how does BASIS work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's an issue with student quality, either. Instead, it's more about financial means. A lot of people who choose Basis over a top notch private are doing so because they can't afford the top private. The same people are not applying to ivies, because they already know that they cannot easily afford to send their kids. Basis seems to do well with getting a lot of merit aid for kids at T50 type schools, which still means that the school has a lot of top notch kids.

Bunk. UMC BASIS families in the "fi aid doughnut" are applying to Ivies/Ivies Plus schools for top students. The kids are applying but almost never getting in. Franchise leaders and admins are behind the times, mainly in failing to support and encouraging the students to run with unique interests, backgrounds and talents. For example, many 5th graders come in from ES language immersion programs strong in languages. The message from BASIS is who cares, not us, no language for you before 8th and then only at the beginning level. These are kids who could ace AP language exams in 9th or 10th grade with a little bit of support from BASIS, or even just a little flexibility on language study, but none is forthcoming. Also, BASIS forces all students to take algebra no later than 7th, when many of the kids aren't quite ready for it despite being v. bright and hard-working. Some of these kids wind up doing MS again in HS. That's what happened to my Walls student, who always earned As in BASIS math (essentially by memorizing answers). The lack of flexibility just isn't working v. well in elite college admissions.

This is really interesting. My kid is at top 3 DC private with two Basis kids who were accelerated in math (putting them on track for pre-calc in 9th) and yet aren't doing well in math at the private (struggling to get low Bs). Basis math seems to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Kids who are truly gifted in math and are doing math in their free time will compensate for this but others just have a crappy foundation and either struggle or take classes again (the Walls kid above and others we know).

Private schools literally just started a few weeks ago but you are already making judgments about your kids’ classmates?

Give me a f’ing break and get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's an issue with student quality, either. Instead, it's more about financial means. A lot of people who choose Basis over a top notch private are doing so because they can't afford the top private. The same people are not applying to ivies, because they already know that they cannot easily afford to send their kids. Basis seems to do well with getting a lot of merit aid for kids at T50 type schools, which still means that the school has a lot of top notch kids.

Bunk. UMC BASIS families in the "fi aid doughnut" are applying to Ivies/Ivies Plus schools for top students. The kids are applying but almost never getting in. Franchise leaders and admins are behind the times, mainly in failing to support and encouraging the students to run with unique interests, backgrounds and talents. For example, many 5th graders come in from ES language immersion programs strong in languages. The message from BASIS is who cares, not us, no language for you before 8th and then only at the beginning level. These are kids who could ace AP language exams in 9th or 10th grade with a little bit of support from BASIS, or even just a little flexibility on language study, but none is forthcoming. Also, BASIS forces all students to take algebra no later than 7th, when many of the kids aren't quite ready for it despite being v. bright and hard-working. Some of these kids wind up doing MS again in HS. That's what happened to my Walls student, who always earned As in BASIS math (essentially by memorizing answers). The lack of flexibility just isn't working v. well in elite college admissions.

This is really interesting. My kid is at top 3 DC private with two Basis kids who were accelerated in math (putting them on track for pre-calc in 9th) and yet aren't doing well in math at the private (struggling to get low Bs). Basis math seems to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Kids who are truly gifted in math and are doing math in their free time will compensate for this but others just have a crappy foundation and either struggle or take classes again (the Walls kid above and others we know).

Private schools literally just started a few weeks ago but you are already making judgments about your kids’ classmates?

Give me a f’ing break and get a life.

No, this was from last year. My kid had a full year of experience with these kids in a small class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis DC college results so blah last year? You had the Cal Tech kid (URM) and one Hopkins girl but that was about it for top 30 schools.

I'm genuinely curious. You would think that kids with a ton of APs plus the DC "urban kid" bump that DCPS/charter kids seem to get that the kids would uhave done better.

2/3 were accepted at a T50 school.

Feel free to identify your kids’ school so people can sh*t all over those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's an issue with student quality, either. Instead, it's more about financial means. A lot of people who choose Basis over a top notch private are doing so because they can't afford the top private. The same people are not applying to ivies, because they already know that they cannot easily afford to send their kids. Basis seems to do well with getting a lot of merit aid for kids at T50 type schools, which still means that the school has a lot of top notch kids.

Bunk. UMC BASIS families in the "fi aid doughnut" are applying to Ivies/Ivies Plus schools for top students. The kids are applying but almost never getting in. Franchise leaders and admins are behind the times, mainly in failing to support and encouraging the students to run with unique interests, backgrounds and talents. For example, many 5th graders come in from ES language immersion programs strong in languages. The message from BASIS is who cares, not us, no language for you before 8th and then only at the beginning level. These are kids who could ace AP language exams in 9th or 10th grade with a little bit of support from BASIS, or even just a little flexibility on language study, but none is forthcoming. Also, BASIS forces all students to take algebra no later than 7th, when many of the kids aren't quite ready for it despite being v. bright and hard-working. Some of these kids wind up doing MS again in HS. That's what happened to my Walls student, who always earned As in BASIS math (essentially by memorizing answers). The lack of flexibility just isn't working v. well in elite college admissions.

This is really interesting. My kid is at top 3 DC private with two Basis kids who were accelerated in math (putting them on track for pre-calc in 9th) and yet aren't doing well in math at the private (struggling to get low Bs). Basis math seems to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Kids who are truly gifted in math and are doing math in their free time will compensate for this but others just have a crappy foundation and either struggle or take classes again (the Walls kid above and others we know).

Private schools literally just started a few weeks ago but you are already making judgments about your kids’ classmates?

Give me a f’ing break and get a life.

No, this was from last year. My kid had a full year of experience with these kids in a small class.

And everyone knew who they were because they were 1-2 grades younger than everyone else in the class.
If you transfer your super accelerated kid into a new school, the rest of the class is going to watch them and assume they are super strong students.
So when they pull up the rear of the class in terms of knowledge and grades, it doesn't go unnoticed.

[Anonymous]

NP and former BASIS parent who takes issue with the BASIS approach to language instruction and the post about Spanish instruction above. The policy is symptomatic of much bigger problems, with the franchise not valuing individual achievements and learning styles. Want more disappointing Ivy Plus admissions results, keep it up BASIS DC! Quick, find new excuses for why your students don’t get into Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis DC college results so blah last year? You had the Cal Tech kid (URM) and one Hopkins girl but that was about it for top 30 schools.

I'm genuinely curious. You would think that kids with a ton of APs plus the DC "urban kid" bump that DCPS/charter kids seem to get that the kids would uhave done better.

2/3 were accepted at a T50 school.

Feel free to identify your kids’ school so people can sh*t all over those kids.

SO a full 1/3 did all those APs to end up in a school ranked over 50?

LOL. What a waste of one's high school years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the other BASIS thread, I think I'm confused.

Unlike Walls and other application schools, admissions is based only on outcomes to the 5th grade lottery, right?

I always assumed the rigor was just a reputational thing and most kids wouldn't apply if the idea of 90min-3hrs of homework was totally unappealing.

But, do they actually weed out in ways beyond pressuring kids by making them feel unsupported? (Someone mentioned comps?) I have a pretty academically average -- and sometimes not very focused -- but very stem interested 4th grader in another charter school who wanted to consider the school but now am wondering if we skip it altogether?

BASIS parent here. Students being weeded out is fake news, just an urban myth. The school is open for everyone. It is rigorous no matter what the crazies say. It is a perfect fit for some but not for others. There is no social promotion. The amount of homework is another myth. Many students start in class or study hall and have maybe an hour each night in MS. When it is pre-comps and comps it goes up to 2 hours a night, just depends on your student and how efficient they are. Go on a tour. Ask more questions. Let your 4th grader shadow a current student.

Fake news? Urban myth? While it's true that v. few hard-working BASIS DC students are weeded out, it's untrue that none ever are.

Come on. BASIS isn't a perfect fit for any young person or family. No, it's a school offering that you might be able to make the best of for one of several reasons, or some combination. The reasons are as follows: you don't want to move to the burbs or Upper NW, you can't afford a DC private and/or you don't like private cocoon environments. By all means, go on a tour, take a hard look at the dark music and art rooms, search for the media center, look for the windows in the cafeteria and the basketball court on the roof and any space flooded with natural light. Ask yourself if you can do better by your children. Talk to the young admins, try to figure out if you can handle doing just as you're told by these folks for years to come, if you can believe in them and their vision for your family. If you can, by all means, revel in the place from the first minute. Just don't kid yourself about the prospect of a perfect fit. That's Sidwell, with 16 National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists last year to BASIS' zero.

Give me a break. No school is a perfect fit for everyone. Not even Sidwell.

I don't know why BASIS threads attract the insecure in this way. If BASIS doesn't work for you, then don't send your kid there! But why you feel the need to sit here and convince yourself that other parents aren't looking and asking themselves these questions and coming to a different conclusion is truly puzzling.

[Anonymous]

Eh people read this board in part because they are making school choices and want as much (unfiltered) additional information as possible. There are some very anti-Basis posters but there is also at least one extremely aggressive pro-Basis defender (troll) who constantly attacks, misconstrues what was posted, then attacks that. It is bizarre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Train wreck from DC public last year where NMSS goes. Two semi-finalists from J-R/Wilson out of 34 in the District. None from Walls, BASIS, Latin, Banneker.

BASIS parents and admins like to use the excuse that nobody much cares about the PSAT these days, so few of their students bother to take it.

https://patch.com/district-columbia/washingtondc/2022-national-merit-semifinalists-named-washington-dc

What are you talking about? The PSAT school day at BASIS is October 26th, as announced at the Town Hall last week. The administration has already sent several emails about it to the relevant student/families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the other BASIS thread, I think I'm confused.

Unlike Walls and other application schools, admissions is based only on outcomes to the 5th grade lottery, right?

I always assumed the rigor was just a reputational thing and most kids wouldn't apply if the idea of 90min-3hrs of homework was totally unappealing.

But, do they actually weed out in ways beyond pressuring kids by making them feel unsupported? (Someone mentioned comps?) I have a pretty academically average -- and sometimes not very focused -- but very stem interested 4th grader in another charter school who wanted to consider the school but now am wondering if we skip it altogether?

BASIS parent here. Students being weeded out is fake news, just an urban myth. The school is open for everyone. It is rigorous no matter what the crazies say. It is a perfect fit for some but not for others. There is no social promotion. The amount of homework is another myth. Many students start in class or study hall and have maybe an hour each night in MS. When it is pre-comps and comps it goes up to 2 hours a night, just depends on your student and how efficient they are. Go on a tour. Ask more questions. Let your 4th grader shadow a current student.

Fake news? Urban myth? While it's true that v. few hard-working BASIS DC students are weeded out, it's untrue that none ever are.

Come on. BASIS isn't a perfect fit for any young person or family. No, it's a school offering that you might be able to make the best of for one of several reasons, or some combination. The reasons are as follows: you don't want to move to the burbs or Upper NW, you can't afford a DC private and/or you don't like private cocoon environments. By all means, go on a tour, take a hard look at the dark music and art rooms, search for the media center, look for the windows in the cafeteria and the basketball court on the roof and any space flooded with natural light. Ask yourself if you can do better by your children. Talk to the young admins, try to figure out if you can handle doing just as you're told by these folks for years to come, if you can believe in them and their vision for your family. If you can, by all means, revel in the place from the first minute. Just don't kid yourself about the prospect of a perfect fit. That's Sidwell, with 16 National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists last year to BASIS' zero.

Give me a break. No school is a perfect fit for everyone. Not even Sidwell.

I don't know why BASIS threads attract the insecure in this way. If BASIS doesn't work for you, then don't send your kid there! But why you feel the need to sit here and convince yourself that other parents aren't looking and asking themselves these questions and coming to a different conclusion is truly puzzling.

We all respond this way because the Basis boosters act so exclusive with their no transfer rule, their hyper-acceleration, etc. BUT then any objective measure fails to demonstrate anything of note. It doesn't produce NMSFs, it's average SAT score is mediocre relative to the top privates or suburban magnets, it's grads are completely shut out of the Ivies, etc. Hey, if Basis was churning out NMSFs and Harvard admits at a same clip as TJ or Stuy I think we'd all shut up.
I have never criticized either of those places.

It's a just over mediocre school that thinks it's super special.

[Anonymous]

Problem is, BASIS' critics here aren't wrong. There's too much of a disconnect between the way the school bills itself and the way it works to silence critics. As a BASIS parent, it took me several years to get to grips with the reality that much of the spiel about BASIS knocking it out of the park on APs and elite college admissions is a combo of hubris and wistful thinking. Like it or not, those aiming high in admissions should take the sales pitch with a pinch of salt.

I went to a Sidwell open house recently and didn't get the impression that their admins were guilty of false advertising. BASIS is really pushing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis DC college results so blah last year? You had the Cal Tech kid (URM) and one Hopkins girl but that was about it for top 30 schools.

I'm genuinely curious. You would think that kids with a ton of APs plus the DC "urban kid" bump that DCPS/charter kids seem to get that the kids would uhave done better.

2/3 were accepted at a T50 school.

Feel free to identify your kids’ school so people can sh*t all over those kids.

SO a full 1/3 did all those APs to end up in a school ranked over 50?

LOL. What a waste of one's high school years.

So, high school is wasted if you don't go to a T50 college?

You are a sad excuse for a human being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the other BASIS thread, I think I'm confused.

Unlike Walls and other application schools, admissions is based only on outcomes to the 5th grade lottery, right?

I always assumed the rigor was just a reputational thing and most kids wouldn't apply if the idea of 90min-3hrs of homework was totally unappealing.

But, do they actually weed out in ways beyond pressuring kids by making them feel unsupported? (Someone mentioned comps?) I have a pretty academically average -- and sometimes not very focused -- but very stem interested 4th grader in another charter school who wanted to consider the school but now am wondering if we skip it altogether?

BASIS parent here. Students being weeded out is fake news, just an urban myth. The school is open for everyone. It is rigorous no matter what the crazies say. It is a perfect fit for some but not for others. There is no social promotion. The amount of homework is another myth. Many students start in class or study hall and have maybe an hour each night in MS. When it is pre-comps and comps it goes up to 2 hours a night, just depends on your student and how efficient they are. Go on a tour. Ask more questions. Let your 4th grader shadow a current student.

Fake news? Urban myth? While it's true that v. few hard-working BASIS DC students are weeded out, it's untrue that none ever are.

Come on. BASIS isn't a perfect fit for any young person or family. No, it's a school offering that you might be able to make the best of for one of several reasons, or some combination. The reasons are as follows: you don't want to move to the burbs or Upper NW, you can't afford a DC private and/or you don't like private cocoon environments. By all means, go on a tour, take a hard look at the dark music and art rooms, search for the media center, look for the windows in the cafeteria and the basketball court on the roof and any space flooded with natural light. Ask yourself if you can do better by your children. Talk to the young admins, try to figure out if you can handle doing just as you're told by these folks for years to come, if you can believe in them and their vision for your family. If you can, by all means, revel in the place from the first minute. Just don't kid yourself about the prospect of a perfect fit. That's Sidwell, with 16 National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists last year to BASIS' zero.

Give me a break. No school is a perfect fit for everyone. Not even Sidwell.

I don't know why BASIS threads attract the insecure in this way. If BASIS doesn't work for you, then don't send your kid there! But why you feel the need to sit here and convince yourself that other parents aren't looking and asking themselves these questions and coming to a different conclusion is truly puzzling.

We all respond this way because the Basis boosters act so exclusive with their no transfer rule, their hyper-acceleration, etc. BUT then any objective measure fails to demonstrate anything of note. It doesn't produce NMSFs, it's average SAT score is mediocre relative to the top privates or suburban magnets, it's grads are completely shut out of the Ivies, etc. Hey, if Basis was churning out NMSFs and Harvard admits at a same clip as TJ or Stuy I think we'd all shut up.
I have never criticized either of those places.

It's a just over mediocre school that thinks it's super special.

Yes. This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's an issue with student quality, either. Instead, it's more about financial means. A lot of people who choose Basis over a top notch private are doing so because they can't afford the top private. The same people are not applying to ivies, because they already know that they cannot easily afford to send their kids. Basis seems to do well with getting a lot of merit aid for kids at T50 type schools, which still means that the school has a lot of top notch kids.

Bunk. UMC BASIS families in the "fi aid doughnut" are applying to Ivies/Ivies Plus schools for top students. The kids are applying but almost never getting in. Franchise leaders and admins are behind the times, mainly in failing to support and encouraging the students to run with unique interests, backgrounds and talents. For example, many 5th graders come in from ES language immersion programs strong in languages. The message from BASIS is who cares, not us, no language for you before 8th and then only at the beginning level. These are kids who could ace AP language exams in 9th or 10th grade with a little bit of support from BASIS, or even just a little flexibility on language study, but none is forthcoming. Also, BASIS forces all students to take algebra no later than 7th, when many of the kids aren't quite ready for it despite being v. bright and hard-working. Some of these kids wind up doing MS again in HS. That's what happened to my Walls student, who always earned As in BASIS math (essentially by memorizing answers). The lack of flexibility just isn't working v. well in elite college admissions.

This is really interesting. My kid is at top 3 DC private with two Basis kids who were accelerated in math (putting them on track for pre-calc in 9th) and yet aren't doing well in math at the private (struggling to get low Bs). Basis math seems to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Kids who are truly gifted in math and are doing math in their free time will compensate for this but others just have a crappy foundation and either struggle or take classes again (the Walls kid above and others we know).

Private schools literally just started a few weeks ago but you are already making judgments about your kids’ classmates?

Give me a f’ing break and get a life.

No, this was from last year. My kid had a full year of experience with these kids in a small class.

You have some pretty broad conclusions based on a sample size of 2.

Plus, these were kids transitioning to a new school and a new curriculum from BASIS DC.

I am sure if we plunked your kid down in a 9th grade BASIS math class (which builds on 4 years of previous BASIS math classes), he or she wouldn't do so well either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the other BASIS thread, I think I'm confused.

Unlike Walls and other application schools, admissions is based only on outcomes to the 5th grade lottery, right?

I always assumed the rigor was just a reputational thing and most kids wouldn't apply if the idea of 90min-3hrs of homework was totally unappealing.

But, do they actually weed out in ways beyond pressuring kids by making them feel unsupported? (Someone mentioned comps?) I have a pretty academically average -- and sometimes not very focused -- but very stem interested 4th grader in another charter school who wanted to consider the school but now am wondering if we skip it altogether?

BASIS parent here. Students being weeded out is fake news, just an urban myth. The school is open for everyone. It is rigorous no matter what the crazies say. It is a perfect fit for some but not for others. There is no social promotion. The amount of homework is another myth. Many students start in class or study hall and have maybe an hour each night in MS. When it is pre-comps and comps it goes up to 2 hours a night, just depends on your student and how efficient they are. Go on a tour. Ask more questions. Let your 4th grader shadow a current student.

Fake news? Urban myth? While it's true that v. few hard-working BASIS DC students are weeded out, it's untrue that none ever are.

Come on. BASIS isn't a perfect fit for any young person or family. No, it's a school offering that you might be able to make the best of for one of several reasons, or some combination. The reasons are as follows: you don't want to move to the burbs or Upper NW, you can't afford a DC private and/or you don't like private cocoon environments. By all means, go on a tour, take a hard look at the dark music and art rooms, search for the media center, look for the windows in the cafeteria and the basketball court on the roof and any space flooded with natural light. Ask yourself if you can do better by your children. Talk to the young admins, try to figure out if you can handle doing just as you're told by these folks for years to come, if you can believe in them and their vision for your family. If you can, by all means, revel in the place from the first minute. Just don't kid yourself about the prospect of a perfect fit. That's Sidwell, with 16 National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists last year to BASIS' zero.

Give me a break. No school is a perfect fit for everyone. Not even Sidwell.

I don't know why BASIS threads attract the insecure in this way. If BASIS doesn't work for you, then don't send your kid there! But why you feel the need to sit here and convince yourself that other parents aren't looking and asking themselves these questions and coming to a different conclusion is truly puzzling.

We all respond this way because the Basis boosters act so exclusive with their no transfer rule, their hyper-acceleration, etc. BUT then any objective measure fails to demonstrate anything of note. It doesn't produce NMSFs, it's average SAT score is mediocre relative to the top privates or suburban magnets, it's grads are completely shut out of the Ivies, etc. Hey, if Basis was churning out NMSFs and Harvard admits at a same clip as TJ or Stuy I think we'd all shut up.
I have never criticized either of those places.

It's a just over mediocre school that thinks it's super special.

Yup this. Its a combination of the overhyped false advertising by the admin, and the Basis parents who come here and try to claim, with a clear sense of superiority, that only kids who "can't cut" the rigorous academics somehow would not choose Basis.

But that's just not true. Lots of high achieving parents are actively not choosing it for their kids because it's doing something (or many things) wrong.

We are high rigor people -- NMSF parents, math and science Olympiad alums, with smart kids. We would send our kids to TJ or Stuyvesant or Boston Latin in a heartbeat. We were intrigued when we heard about Basis, but after visiting and talking to (mostly former) Basis parents (some of whom vehemently said "NEVER send your children there") I just get there feeling that they are totally misrepresenting their school, and putting a whole lot of pressure on kids for no clear payoff.