Basis v. Deal
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Anonymous
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I believe Basis is the only public school in all of DC that makes advancement to the next grade contingent on passing comprehensive exams. The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders that don't pass their comps will either repeat that grade or their families will choose to pull them out to a less-challenging school.
The lower-performing students will either pull up, given the extra math and reading labs and STARS tutoring that Basis provides, or they will pull out altogether. Also, as Basis fills, you will start seeing virtually no open slots for new students in grades above 5th. Let's see what the CAS scores in those upper grades are a year or two from now. |
Anonymous
No. My older child is at Deal and we've been happy. Didn't even consider Basis for my younger one. |
Anonymous
If your child is going into 5th, then I would definitely try BASIS first since you are in-bounds for Deal. It is much easier to get into BASIS in 5th grade and more unlikely to get into BASIS after 5th grade. |
Anonymous
| Deal for us. My kids are not cutout for Basis. I want them to feel successful in middle school. Mine are pretty average kids (well I think they are amazing but average in the smarts category), while I think Basis is great, mine would be overwhelmed. |
Anonymous
You might be surprised. I would consider shadowing at BASIS. |
Anonymous
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Passing on BASIS because low DC CAS scores of its current 7th and 8th graders -- assuming they actually are low -- would be foolish indeed. It is widely known that they are the least prepared for the rigorous curriculum.
The problem is that DCPS isn't great at publishing DC-CAS scores info BY GRADE. Ever noticed that it's much easier to get hold of scores for an entire MS than by grades (and by gender, race and socio-economic group) within a MS? Latin has that problem. Scores there rise between 5th and 8th but the consumer often isn't privy to the info for months and months after scores come out late in the summer or the fall, if at all. You hear a lot of chatter about Latin's low scores, with PPs constantly claiming low scores are irrelevant. At least BASIS ability groups more than Latin, but really only for math. Many middle-class parents just don't want their advanced kids in the same MS English, foreign language and social studies classes as kids who lack basic skills. This is one reason a good many still head to the burbs, where extensive MS tracking is normal. Deal and only Deal has the demographics to largely avoid the problem. |
Anonymous
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Depends on what your student is like. Based on their website, Deal is running at around 300-400 kids per each grade, as opposed to around 400 TOTAL for Basis, if you were to add up all students in all grades, 5th through 8th.
Some kids aren't into a big zoo of an environment, some get lost in the shuffle and so on, lose confidence being a small fish in a huge pond. Conversely, some kids really like being in a smaller, more intimate environment like Basis where everyone knows you by name. |
Anonymous
The problem is that DCPS isn't great at publishing DC-CAS scores info BY GRADE. Ever noticed that it's much easier to get hold of scores for an entire MS than by grades (and by gender, race and socio-economic group) within a MS? Latin has that problem. Scores there rise between 5th and 8th but the consumer often isn't privy to the info for months and months after scores come out late in the summer or the fall, if at all. You hear a lot of chatter about Latin's low scores, with PPs constantly claiming low scores are irrelevant. At least BASIS ability groups more than Latin, but really only for math. Many middle-class parents just don't want their advanced kids in the same MS English, foreign language and social studies classes as kids who lack basic skills. This is one reason a good many still head to the burbs, where extensive MS tracking is normal. Deal and only Deal has the demographics to largely avoid the problem. Actually BASIS does do other ability grouping.They have language arts classes for those who are struggling to help bring them up to speed. Also, depending upon your child's tested in math, there is essentially other ability grouping for scheduling purposes. Also, the fact that BASIS does not do social promotion will also essentially ability group to a certain extent. Lastly, they do have a LEAP track which are advanced courses in language arts, literature, math and the sciences. |
Anonymous
| Deal. BASIS has no track record in DC so it's not worth considering at this time. |
Anonymous
| If I were you, I'd move to a good school district (plenty to choose from here: MD, VA). If you can afford to live in Deal boundaries, you can live in a good school district. Also, if you live in bounds for Deal, do you really want your kid commuting to Chinatown for elementary school. Why don't you have the commute instead of your kid. |
Anonymous
| BASIS is middle school not elementary school. While we are at Deal I would consider it. I work right by their location. It takes me 20 minutes to drive and even less to metro (when it is running on time). I am sure that there are kids in MoCo in k who spend more than 20 or even 30 minutes on the school bus. |
Anonymous
Conversely; that word does not mean what you think it does. |
Anonymous
They have a stellar track record in their 6 other schools. What is it that you think makes DC so different from anywhere else? I'd point out that in the last couple of months alone, BASIS DC swept the DC Science Bowl and the DC entries for the Letters About Literacy contest. They are well on their way to a fantastic track record here in DC. |
Anonymous
| ^ Letters About Literature - http://lettersaboutliterature.org/ |
Anonymous
| BASIS will do well in DC CAS this year. According to my child those students who find the school overwhelming have left or are transferring at this late date. |