how does BASIS work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IME, most of the time when kids don't pass a class, the class is math, physics, or chemistry. If your kid is intellectually above average in STEM subjects, and if your kid is reasonably motivated, he'll be fine at Basis.

Also, by the time the kids get to the upper school, there is a lot more applied knowledge and a lot less memorization.

Not our experience. The entire BASIS curriculum/focus is AP prep. Since AP/the College Board doesn't test group work, research or presentation skills, or participation in class discussions, the focus remains on memorization and rote learning in the HS to prep for multiple-choice heavy AP exams (including language exams). BASIS STEM teaching to prep for those AP exams is undeniably impressive.

We moved on from the BASIS MS to a competitive admissions IB Diploma program. IB exams don't include multiple choice questions so the difference in the teaching and learning from BASIS has been night and day. Not as strong for math, much stronger for humanities + more applied science.

[Anonymous]

There are no comps in 5th grade - that is the year where BASIS tries to get everyone up to the same level in math ability and literacy. Extra support is given. Everyone must pass all comps to move up in 6-8th grade. Multiple chances.

The students who fail comps are not forced to leave, but some do not want to do the work or be held back a grade, so they leave to go to their IB or other charters. The comps do not have to be aced, just passed.

The good thing about this system is that by 9th grade, all students are at a basic proficiency level in all subjects, which isn’t always a given in standard DC high schools.

[Anonymous]

Right, not a given in standard DC high schools. Relevance?

Who, exactly, is choosing between Eastern, Dunbar etc. and BASIS?

Does JR count as standard? They're teaching math and science that's just as advanced as that taught at BASIS along with more advanced Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's just about understanding what type of child you have, and then looking to find the best fit for your child if you are looking at charters. My DD can concentrate for a very long time, so BASIS is actually easy for her, and she's earned straight A's for years. It isn't all that "rigorous." It's just a lot of continuous work. But because this comes easy to her, she really likes BASIS.

Agree with this take. An average student who's willing to put in the study time can hold their own at BASIS. It's not a GT program emphasizing creativity, critical thinking skills, advanced writing skills, sophisticated presentations, group work and so on. Really helps if the kid's quick with quantitative work, or the math homework can take too long for the kid to enjoy life. We don't really like BASIS for reasons that have nothing to do with the curriculum. There are too many young teachers who can't control their classes. Good teachers tend to leave and the churn is a drag, along with the bad building.

Elementary parent neutral-for-now on Basis, but this is what I've heard about the school from recent Basis graduates - really mixed bag in terms of teachers (some great, some unable to control classes), lots of turnover, ineffective and inexperienced school leadership. To be fair, these Basis grads are now college students at some of the best, most competitive liberal arts colleges in the country and were well-prepared for higher ed. It's possible these particular smart and diligent kids could have gone to any quality (and maybe even not-so-quality?) high school in the country and achieved at the same level, but that doesn't mean Basis didn't serve them well. They definitely have mixed feelings about their high school experience, though, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right, not a given in standard DC high schools. Relevance?

Who, exactly, is choosing between Eastern, Dunbar etc. and BASIS?

Does JR count as standard? They're teaching math and science that's just as advanced as that taught at BASIS along with more advanced Spanish.

Well this isn't true. BASIS offers more advanced math and science far earlier than JR. BASIS also scores 100/100 on the college readiness index (a measure of how many students take and pass AP exams). JR scores 64.3/100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, do some kids stay and repeat a grade? It seems slightly shocking a public charter could say they have to leave, especially if not given an explicit waiver for running more of an admissions based school.

The attrition numbers every year are dramatic. I used to have them written down, but they lose something between 20 and 30 percent of the kids after 5th grade. And then a small number after 6 and 7th and then a very significant number after 8th. So, starting 5th grade class of 135 can drop to something like 60 by 9th.

[Anonymous]

Nonsense. BASIS teaches no science past AP level and the highest score students can get on AP exam is a 5. JR teaches all the AP STEM exams, just like BASIS, with multiple JR students scoring 5 on each of them annually. The exams are:

AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C - Mechanics
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Studies
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science A (AB no longer given)

Yes, BASIS teaches serious science younger than DCPS, which is neither here nor there for JR students who score high on AP STEM. I note that J-R students have four AP exams cycles to take their APs, while BASIS students only have 3 per program rules. That's how BASIS works, OP.

[Anonymous]

Responding to 13:30 above. BASIS STEM exceptionalism gets old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense. BASIS teaches no science past AP level and the highest score students can get on AP exam is a 5. JR teaches all the AP STEM exams, just like BASIS, with multiple JR students scoring 5 on each of them annually. The exams are:

AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C - Mechanics
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Studies
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science A (AB no longer given)

Yes, BASIS teaches serious science younger than DCPS, which is neither here nor there for JR students who score high on AP STEM. I note that J-R students have four AP exams cycles to take their APs, while BASIS students only have 3 per program rules. That's how BASIS works, OP.

Your anecdata doesn't trump the college readiness index. The numbers speak for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense. BASIS teaches no science past AP level and the highest score students can get on AP exam is a 5. JR teaches all the AP STEM exams, just like BASIS, with multiple JR students scoring 5 on each of them annually. The exams are:

AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C - Mechanics
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Studies
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science A (AB no longer given)

Yes, BASIS teaches serious science younger than DCPS, which is neither here nor there for JR students who score high on AP STEM. I note that J-R students have four AP exams cycles to take their APs, while BASIS students only have 3 per program rules. That's how BASIS works, OP.

80% of DC high school aged students don’t live in the JR boundary, so the offerings and outcomes there are not really relevant for most of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IME, most of the time when kids don't pass a class, the class is math, physics, or chemistry. If your kid is intellectually above average in STEM subjects, and if your kid is reasonably motivated, he'll be fine at Basis.

Also, by the time the kids get to the upper school, there is a lot more applied knowledge and a lot less memorization.

Not our experience. The entire BASIS curriculum/focus is AP prep. Since AP/the College Board doesn't test group work, research or presentation skills, or participation in class discussions, the focus remains on memorization and rote learning in the HS to prep for multiple-choice heavy AP exams (including language exams). BASIS STEM teaching to prep for those AP exams is undeniably impressive.

We moved on from the BASIS MS to a competitive admissions IB Diploma program. IB exams don't include multiple choice questions so the difference in the teaching and learning from BASIS has been night and day. Not as strong for math, much stronger for humanities + more applied science.

I won't say you're wrong, but I think you're underselling the AP exams and the jump in sophistication from middle to high school. It's not just "memorization and rote learning." For example, the history and government APs multiple choice are text based: They have a short text, and based on the text AND the history they learned, they answer the question. My child actually thought it was a waste to study because so much of the test was based on analysis rather than facts.
E.g. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-world-history-ced-practice-exam.pdf
And of course the humanities courses focus on analysis of texts and writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IME, most of the time when kids don't pass a class, the class is math, physics, or chemistry. If your kid is intellectually above average in STEM subjects, and if your kid is reasonably motivated, he'll be fine at Basis.

Also, by the time the kids get to the upper school, there is a lot more applied knowledge and a lot less memorization.

Not our experience. The entire BASIS curriculum/focus is AP prep. Since AP/the College Board doesn't test group work, research or presentation skills, or participation in class discussions, the focus remains on memorization and rote learning in the HS to prep for multiple-choice heavy AP exams (including language exams). BASIS STEM teaching to prep for those AP exams is undeniably impressive.

We moved on from the BASIS MS to a competitive admissions IB Diploma program. IB exams don't include multiple choice questions so the difference in the teaching and learning from BASIS has been night and day. Not as strong for math, much stronger for humanities + more applied science.

How did you experience the HS if you moved on before your child was in it?

[Anonymous]

We left for WIS in the middle of 9th grade when a spot opened. My employer pays tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left for WIS in the middle of 9th grade when a spot opened. My employer pays tuition.

Your kid experienced 1/8 of HS but yet you feel qualified to comment on the HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense. BASIS teaches no science past AP level and the highest score students can get on AP exam is a 5. JR teaches all the AP STEM exams, just like BASIS, with multiple JR students scoring 5 on each of them annually. The exams are:

AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C - Mechanics
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Studies
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science A (AB no longer given)

Yes, BASIS teaches serious science younger than DCPS, which is neither here nor there for JR students who score high on AP STEM. I note that J-R students have four AP exams cycles to take their APs, while BASIS students only have 3 per program rules. That's how BASIS works, OP.

Nice try but wrong.

1) Basis requires science capstones senior year after APs.

2) JR is a huge school--it is probably more than 12 times bigger than the Basis upper school. Thus, there is no surprise that JR offer a lot of AP exams. But that fact hardly means that JR is teaching at the same advanced level as Basis.

3) In fact, results at JR aren’t particularly impressive. Last year, maybe a third of JR kids had taken an AP exam and only 63% were able to score at least a 3 on ONE exam. In contrast, in order to graduate, Basis students must take at least 6 AP exams and obtain at least a 3 on one exam to graduate. Plus, around 40% of Basis students are AP Scholars (getting a 3 or higher on at least THREE AP exams), a status that fewer than 10% of students attain.

In short, there is no comparison between JR and Basis on AP exams or curriculum. In fact, a large percentage of JR graduates wouldn’t even meet the minimal requirements to graduate from Basis.