Anonymous wrote:How many kids at Colvin Run don't live there? It only shares it's AAP center with one other school from what I can tell. I know this year is a bit different with some of the Louise Archer kids coming over because of a change in the number of trailers allowed there, but really it's mostly Colvin Run kids there. I agree though that Great Falls should just keep their kids at their own school since they are LLIV already.

Last June there were 844 non sped at Colvin run and 275 were AAP. Distributing that over 4 grades results in 68/grade which exceeded the gen ed population in some grades [59,65,68,75]. Those numbers are on the FCPS statistical reports and none show up yet for 2013-14 school year.

Something is clearly wrong with FCPS academics if at any given base school 30% are given the option to shift out as appears to be the case with Great Falls. Is local level iv at Great Falls something to benefit the Japanese Immersion students or the whole school?

How many kids at Colvin Run don't live there? It only shares it's AAP center with one other school from what I can tell. I know this year is a bit different with some of the Louise Archer kids coming over because of a change in the number of trailers allowed there, but really it's mostly Colvin Run kids there. I agree though that Great Falls should just keep their kids at their own school since they are LLIV already.

Anonymous wrote:Not true. Parent referred kids don't need to have scores that have met the cut-off. All they need is a referral. However, if you want to say that all referred kids MUST have a WISC with the approved score, I agree. Too many kids are in AAP that have not shown (via some sort of test) that they belong. That needs to change.

I agree but would also add that the test scores in general (whether CogAt, FxAT, NNAT, or WISC) need to be raised -- and then strictly adhered to by the AAP committee. The major reason AAP is so bloated these days is because kids can attain the benchmark score pretty easily and it doesn't indicate giftedness. Raise the score cutoff and you'll get a much smaller group of kids who really need the program.

Not true. Parent referred kids don't need to have scores that have met the cut-off. All they need is a referral. However, if you want to say that all referred kids MUST have a WISC with the approved score, I agree. Too many kids are in AAP that have not shown (via some sort of test) that they belong. That needs to change.

Anonymous wrote:One suggestion for AAP selection is to state that the child MUST have scored a 130 (or whatever the number is) or higher on the NNAT, CogAT or WISC IV. Get rid of parent referrals - if a kid can't demonstrate a high IQ on a test they are not for AAP. Doing this would immediately reduce the number of kids in AAP, as many in the program are NOT in-the-pool kids - they are 100% parent referred. I know that many will not like this idea, as their kid was parent referred and didn't make the cut but is in AAP, and this is perhaps why AAP is so bloated. In fact, I believe, if AAP admitted all kids who make the cut on the scores of the aforementioned tests, i would be less than the current number of students in AAP.

The reason why Fairfax County changed from the CogAT was because too many kids were being prepped and so a ridiculous number of kids scored above the cut-off. Based on the change in test it seems the bloating was due to in pool increase, not necessarily increase in parent referred kids. Also, you can't just parent refer and get in, you need a really good GBRS or WISC, otherwise you can refer all you want, your kid's not getting in. I also know of in pool kids who are struggling and need tutors. Don't assume all the kids watering AAP down are parent referred. You need a much lower GBRS if you are in pool than if you are parent referred. The reason the GBRS is included is so that teachers can provide input based on observation. Also, the NNAT and CogAT are no IQ tests. When they start administering the WISC to everyone, I'm all for including the GBRS so in pool kids who don't belong get weeded out and kids who didn't score high enough on NNAT or FxAT but the teacher thinks belong get in.

One suggestion for AAP selection is to state that the child MUST have scored a 130 (or whatever the number is) or higher on the NNAT, CogAT or WISC IV. Get rid of parent referrals - if a kid can't demonstrate a high IQ on a test they are not for AAP. Doing this would immediately reduce the number of kids in AAP, as many in the program are NOT in-the-pool kids - they are 100% parent referred. I know that many will not like this idea, as their kid was parent referred and didn't make the cut but is in AAP, and this is perhaps why AAP is so bloated. In fact, I believe, if AAP admitted all kids who make the cut on the scores of the aforementioned tests, i would be less than the current number of students in AAP.

You are never going to win that argument unless you argue for the curriculum to be given to the same number of children that now have access to it if not more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Navy usually has 4 3rd grade classes, but this year it swelled to 7 3rd grade because of the 3 new AAP classes. The school is now overcapacity.

Pathetic! And remember Navy was one of 3 new centers added to deal with overcrowding at other AAP schools. Another new center, Westbriar, is also already overcapacity. And we're supposed to believe that without all these centers these "gifted" kids would be denied a decent education. Utter rubbish perpetuated by pushy parents and a school board that needs to get a back bone.

Absolutely agree. Centers, if needed at all, should be there to educate kids who can't otherwise get the education they need in a Gen Ed classroom. That was the original intent, however you would never guess that from looking at the current state of AAP. I'm all for "gifted education" for those kids who actually fit the criteria and are not just a bit above average (if that). The school board needs to reevaluate retroactively the past couple of years of AAP admissions and return the Gen Ed classrooms to ALL kids except those who are tremendously gifted. And that percentage, as we all know, is very, very small.

+1000 You said it, sister (or brother).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Navy usually has 4 3rd grade classes, but this year it swelled to 7 3rd grade because of the 3 new AAP classes. The school is now overcapacity.

Pathetic! And remember Navy was one of 3 new centers added to deal with overcrowding at other AAP schools. Another new center, Westbriar, is also already overcapacity. And we're supposed to believe that without all these centers these "gifted" kids would be denied a decent education. Utter rubbish perpetuated by pushy parents and a school board that needs to get a back bone.

Absolutely agree. Centers, if needed at all, should be there to educate kids who can't otherwise get the education they need in a Gen Ed classroom. That was the original intent, however you would never guess that from looking at the current state of AAP. I'm all for "gifted education" for those kids who actually fit the criteria and are not just a bit above average (if that). The school board needs to reevaluate retroactively the past couple of years of AAP admissions and return the Gen Ed classrooms to ALL kids except those who are tremendously gifted. And that percentage, as we all know, is very, very small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the fact that your school is a center should have factored into your equation when you bought. Or did you think all of those pass advanced SOL scored were from the great teaching.

FYI, we have lived in the same house since before the school was even proposed/built.

Which school is this?

Colvin Run

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the fact that your school is a center should have factored into your equation when you bought. Or did you think all of those pass advanced SOL scored were from the great teaching.

FYI, we have lived in the same house since before the school was even proposed/built.

Which school is this?

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the fact that your school is a center should have factored into your equation when you bought. Or did you think all of those pass advanced SOL scored were from the great teaching.

FYI, we have lived in the same house since before the school was even proposed/built.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Navy usually has 4 3rd grade classes, but this year it swelled to 7 3rd grade because of the 3 new AAP classes. The school is now overcapacity.

Pathetic! And remember Navy was one of 3 new centers added to deal with overcrowding at other AAP schools. Another new center, Westbriar, is also already overcapacity. And we're supposed to believe that without all these centers these "gifted" kids would be denied a decent education. Utter rubbish perpetuated by pushy parents and a school board that needs to get a back bone.

You know what though? All of the schools are overcrowded, so if the kids weren't overcrowding the centers, they would be overcrowding the base schools. It's not a center problem, it's an overall capacity problem.

Anonymous wrote:Navy usually has 4 3rd grade classes, but this year it swelled to 7 3rd grade because of the 3 new AAP classes. The school is now overcapacity.

Pathetic! And remember Navy was one of 3 new centers added to deal with overcrowding at other AAP schools. Another new center, Westbriar, is also already overcapacity. And we're supposed to believe that without all these centers these "gifted" kids would be denied a decent education. Utter rubbish perpetuated by pushy parents and a school board that needs to get a back bone.

Navy usually has 4 3rd grade classes, but this year it swelled to 7 3rd grade because of the 3 new AAP classes. The school is now overcapacity.