OP here - I have to admit I was being a little facetious and a little sarcastic with the whole recipe thing. Bottom line is it is being used (as seen on this forum and in my community) and it helps bump in those who would not have otherwise been selected. The kids that lose are those who are at or just sl above the bubble but whose parents don't know about the system. (If they know the system and are quite happy with their kids remaining in general ed then there is no problem. There is certainly life outside of AAP and many of our future CEO's will not have spent any time in an "advanced" classroom. Life is what you make of it....)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much differentiation does a child with a 120 IQ really need?

thank you!!!! that's right. people on these boards 'want' to be in aap, that's why they try to game the system. want is different than NEED.

true that. And a cottage industry has sprung up to help them get in.
But the FCPS accomodates as well, as has happened at TJ, by trying to make these programs less exclusive - because that's a bad thing.

Anonymous wrote:How much differentiation does a child with a 120 IQ really need?

thank you!!!! that's right. people on these boards 'want' to be in aap, that's why they try to game the system. want is different than NEED.

The fact is that families are using parts or all of the recipe to get their kids to just above 130 and into the program.

The yentas on this (and any other AAP) thread are out of their minds.

What is a 120 IQ? There are different methods for measuring and will produce different results depending on the kid. More to the point, the standard AAP tests (CogAT and NNAT) are not IQ tests.

How much differentiation does a child with a 120 IQ really need?

Anyone who needs a "recipe" does not belong in the program.
A kid with 140+ was eligible for the center. A kid with 130+ was eligible for school based services. The problem with the current system is that the parents of kids in the 120+ want their kids in with the kids with 140+. That is a huge difference and it has changed the entire scope of the program.