Anonymous
Post 03/28/2024 06:12     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.
wow this is a first for me seeing a grandparent comment. Truth is things have changed since your child went to school. Some for the better some for the worse but the “lack” of homework is not limited to FCPS. Several school systems as well as privates are doing this now.


Sadly, US kids are not doing all that well, especially in math. Homework develops self-discipline leading to skills and higher achievement. Top US universities are importing grad students in engineering, math, sciences, because American kids are lacking. https://www.future-ed.org/what-the-new-pisa-results-really-say-about-u-s-schools/
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 18:31     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

If in doubt Quant is the truth.



Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:qualitative weighs more. Otherwise there would be a TJ problem (which they fixed). Test scores do no foster inclusiveness - they will prob get ride of testing down the road.

Remember when ap and honors classes had to be recommended? Now it’s up to the student whether or not


quote=Anonymous]

I don’t think they’ll do away with all testing. It can be an important data-point in conjunction with other information. Testing used to hold a lot more weight (and was predictive of program success) until prepper parents ruined it. The school really had no choice but to pivot to a more holistic approach bc so many parents were prepping their kids for the tests, which rendered them essentially useless w/o other points of confirmation (HOPE/GBRS, iready, work samples etc).


iReady!!!


Yes, I understand iready is garbage, but it’s another data point in creating a more thorough student profile. What do you want the schools to do? They can’t rely solely on teacher feedback or school testing or parent referral or report cards, so they collect all the data from all these different areas to make a determination. Do you have a better suggestion?
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 18:29     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Equitable equals less homework?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.

AAP is more equitable now. Kids don't need unnecessary homework. What they need is an equitable experience now they benefit from. With equity, we all win.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 17:20     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

are we going to hear this week????
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 15:18     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.
wow this is a first for me seeing a grandparent comment. Truth is things have changed since your child went to school. Some for the better some for the worse but the “lack” of homework is not limited to FCPS. Several school systems as well as privates are doing this now.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 15:08     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.

AAP is more equitable now. Kids don't need unnecessary homework. What they need is an equitable experience now they benefit from. With equity, we all win.



There is no such thing as an "equitable experience." But practice/homework can help kids catch up, just like putting in the time to practice is integral to mastering a sport, an instrument, or any other discipline. Added effort can help kids who start out behind get better and even surpass those who start with an edge. That isn't, however, a good reason to change the rigor of an academic program meant for advanced kids.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 11:46     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would hope so. Qualitative insights trump quantitative any day.


Are you kidding? No, the opinion of a second grade teacher who has minimal to zero training in identifying giftedness and has only known a student for 2-4 months in a class of 25-30, does not trump quantitative data.


The AART at our school is integral in filling out the packet, not just the 2nd grade teacher. And I think the 1st grade teacher is involved too. Some of these people have years of experience.

As usual, another thing that's school-by-school about FCPS. I've heard in some schools some teachers get a reputation for placing kids into level IV.


Right, which only reinforces the point that the HOPE/GBRS portion of the portfolio is totally subjective and shouldn’t be weighed more heavily than the other data points.




Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 11:39     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would hope so. Qualitative insights trump quantitative any day.


Are you kidding? No, the opinion of a second grade teacher who has minimal to zero training in identifying giftedness and has only known a student for 2-4 months in a class of 25-30, does not trump quantitative data.


The AART at our school is integral in filling out the packet, not just the 2nd grade teacher. And I think the 1st grade teacher is involved too. Some of these people have years of experience.

As usual, another thing that's school-by-school about FCPS. I've heard in some schools some teachers get a reputation for placing kids into level IV.


The AART who has met the student maybe twice and only in a group setting? Even if she has 20 years of experience, she is not going to be able to magically identify all advanced kids with just one or two encapsulation or plus minus equals worksheets.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 09:54     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would hope so. Qualitative insights trump quantitative any day.


Are you kidding? No, the opinion of a second grade teacher who has minimal to zero training in identifying giftedness and has only known a student for 2-4 months in a class of 25-30, does not trump quantitative data.


The AART at our school is integral in filling out the packet, not just the 2nd grade teacher. And I think the 1st grade teacher is involved too. Some of these people have years of experience.

As usual, another thing that's school-by-school about FCPS. I've heard in some schools some teachers get a reputation for placing kids into level IV.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 09:26     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.

AAP is more equitable now. Kids don't need unnecessary homework. What they need is an equitable experience now they benefit from. With equity, we all win.
Anonymous
Post 03/27/2024 09:16     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:qualitative weighs more. Otherwise there would be a TJ problem (which they fixed). Test scores do no foster inclusiveness - they will prob get ride of testing down the road.

Remember when ap and honors classes had to be recommended? Now it’s up to the student whether or not


quote=Anonymous]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would hope so. Qualitative insights trump quantitative any day.


Are you kidding? No, the opinion of a second grade teacher who has minimal to zero training in identifying giftedness and has only known a student for 2-4 months in a class of 25-30, does not trump quantitative data.


I thought that the qualitative trumps quantitative poster was being facetious, but who knows? I'd go with quantitative/objective alone, if there were enough data points. Like iReady, NNAT, CogAT, OLSAT.



Wonder why universities are bringing back test requirement for admission?

https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/02/22/yale-sat-act-admissions-requirement-reinstated/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/05/brown-university-reinstates-sat-act-requirement/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/ut-austin-standardized-test-admission.html

https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/dartmouth-reinstates-sat-act-requirement-citing-diversity-goals/












Anonymous
Post 03/26/2024 15:58     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:qualitative weighs more. Otherwise there would be a TJ problem (which they fixed). Test scores do no foster inclusiveness - they will prob get ride of testing down the road.

Remember when ap and honors classes had to be recommended? Now it’s up to the student whether or not


quote=Anonymous]

I don’t think they’ll do away with all testing. It can be an important data-point in conjunction with other information. Testing used to hold a lot more weight (and was predictive of program success) until prepper parents ruined it. The school really had no choice but to pivot to a more holistic approach bc so many parents were prepping their kids for the tests, which rendered them essentially useless w/o other points of confirmation (HOPE/GBRS, iready, work samples etc).


iReady!!!


Yes, I understand iready is garbage, but it’s another data point in creating a more thorough student profile. What do you want the schools to do? They can’t rely solely on teacher feedback or school testing or parent referral or report cards, so they collect all the data from all these different areas to make a determination. Do you have a better suggestion?
Anonymous
Post 03/26/2024 15:46     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:qualitative weighs more. Otherwise there would be a TJ problem (which they fixed). Test scores do no foster inclusiveness - they will prob get ride of testing down the road.

Remember when ap and honors classes had to be recommended? Now it’s up to the student whether or not


quote=Anonymous]

I don’t think they’ll do away with all testing. It can be an important data-point in conjunction with other information. Testing used to hold a lot more weight (and was predictive of program success) until prepper parents ruined it. The school really had no choice but to pivot to a more holistic approach bc so many parents were prepping their kids for the tests, which rendered them essentially useless w/o other points of confirmation (HOPE/GBRS, iready, work samples etc).


iReady!!!
Anonymous
Post 03/26/2024 15:27     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:qualitative weighs more. Otherwise there would be a TJ problem (which they fixed). Test scores do no foster inclusiveness - they will prob get ride of testing down the road.

Remember when ap and honors classes had to be recommended? Now it’s up to the student whether or not


quote=Anonymous]

I don’t think they’ll do away with all testing. It can be an important data-point in conjunction with other information. Testing used to hold a lot more weight (and was predictive of program success) until prepper parents ruined it. The school really had no choice but to pivot to a more holistic approach bc so many parents were prepping their kids for the tests, which rendered them essentially useless w/o other points of confirmation (HOPE/GBRS, iready, work samples etc).
Anonymous
Post 03/26/2024 14:54     Subject: Are we going to hear this week?

Anonymous wrote:And now honors classes are slow and even remedial at times. AAP was the last gate kept, appropriately so, educational resource provided by FCPS. But as suspected, it will eventually be for all, which means for none. Glad my kid was able to take advantage of this fantastic resource before these changes.



What is it with FCPS? It used to be a highly regarded school system. Now it's all about dumbing things down in the interests of equity. Don't parents care about educational excellence anymore? My kids are grown and were also able to participate in the Gifted and Talented program when it was limited to about 5% of the student body. Now DS says his kids barely have homework in AAP.