basis math levels

[Anonymous]

This is listed as the minimum math requirements:

MATH (minimum course-level requirements)
• Grade 5 Arithmetic B
• Grade 6 Pre-Algebra
• Grade 7 Algebra and Geometry I
• Grade 8 Algebra and Geometry II
• Grade 9 Pre-Calculus A
• Grades 9–10 AP Pre-Calculus
• Grade 10 Pre-Calculus B
• Grade 11 AP Calculus AB
• Grade 12 Math Capstone

Three years of precalculus! Is that out of date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is listed as the minimum math requirements:

MATH (minimum course-level requirements)
• Grade 5 Arithmetic B
• Grade 6 Pre-Algebra
• Grade 7 Algebra and Geometry I
• Grade 8 Algebra and Geometry II
• Grade 9 Pre-Calculus A
• Grades 9–10 AP Pre-Calculus
• Grade 10 Pre-Calculus B
• Grade 11 AP Calculus AB
• Grade 12 Math Capstone

Three years of precalculus! Is that out of date?

It's not 3 years of pre-calculus. About half of the kids do a single year of precalculus in 9th grade, followed by calculus in 10th. The other half have weaker math foundations and take a 2 year sequence, with Calculus in 11th grade. The two year sequence lets kids slow down enough that they can master the material, plus it is set up to help them shore up whatever Algebra II foundations they're lacking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calc AB in 8th or 9th means years of scrambling to get math classes through dual enrollment. I don't know if Basis is set up for that.

You can see the curriculum. They list BC calc, multivariable, and AP stats. That's three years more math. There's also an AP CS class. I don't think students lack for things to keep them busy. It's the slower track that confuses me more. Why accelerate and do algebra 2 and geometry in 8th grade if you're going to drag out precalculus for three years?

Taking AB and then BC makes no sense. Why not take BC in 9th and multivariable in 10th? For kids who are that accelerated, AP stats is not much of a challenge and CS (at least as per the AP class) is not the same. There is no real math path beyond multivariable in 10th and one has to make up with dual enrollment.

[Anonymous]

I think BASIS covers some Algebra 2 in pre-calc. My kid took algebra 2 in 9th after leaving BASIS and said they had not seen a lot of the material before, even though BASIS says it taught Algebra 2 as part of the integrated math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calc AB in 8th or 9th means years of scrambling to get math classes through dual enrollment. I don't know if Basis is set up for that.

You can see the curriculum. They list BC calc, multivariable, and AP stats. That's three years more math. There's also an AP CS class. I don't think students lack for things to keep them busy. It's the slower track that confuses me more. Why accelerate and do algebra 2 and geometry in 8th grade if you're going to drag out precalculus for three years?

Taking AB and then BC makes no sense. Why not take BC in 9th and multivariable in 10th? For kids who are that accelerated, AP stats is not much of a challenge and CS (at least as per the AP class) is not the same. There is no real math path beyond multivariable in 10th and one has to make up with dual enrollment.

Yeah I agree with previous two PPs. The sequence seems to accelerate through foundational math and really slow down at Pre-Calc. And for an accelerated kid BC alone is sufficient, you don’t need AB.

And honestly AP Stats shouldn’t even be considered math, it’s really its own subject. Useful, but not computational in any sense. It’s an analysis and writing course and it’s really specific in terms of how the AP wants you to write answers.

[Anonymous]

PP and my last comments about AP Stat are not Basis specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calc AB in 8th or 9th means years of scrambling to get math classes through dual enrollment. I don't know if Basis is set up for that.

You can see the curriculum. They list BC calc, multivariable, and AP stats. That's three years more math. There's also an AP CS class. I don't think students lack for things to keep them busy. It's the slower track that confuses me more. Why accelerate and do algebra 2 and geometry in 8th grade if you're going to drag out precalculus for three years?

Taking AB and then BC makes no sense. Why not take BC in 9th and multivariable in 10th? For kids who are that accelerated, AP stats is not much of a challenge and CS (at least as per the AP class) is not the same. There is no real math path beyond multivariable in 10th and one has to make up with dual enrollment.

Yeah I agree with previous two PPs. The sequence seems to accelerate through foundational math and really slow down at Pre-Calc. And for an accelerated kid BC alone is sufficient, you don’t need AB.

And honestly AP Stats shouldn’t even be considered math, it’s really its own subject. Useful, but not computational in any sense. It’s an analysis and writing course and it’s really specific in terms of how the AP wants you to write answers.

Basis parent here. Basis structures the AP classes so they're not especially repetitive. Kids in publics who take precalc and then Calc BC the following year have a precalc course that covers a lot of the "A" part of the AP Calc AB. Basis does not. Normally, taking AB and then BC would lead to a lot of material repetition. The Basis BC doesn't redo the B part, and instead extends on and after the C stuff.

I can admit that one of the reasons Basis likely requires this sequence is to pad its AP score stats. I honestly don't mind the AB and then BC sequence. It's a great way to make sure the kids really have mastered the foundational calculus stuff. I know that not all Basis schools have the same course offerings, so everyone's miles may vary with this. At my kids' Basis, the post AP math course alternates years, doing multivariable one year and linear algebra the next. So, kids who are accelerated have 2 years of post AP calc. Also, there's a capstone stats class that includes calculus based stats.
My older kid took AP stats in 11th and then capstone stats (calc based) in 12th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh?

AP Precalc in 9th, AP Calc AB in 10th, AP Calc BC in 11th, and Multivar in 12th.

Not all take Calc AB in 10th; I think it's only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the class. Many or most take it in 11th.

I don't know why they split AB and BC into two years. Usually BC is taught in one year, just at a slightly more accelerated rate.

[Anonymous]

Burke does AB and BC as a sequence too, and I think McKinley also. It’s a less common approach but it’s not unique to Basis by any means.

[Anonymous]

The inconvenient truth is that elite STEM high schools in this country don't compel their top students to take AB and BC as a sequence. That's not the way things work at TJ in Fairfax, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Talented and Gifted Dallas, top privates like Andover and Exeter etc. BASIS isn't a franchise run by educators, which sometimes shows. And they wonder why they don't get more than 1 or 2 grads to Ivies and elite tech programs like MIT and Cal Tech annually.

[Anonymous]

huh? my 10th grader took ap precalc this year with most of his friend group & will take calc next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The inconvenient truth is that elite STEM high schools in this country don't compel their top students to take AB and BC as a sequence. That's not the way things work at TJ in Fairfax, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Talented and Gifted Dallas, top privates like Andover and Exeter etc. BASIS isn't a franchise run by educators, which sometimes shows. And they wonder why they don't get more than 1 or 2 grads to Ivies and elite tech programs like MIT and Cal Tech annually.

BASIS is not an elite STEM high school like the list of schools you provided. A kid destined for the Ivies or MIT is not going to be stopped because they took the AB the BC calculus sequence at BASIS.

Come back and complain / criticize once BASIS becomes a top test in HS. Till then, please stop criticizing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burke does AB and BC as a sequence too, and I think McKinley also. It’s a less common approach but it’s not unique to Basis by any means.

The thing people are missing is that the schools which go from pre-calc straight into Calc BC will teach a lot of the "Calc A" material in their pre-calc class. For example, in FCPS, Honors Algebra II includes trig. Honors Pre-calc includes the 'Calc A' stuff. Then, kids skip straight to Calc BC. At schools like Basis and the other ones using an AB and then BC sequence, Algebra II does not include the trig. Pre-calc has the trig, but not the 'Calc A' content. So, kids need to take Calc AB next. Then, Calc BC has not just the 'Calc C', but also some extensions.

It's more a matter of nomenclature than it is actual pacing or content. The normal public school smart-kid path of Honors Algebra in 7th, Honors Geometry in 8th, Honors Algebra II in 9th, Honors PreCalc in 10th, and AP Calc BC in 11th basically covers the same content at the same pacing as the Basis path, assuming Calc AB in 10th and BC in 11th. They just name the classes differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke does AB and BC as a sequence too, and I think McKinley also. It’s a less common approach but it’s not unique to Basis by any means.

The thing people are missing is that the schools which go from pre-calc straight into Calc BC will teach a lot of the "Calc A" material in their pre-calc class. For example, in FCPS, Honors Algebra II includes trig. Honors Pre-calc includes the 'Calc A' stuff. Then, kids skip straight to Calc BC. At schools like Basis and the other ones using an AB and then BC sequence, Algebra II does not include the trig. Pre-calc has the trig, but not the 'Calc A' content. So, kids need to take Calc AB next. Then, Calc BC has not just the 'Calc C', but also some extensions.

It's more a matter of nomenclature than it is actual pacing or content. The normal public school smart-kid path of Honors Algebra in 7th, Honors Geometry in 8th, Honors Algebra II in 9th, Honors PreCalc in 10th, and AP Calc BC in 11th basically covers the same content at the same pacing as the Basis path, assuming Calc AB in 10th and BC in 11th. They just name the classes differently.

This is not true across the board. Some schools teach Calc ABC in Calc BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The inconvenient truth is that elite STEM high schools in this country don't compel their top students to take AB and BC as a sequence. That's not the way things work at TJ in Fairfax, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Talented and Gifted Dallas, top privates like Andover and Exeter etc. BASIS isn't a franchise run by educators, which sometimes shows. And they wonder why they don't get more than 1 or 2 grads to Ivies and elite tech programs like MIT and Cal Tech annually.

BASIS is not an elite STEM high school like the list of schools you provided. A kid destined for the Ivies or MIT is not going to be stopped because they took the AB the BC calculus sequence at BASIS.

Come back and complain / criticize once BASIS becomes a top test in HS. Till then, please stop criticizing it.

I'll criticize what I like; you do the same. The sequence is a waste of time for the most advanced math students who could readily learn AB content in BC calc. That's how calc has generally been taught in the strongest high schools around the country for two generations.

We had students in the BASIS middle school, so we know how their admins preaches the gospel of the franchise running elite STEM programs, to its to try to entice the most capable students to stay for HS. We also know how BASIS favors one-size-fits-all academic options that have a way of bogging down their most advanced students in elite college admissions. BASIS could aim higher for a particularly math savvy subset of high school students, but doesn't bother.