I agree with the pp. I have one "outlier" kid who would benefit so much more from an actual gifted program instead a water-down one. In 4th grade and she's still not getting challenged at all. And I mean, at all. She doesn't study, barely does homework (and since it doesn't count in their grade it doesn't really make a difference), and gets straight 4s. She learns more at home on the computer, reading, and doing extracurriculars.

Meanwhile, a classmates parent is telling me the other night how her kid is failing the math tests and gets to retake them. It's ashamed that this program is set up this way.

I have another kid that is "smart." The teacher's all fawn all over him. Why because he's sweet, follows all of the rules, listens to instructions, and generally does well in class. The teacher's already talking about AAP for him and DH and I are looking at each other like she's crazy. He doesn't need AAP. He does well in gen ed and that's where he'll stay. The other sibling, however, NEEDS this program to kick it up a notch and stop catering to every "smart" kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

What a lovely question!

It sparks another one in my mind.

Why don't you homeschool your kid?

Huh? NP here. Not getting the hostility. I think the original question is a valid one. The answer is, a child with a score under 135 would be in no way disadvantaged in general ed. I know kids who scored 140 + and stayed at base school because they wanted to be with friends. They're now leaders and achievers in high school. There is far too much hysteria and misinformation about AAP. It is not a golden ticket. It will not make your kid smarter. In some cases I've seen kids who start to believe they're not as smart because they get to AAP and see what really smart actually is. The GT program was great for my oldest because he really was up there intelligence-wise, but my other two have done fine in General Ed and are top students in their respective high school classes. Many people seem far too concerned about getting all of their kids into AAP because they believe it is an advanced program and they want the best for their kids. It really is a program that was created for the outliers and would still best serve them if it hadn't been watered down by wannabes who need tutors to keep up.

Not getting the hostility? You don't seem to understand. You ARE the hostility on this board. Your post is a highlight reel of every repetitive, passive aggressive screed of useless anecdotes and vague group insults presented here by those who think they know better. What makes the original question any more valid than any answer given? Because someone is "curious" or "confused" why any parent might hold different views? No one is entitled to an answer to such a question because no answer is actually sought. To top it off, I can't help but read your post in the voice of Dolores Umbridge. Gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

What a lovely question!

It sparks another one in my mind.

Why don't you homeschool your kid?

Huh? NP here. Not getting the hostility. I think the original question is a valid one. The answer is, a child with a score under 135 would be in no way disadvantaged in general ed. I know kids who scored 140 + and stayed at base school because they wanted to be with friends. They're now leaders and achievers in high school. There is far too much hysteria and misinformation about AAP. It is not a golden ticket. It will not make your kid smarter. In some cases I've seen kids who start to believe they're not as smart because they get to AAP and see what really smart actually is. The GT program was great for my oldest because he really was up there intelligence-wise, but my other two have done fine in General Ed and are top students in their respective high school classes. Many people seem far too concerned about getting all of their kids into AAP because they believe it is an advanced program and they want the best for their kids. It really is a program that was created for the outliers and would still best serve them if it hadn't been watered down by wannabes who need tutors to keep up.

Not getting the hostility? You don't seem to understand. You ARE the hostility on this board. Your post is a highlight reel of every repetitive, passive aggressive screed of useless anecdotes and vague group insults presented here by those who think they know better. What makes the original question any more valid than any answer given? Because someone is "curious" or "confused" why any parent might hold different views? No one is entitled to an answer to such a question because no answer is actually sought. To top it off, I can't help but read your post in the voice of Dolores Umbridge. Gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

What a lovely question!

It sparks another one in my mind.

Why don't you homeschool your kid?

Huh? NP here. Not getting the hostility. I think the original question is a valid one. The answer is, a child with a score under 135 would be in no way disadvantaged in general ed. I know kids who scored 140 + and stayed at base school because they wanted to be with friends. They're now leaders and achievers in high school. There is far too much hysteria and misinformation about AAP. It is not a golden ticket. It will not make your kid smarter. In some cases I've seen kids who start to believe they're not as smart because they get to AAP and see what really smart actually is. The GT program was great for my oldest because he really was up there intelligence-wise, but my other two have done fine in General Ed and are top students in their respective high school classes. Many people seem far too concerned about getting all of their kids into AAP because they believe it is an advanced program and they want the best for their kids. It really is a program that was created for the outliers and would still best serve them if it hadn't been watered down by wannabes who need tutors to keep up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

What a lovely question!

It sparks another one in my mind.

Why don't you homeschool your kid?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's really to get away from poor kids.

Not in our AAP school. In fact there was significantly more low income as well as diversity in our AAP school than our neighborhood school.

Is the AAP portion of the AAP school more diverse or is it the AAP school as a whole that is more diverse?

Both AAP portion and the non-AAP portion are very diverse... but I will say that at least in my kid's center, the AAP part is more white. The base part of the center is probably 90% minority... so even if the AAP part is 50% white -- it's a lot more white than the base part of the school.

which school?

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused as to why people who have children who score under 135 on a NNAT, CogAT, WISC or any other allowed test, think their child needs AAP and would somehow be disadvantaged in a general education classroom in a place like FCPS when the average score in a general education class is probably 119 - 134 anyway. Why does your child need AAP?

What do you do with a kid who scores well in one test but not others? For example, what about a kid how has a really high IQ, but average NNAT and FxAT results? Would that kid belong even if the parents never had his IQ tested, but teachers gave him a 16 GBRS?