All kids are bright. All of them.

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading on this thread that AAP vs non AAP is a wash once the kids get to middle school.

If this is the case, why have AAP in elementary at all?

Why do we have SPED classes? Because not all kids needs can be met in the gen ed classroom.

AAP meets the needs of the kids who are ahead and who need to be challenged. Teachers have to meet the needs of far to many groups of kids in the gen ed class and end up prioritizing the kids who are behind and on grade level. The kids who are ahead would have their own reading group and math group and then be left on their own.

AAP is poorly run, god knows no one has a clue how kids are really selected. It is not a gifted program but it does give the kids who are ahead a place to learn at a pace that is better for them. The sense of superiority I read about is silly.

My second graders Level II work was extra worksheets in math. That was it. Advanced Math in third is faster paced and more interesting. Level III pullouts are one of his favorite school activities because they challenge him. We deferred AAP because we didn’t want to change schools and our base doesn’t have its own program.

It washes out by high school but at least he has some classes that he really enjoys and feels challenge him.

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading on this thread that AAP vs non AAP is a wash once the kids get to middle school.

If this is the case, why have AAP in elementary at all?

I guess to serve the needs of those kids at that point in time bc they can’t learn in a traditional class. That’s the theory. Problem is it’s not a true GT program. Many kids are not well served now in gen ed not bc they are geniuses but bc gen ed is watered down.

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading on this thread that AAP vs non AAP is a wash once the kids get to middle school.

If this is the case, why have AAP in elementary at all?

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

I keep reading on this thread that AAP vs non AAP is a wash once the kids get to middle school.

If this is the case, why have AAP in elementary at all?

At the very least they should get rid of it in middle school and just have kids be placed/pick appropriate classes.

Yeah. The top 10% of the kids left behind in gen ed are completely indistinguishable from the bottom half in AAP.

Anonymous wrote:Schools play into the AAP superiority. Frequently, it's the AAP kids who get the special 'perks' that other kids don't get. At our school, the majority of the patrols that were chosen in 5th were AAP kids. The Gen Ed kids were rejected in 5th, but got patrol in the 6th grade. AAP kids will be chosen to make announcements, or participate in assemblies, etc.

Teachers play into into it as well. They treat the AAP kids better and have higher expectations for them. The gen ed kids are expected to just 'get by'.

It's an outrageous system. Started out with good intentions, but has devolved into something quite sinister.

Absolutely agree. And the most sinister part is that there is a vast overlap between the two “groups.” Plenty of very bright, talented kids in GE and plenty of kids struggling in AAP. It’s not as if there is a distinct (but small) group of highly gifted kids and then everyone else. It’s a terribly damaging system - to all kids.

Schools play into the AAP superiority. Frequently, it's the AAP kids who get the special 'perks' that other kids don't get. At our school, the majority of the patrols that were chosen in 5th were AAP kids. The Gen Ed kids were rejected in 5th, but got patrol in the 6th grade. AAP kids will be chosen to make announcements, or participate in assemblies, etc.

Teachers play into into it as well. They treat the AAP kids better and have higher expectations for them. The gen ed kids are expected to just 'get by'.

It's an outrageous system. Started out with good intentions, but has devolved into something quite sinister.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish more gen ed parents would weigh in on how their kids did in middle and high schools.

Gen Ed parent here. None of my bright kids were in AAP, which of course made them feel less bright because many AAP kids enjoy lording that over the GE kids. However, once they started middle school, they took honors classes and added APs in high school - right along with kids who were previously in AAP. There was no difference. Honestly, the only thing AAP really does is give AAP kids a false sense of superiority and GE kids a false sense of inferiority. That is my honest, unvarnished opinion of this silly program which should be made into an actual gifted program (as it was years ago) for kids who are highly gifted and unable to learn in a typical classroom. And the current AAP curriculum should simply be the GE curriculum.

+1

We put up with it for 3rd and 4th and moved twins out of FCPS for 5th grade. I'm disappointed we had to pay and take so much extra time out of school for supplementing and then private school in order to get the same education that kids in AAP got for free. We never would have chosen Fairfax County if we had known what it would be like for non-AAP kids.

+100

+200

Anonymous wrote:OP here. So in summary-in ES, it makes a huge difference. MS-not as much. HS-not at all. Supplement in ES.

School is huge too. An ES that has kids not go to centers and mixes local level IV kids with gen ed kids is better than being gen ed at a center

OP here. So in summary-in ES, it makes a huge difference. MS-not as much. HS-not at all. Supplement in ES.

Anonymous wrote:How drastic is the difference in education and peer group. My first is in AAP and it’s a good fit. My second one is bright and in advanced math, but otherwise gen ed. Have you noticed major differences in both ES and middle school?

Both my kids are in AAP and my sister's kids are in gen ed. Yes, there was a big difference, but only in Elementary School. Mostly because the AAP class can go through the material a lot quicker. There were kids that didn't even need to learn a lesson because they were so advanced because of Kumon and those types of supplemental education. In gen ed teachers are supposed to differentiate in the classroom, my niece and nephew both were with the advanced groups in reading and math. In middle school the difference is not so much if your child takes Honors classes. My sister's kids took all honors, and the curriculum is almost identical to the AAP curriculum (our kids are in the same schools and similar ages). My kids had a few extra projects, but that's it. In high school there is no AAP. My niece is super smart and is taking all honors and 2 AP classes. My oldest son may be "gifted" in IQ, but is not driven at all and has ADHD. He is taking 3 honors classes in HS and that is a lot for him, we are thinking he should take less next year. Every kid is different. If you see that your kid is willing and apt to take supplemental math, then you should do it. My kids were in lots of sports, and had no interest in academic endeavors outside of school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

It is a wash out by High School. Some kids just click with school a bit later than others. I suspect that most of the people who are really concerned with being accepted into AAP are at poorer performing schools and want to move their kids to a better school or are very interested in TJ and see AAP as a way to get to Algebra Honors in seventh grade.

I know families who bought a house in a Title 1 school boundary and they were very focused, very fast on programs they could use to move their kids out of those schools. They couldn't afford the same size house in different areas so they saw AAP as their vehicle to improve their kids school.

The “clicking with school” statement is just silly. Plenty of kids love school and are good at it - they click just fine. Maybe they simply didn’t do well on the NNAT or CogAt. Regardless, not being in AAP doesn’t mean children don’t “get” school.

School has a specific set of expectations for kids that takes different period of time for kids to settle into. There are a good number of kids who were disruptive, read super active and not great at paying attention, in first who are more focused in sixth; they mature and it is easier for them to focus or do what the Teacher is asking. It has nothing to do with intelligence or ability but with maturity. Maybe clicking with school is not how you phrase it but that is what I was getting at. Super active kids in first and second grade settle down by sixth. Once they are more focused, they are able to grasp concepts better. By High School they find AP/IB classes very approachable.

Our kid is in a language immersion program and we love it. We deferred AAP because we prefer the language. I suspect there might be similar segregation concerns at LI schools since the kids are in distinct programs and cross over between classes in the same grade are less likely to happen. The difference is language immersion is Parent selected vs AAP so I don't think it ends up with the same potential for "smarter than" labels that can come with AAP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish more gen ed parents would weigh in on how their kids did in middle and high schools.

Gen Ed parent here. None of my bright kids were in AAP, which of course made them feel less bright because many AAP kids enjoy lording that over the GE kids. However, once they started middle school, they took honors classes and added APs in high school - right along with kids who were previously in AAP. There was no difference. Honestly, the only thing AAP really does is give AAP kids a false sense of superiority and GE kids a false sense of inferiority. That is my honest, unvarnished opinion of this silly program which should be made into an actual gifted program (as it was years ago) for kids who are highly gifted and unable to learn in a typical classroom. And the current AAP curriculum should simply be the GE curriculum.

+1

We put up with it for 3rd and 4th and moved twins out of FCPS for 5th grade. I'm disappointed we had to pay and take so much extra time out of school for supplementing and then private school in order to get the same education that kids in AAP got for free. We never would have chosen Fairfax County if we had known what it would be like for non-AAP kids.

+100