Decisions about school placement are parental decisions... not appropriate for 8 yr olds to be making. They can weigh in, but IMO, it has very little weight. The job of the parent (for young kids) is to make these decisions based on factors that an 8 yr old cannot be expected to assess.

We actually weren't planning to send my very scattered, young-for-grade kid to the AAP center if he got in. (We do not have local level 4 at our base school). Kid was accepted.

Just out of an abundance of caution (and a bit of curiosity), we decided to go to the May orientation session for kids who were accepted. We listened and did a complete 180 degree mind-change. We left that thinking "I want some of THAT for my kid!" We sent the kid in Sept. thinking we would give it until the middle of the year and if it didn't work out, we could always pull him out and put him in our neighborhood school. Kid did NOT want to go to the center. He wanted to stay with what he knew. I can't blame him. It is developmentally normal to resist transitions! He begged to go back to his old school for months.... and then by Thanksgiving... it kind of faded away. And by February he was excited to have made a few friends and be part of the "Fabulous five" boys group (just a groups of boys that he hooked up with as playground friends). Never heard a word again about him wanting to go back to his old school.

The point is: (1) wait until your kid is admitted, (2) find out what the options are by going to the meet-n-greet events, (3) make a decision based on what you, the parents, think is in the kid's best interest (do not put this decision on your 8 yr old), (4) whatever you choose, recognize that you have the good fortune to be able to change it if it doesn't work out after 6 mos.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Right, I mean I just say the same as anything - in school you take to see what you know, what you need to learn, etc.

DD: But it doesn't test anything we've been taught in school.
Me: It's testing to see how you think, how you problem solve.
DD: Is it an IQ test? That's what they do in IQ tests.

I think this entire conversation with your DD is inappropriate. She's only 7/8.

Anonymous wrote:Hasn’t anyone’s children asked them about the ability tests? Every time mine has had to take a ‘not usual’ test, she’s full of ‘why?’

No. Three kids and they never asked. Why would they think of it as any different than, say, an SOL? They didn't know there was a test that screened for advanced intelligence. And all three were found eligible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Right, I mean I just say the same as anything - in school you take to see what you know, what you need to learn, etc.

DD: But it doesn't test anything we've been taught in school.
Me: It's testing to see how you think, how you problem solve.
DD: Is it an IQ test? That's what they do in IQ tests.

Did you tell her the WISC is an IQ test? Or does she go to a "TJ Mania" elementary school?

Anonymous wrote:
Right, I mean I just say the same as anything - in school you take to see what you know, what you need to learn, etc.

DD: But it doesn't test anything we've been taught in school.
Me: It's testing to see how you think, how you problem solve.
DD: Is it an IQ test? That's what they do in IQ tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hasn’t anyone’s children asked them about the ability tests? Every time mine has had to take a ‘not usual’ test, she’s full of ‘why?’

I assume she asked you about iready, since it's a new test?

Right, I mean I just say the same as anything - in school you take to see what you know, what you need to learn, etc.

OP, I think your daughter sounds normal and the decision to send her is easy in my mind--if she is admitted, send her. What I see in your post is that your daughter has developed a "just enough" mindset. I think this is completely normal and from what I see at our FCPS, it is kind of what the teachers ask for so of course that is what many kids do. Without trying to sound like Crazy Tiger Mom, I think your job as a parent is to make clear to her that as she gets older you expect her to put her best effort into everything. And I would suggest tying it to real life. I feel like in our day, handwriting served that purpose. If you spent time on handwriting, you got a good grade for it and it was an achievable goal. So in my house growing up anything less than an A in handwriting was not acceptable. It was low hanging fruit. They took away grades and spelling and now kids just phone it in. Explain that in your job and in most jobs, people are expected to do a solid reliable job and often to do there best. A painter who paints one coat of paint has covered the wall but it isn't really what the customer wants. A lawyer who submits a filing on-time with some arguments isn't enough. The client wants the best the lawyer can do. This is what our world wants and it is something that kids need to learn. So I think that you can use the AAP admission (if she gets in) as a tool to say "the school has concluded you are capable of more work, and I expect you to do the best you can." In my house, we keep it simple. I say I want their best effort and when they don't do it, we do it again. She may never self-motivate to do the best she can but you can tell her that if she does her best as often as possible, it will help her get better grades, go to a better college, get and keep better jobs and in turn have a better income and really, I know it sounds bad, but that is what people need to get by in life. Money.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was accepted into the AAP Center and we chose not to send her. Kids should be kept in their base schools unless they are truly brilliant and performing multiple grade levels ahead of their peers. Only then should they be educated in a separate setting.

Your kid is brilliant. Recognize that.

Anonymous wrote:Hasn’t anyone’s children asked them about the ability tests? Every time mine has had to take a ‘not usual’ test, she’s full of ‘why?’

I assume she asked you about iready, since it's a new test?

My daughter was accepted into the AAP Center and we chose not to send her. Kids should be kept in their base schools unless they are truly brilliant and performing multiple grade levels ahead of their peers. Only then should they be educated in a separate setting.

Hasn’t anyone’s children asked them about the ability tests? Every time mine has had to take a ‘not usual’ test, she’s full of ‘why?’

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My center school attending kids never heard of aap until I told them abt out it the day of the orientation. Clearly from this post she didnt know til you blabbed. Yours is the kid likely talking to others about it. Is downplay it and try to change your wording. If she's thinking not being admitted means she's not smart, you've conveyed a terrible message to her about her classmates that aren't admitted.

I find this shocking. My kids go to a center school and have always known about AAP. Unless your kids don’t speak to any older kids or any kids with older siblings I don’t know how they managed not to know about it.

+100. Also at our base some signs label app stuff, e.g. "This way to the aap pod".

Meh. I know a couple second graders who are freaking out about the possibility of not getting into AAP because their older siblings go to the center. Kids with older siblings and kids at center schools absolutely know what AAP is. In April, after decisions are mailed and kids go to the orientation, pretty much everyone knows what AAP is, and they already "know" which kids are "smart" and which kids are "not smart"

Anonymous wrote:My center school attending kids never heard of aap until I told them abt out it the day of the orientation. Clearly from this post she didnt know til you blabbed. Yours is the kid likely talking to others about it. Is downplay it and try to change your wording. If she's thinking not being admitted means she's not smart, you've conveyed a terrible message to her about her classmates that aren't admitted.

I find this shocking. My kids go to a center school and have always known about AAP. Unless your kids don’t speak to any older kids or any kids with older siblings I don’t know how they managed not to know about it.

AAP is really not that big of a deal.