DS transferred from LCPS to FPCS in 4th grade. We applied at the start of the summer with level 4 parent referral/questionnaire, work samples and most importantly a sealed GT approval packet from LCPS that included (as we were told) teacher recommendations, grade report, test scores and other evaluation criteria for LCPS for GT program acceptance. We also included copies of test scores and grade report just in case the school packet didn't have .

I also knew couple of other kids from DS's class who transferred from LCPS GT to FCPS AAP. I think its less likely to get rejected if your kid coming is from a similar program at a different school system, well unless there is something else (ex: bad grades after GT admission or similar).

I called FCPS about this last year, OP. In our case, we have a child who is in a competitive magnet in an adjacent county, so their answer was "this seems likely to qualify your child for the highest level AAP but we have to go through the review procedure and can't say until we do that." They said they need 3-4 weeks to do this, and it's best if it can be done before the kid starts, but they can also do it while they start at the home school and they will move the child if necessary. Our kid had already taken the cogat in 4th for the magnet they're currently in.

There is no way we can answer whether he has a chance for admission.

He will be able to take honors classes in MS and AP or IB in HS.

Anonymous wrote:We are moving to Oakton Elementary from out of state. Do you think my entering 6th grader will have a chance at getting into IV AAP? I'm scheduling for him to take the CoGAT this July in GMU. Whats a min score he'd need to get in order to quality? Any advice on how to better his chances on getting in? Thanks!

also, if he doesnt get into IV in 6th, what are his options for middle school? Thanks!

We are moving to Oakton Elementary from out of state. Do you think my entering 6th grader will have a chance at getting into IV AAP? I'm scheduling for him to take the CoGAT this July in GMU. Whats a min score he'd need to get in order to quality? Any advice on how to better his chances on getting in? Thanks!