Anonymous wrote:Reading the appeals decisions thread about insane wisc scores getting denied makes me wonder if there is more to the story at FCPS AAP this year.

Does anyone know if race is now being taken into consideration?

Race is likely a factor but it is just one factor. I doubt the county has quotas to fill, that would likely be illegal. Consideration of race is not just a quota issue anyways. Having a more diverse AAP population serves a more important purpose - studies have shown that when a student body is more diverse than the collective experience is more valuable.

It may not seem fair that kids aren't held to the same standards but it is not an easy one to fix. In the end, if race is one factor so that the AAP population is more diverse, we are better for it.

It's pretty straight forward that if there were no quotas or no limits, FCPS could publish clear thresholds over which any kid would gain automatic entry into the AAP program. The fact that they don't do that, and only publish a minimum threshold for being considered "in pool" just shows that there is some jiggering that is happening at FCPS that is unclear to us all. Instead of accusing each other of spreading false narratives, we should all focus on the School Board and ask why it's so vague. Why do you need a "holistic" approach for the exceptional kids whose scores clearly reflect a level of exceptionality? What is the basis for conducting a "holistic" review if you weren't looking to screen kids out?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Board has been clear they take race into consideration.

It's on the front page of the application as is address school name and languages spoken.

They have goals to admit certain percentages and have discussed it in public meetings.

Is 2 or more races a separate category? Obviously you don't want to be white or Asian so would 2 or more be a minority in itself?

It is, but I think if you're white/Asian biracial, they would consider you Asian.

Anonymous wrote:
Are you arguing that black/brown kids had 139+ and didnt get in or are you mad that white kids below 132 got in?

There is a threshold. A child not hitting that threshold is the exception not the rule.

There is not a threshold. Tons of kids get in with 115-125 test scores. The AAP equity report showed that the average scores for Level IV Black and Hispanic kids are around 114-120. It also showed that there were kids in each ethnic group who scored around 80 (score - which equates to around the 10th percentile!) who still got in. I can cite the AAP equity report to illustrate my point. What can you cite to show that there is a threshold?

Anonymous wrote:The Board has been clear they take race into consideration.

It's on the front page of the application as is address school name and languages spoken.

They have goals to admit certain percentages and have discussed it in public meetings.

Is 2 or more races a separate category? Obviously you don't want to be white or Asian so would 2 or more be a minority in itself?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is not a limited number of AAP spots. Stop with the false narrative about one group taking away from another's spots.

Agree with PP who noted that the spanish speakers are from Spain/otherwise white. I've noticed the same. Our kid's class had AA.

The criteria for admission should stay the same or go higher for AAP. The answer is not to water down the pool. That does not serve the bright kids who truly need the advanced pace.

The false narrative is that there is unlimited space (physical space), unlimited resources (teacher availability) available to each school and no racial profiling going on. It's people like you who are spreading the false narrative. If any of that was true, FCPS could just put out thresholds (enough to capture a certain % of URMs) and say anyone who meets the threshold is in. You wouldn't need a central committee to screen anything. It's an in or out decision, based on some numerical criteria whether it be CoGAT score, GBRS or some other value.


Um, there are threshold minimum limits to what kids must score on the CogAT and NNAT.

...and the kids below that threshold (132) are in LIV and the kids with top CogAT and NNAT scores are out.... Kids between 110 and 120 from our school were accepted in LIV, and kids with 139+ were not.

Are you arguing that black/brown kids had 139+ and didnt get in or are you mad that white kids below 132 got in?

There is a threshold. A child not hitting that threshold is the exception not the rule.

PP here and this "federal ethnic code" which states the race is right next to the Cogat/NNAt scores, etc. It's all on one page.

The form sibmitted by the school which you can request does have "Federal Ethnic Code" right under "Gender"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So each school DOES have limited AAP Spots due to the available classrooms and teachers. I know ours has a max of 90 and last year only had 75.

That just means a kid would go where there are spots. The spots are not limited.

The spots are geographically bound to the center school and the feeders from which it accepts students.

Nope. Not for Center Schools. They can’t go anywhere. My child is at a center school. There are limited spots. No principal placements either for Level IV.

This is not true. My kids are at a center school and when the population got too high, they sent some of those kids to an different center.

The Board has been clear they take race into consideration.

It's on the front page of the application as is address school name and languages spoken.

They have goals to admit certain percentages and have discussed it in public meetings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is not a limited number of AAP spots. Stop with the false narrative about one group taking away from another's spots.

Agree with PP who noted that the spanish speakers are from Spain/otherwise white. I've noticed the same. Our kid's class had AA.

The criteria for admission should stay the same or go higher for AAP. The answer is not to water down the pool. That does not serve the bright kids who truly need the advanced pace.

The false narrative is that there is unlimited space (physical space), unlimited resources (teacher availability) available to each school and no racial profiling going on. It's people like you who are spreading the false narrative. If any of that was true, FCPS could just put out thresholds (enough to capture a certain % of URMs) and say anyone who meets the threshold is in. You wouldn't need a central committee to screen anything. It's an in or out decision, based on some numerical criteria whether it be CoGAT score, GBRS or some other value.


Um, there are threshold minimum limits to what kids must score on the CogAT and NNAT.

...and the kids below that threshold (132) are in LIV and the kids with top CogAT and NNAT scores are out.... Kids between 110 and 120 from our school were accepted in LIV, and kids with 139+ were not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So each school DOES have limited AAP Spots due to the available classrooms and teachers. I know ours has a max of 90 and last year only had 75.

That just means a kid would go where there are spots. The spots are not limited.

The spots are geographically bound to the center school and the feeders from which it accepts students.

Nope. Not for Center Schools. They can’t go anywhere. My child is at a center school. There are limited spots. No principal placements either for Level IV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So each school DOES have limited AAP Spots due to the available classrooms and teachers. I know ours has a max of 90 and last year only had 75.

That just means a kid would go where there are spots. The spots are not limited.

The spots are geographically bound to the center school and the feeders from which it accepts students.

Yep and when the school gets too full, they make adjustments and reroute kids to another center. Just like they did 1-2 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So each school DOES have limited AAP Spots due to the available classrooms and teachers. I know ours has a max of 90 and last year only had 75.

That just means a kid would go where there are spots. The spots are not limited.

The spots are geographically bound to the center school and the feeders from which it accepts students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Um, there are threshold minimum limits to what kids must score on the CogAT and NNAT.

Nope. Anyone can parent refer any child with any scores. The equity report shows that some kids are being accepted even with very low scores on the tests. It also shows that GBRS is significantly more important than any test scores.

If minority kids have lower scores they would be getting in then.