Whole AAP recruitment process is wastage of time and effort of AART, selection committee, parents , kids, and bus drivers. Only people who benefit from it are test preparation centers, psychologists and doctors. I am not against enrichment, but county really needs to evaluate the enrichment process and make it available in regular classrooms.
P.S. I do have a child in AAP right now as that is only available option for enrichment.

Anonymous wrote:But such is life, isn't it? Judges go into cases with their own subjective slant. Teachers have their own subjective slant. Adoption case workers have their own subjective slant. Welcome to the world. That is why it is ONE piece of the puzzle.

Yes, such is life. It's just silly when people go on about how much more objective the GBRS is than the test score because people can prep. It's all subjective, and that's why people parent refer and appeal to the extent they do. So given the subjectivity, I say refer away and appeal way, you might get lucky

But such is life, isn't it? Judges go into cases with their own subjective slant. Teachers have their own subjective slant. Adoption case workers have their own subjective slant. Welcome to the world. That is why it is ONE piece of the puzzle.

Can not agree more.

Anonymous wrote:How much of an impact do GBRS have on AAP admission? I've heard many say that high CogAts and/or WISCs trump the somewhat arbitrary "gibbers".

The GBRS is arbitrary, not somewhat arbitrary. DC's first grade teacher was very critical of DC in the parent teacher conference, as well as in subsequent communications throughout the year. The following year DC got a 15 GBRS. I don't think DC's intellectual abilities changed so much in six months. I'm convinced if the teachers were flipped so DC had the first grade teacher in second, it's quite possible DC would not be in AAP. People have different standards. My other DC is shy and introverted. She had one teacher who praised her for how she always worked hard, did a great job, and said she should be proud of how much she accomplished in the year. In the first quarter of the next year, the new teacher complained that she didn't seem motivated because he expected her to speak up and proactively ask for more challenge because "that's how he can tell whether a child is AAP material." DC was intimidated by him and would come home and ask me for extra work because she felt she could do more than she was getting in class. I tried to encourage her to speak up more, but she said she thought he was mean and she was afraid to. One teacher was willing to look past DC's shyness and give her accelerated work anyway, the other basically punished her for being an introvert. The teacher after him once again said she was motivated, a hard worker and "a great addition to the class." Who was right? It doesn't matter, that's not my point. It just shows how subjective it is. Despite that, I think it's a necessary part of the process, especially for kids with borderline scores.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any experience with Lemon Road (center) or Shrevewood (local level IV)

Shrevewood parent here: I have children in the LLIV there. Very happy. All the teachers who are teaching are certified. The school and community is wonderful. Many fun activities during the year for the student body.