BASIS Lottery ONLY for 5th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

I'm not arguing that BASIS should spend extra resources to bringing new kids up to speed in 7th and 8th grades. Not at all.

BASIS could simply post a bare bones curriculum with links to appropriate learning resources on their web site and let prospective families figure out if it's worth putting in for the lottery after 6th grade. This is what colleges do with on-line prospectuses - tell students and prospective students what's to be expected in classes.

If you're told exactly what your kid will need to know to cope, without risking to repeat the grade of entry, some new families can and will rise to the occasion. I seriously doubt that my own kids, and many others in the District, would fall flat on their faces at BASIS if they started a year or two after the cutoff. Mine routinely do advanced work in science on-line and in summer programs, for fun. BASIS' exceptionalism is lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

I'm not arguing that BASIS should spend extra resources to bringing new kids up to speed in 7th and 8th grades. Not at all.

BASIS could simply post a bare bones curriculum with links to appropriate learning resources on their web site and let prospective families figure out if it's worth putting in for the lottery after 6th grade. This is what colleges do with on-line prospectuses - tell students and prospective students what's to be expected in classes.

If you're told exactly what your kid will need to know to cope, without risking to repeat the grade of entry, some new families can and will rise to the occasion. I seriously doubt that my own kids, and many others in the District, would fall flat on their faces at BASIS if they started a year or two after the cutoff. Mine routinely do advanced work in science on-line and in summer programs, for fun. BASIS' exceptionalism is lame.

But when they don't Basis will get blamed for not doing well by kids who need extra help. There's no upside for them.

It's not exceptionalism, it's just their design. My 5th grader is already 3-4 months ahead of where her DCPS peers are in Math at the moment. She's not a genius, she's just being pushed a lot more math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the data, 85 kids never received a 5th grade WL offer.

So, while the odds of getting a 5th grade spot are still high, plenty of kids don’t get offers.

Is the data there accounting for where you place Basis on your list?

No, because that's not how the lottery works. Ranking a school number 1 doesn't increase your chances of getting in.

How do parents that frequent DCUM DCPS threads STILL not know this once they're talking about middle school. It's baffling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

This is it. They cannot administer an entrance exam, for example. They are transparent about this. To the PPP if you think it's wrongheaded, raise your concerns with the PCSB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

I'm not arguing that BASIS should spend extra resources to bringing new kids up to speed in 7th and 8th grades. Not at all.

BASIS could simply post a bare bones curriculum with links to appropriate learning resources on their web site and let prospective families figure out if it's worth putting in for the lottery after 6th grade. This is what colleges do with on-line prospectuses - tell students and prospective students what's to be expected in classes.

If you're told exactly what your kid will need to know to cope, without risking to repeat the grade of entry, some new families can and will rise to the occasion. I seriously doubt that my own kids, and many others in the District, would fall flat on their faces at BASIS if they started a year or two after the cutoff. Mine routinely do advanced work in science on-line and in summer programs, for fun. BASIS' exceptionalism is lame.

But when they don't Basis will get blamed for not doing well by kids who need extra help. There's no upside for them.

It's not exceptionalism, it's just their design. My 5th grader is already 3-4 months ahead of where her DCPS peers are in Math at the moment. She's not a genius, she's just being pushed a lot more math.

I wouldn't count on it, PP. My 5th grader does 6th grade math at Brent elementary. She's not particularly pushed though. We wish we'd pushed for 7th grade math, which the school's science teacher is prepared to teach to 5th graders. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

I'm not arguing that BASIS should spend extra resources to bringing new kids up to speed in 7th and 8th grades. Not at all.

BASIS could simply post a bare bones curriculum with links to appropriate learning resources on their web site and let prospective families figure out if it's worth putting in for the lottery after 6th grade. This is what colleges do with on-line prospectuses - tell students and prospective students what's to be expected in classes.

If you're told exactly what your kid will need to know to cope, without risking to repeat the grade of entry, some new families can and will rise to the occasion. I seriously doubt that my own kids, and many others in the District, would fall flat on their faces at BASIS if they started a year or two after the cutoff. Mine routinely do advanced work in science on-line and in summer programs, for fun. BASIS' exceptionalism is lame.

But when they don't Basis will get blamed for not doing well by kids who need extra help. There's no upside for them.

It's not exceptionalism, it's just their design. My 5th grader is already 3-4 months ahead of where her DCPS peers are in Math at the moment. She's not a genius, she's just being pushed a lot more math.

I wouldn't count on it, PP. My 5th grader does 6th grade math at Brent elementary. She's not particularly pushed though. We wish we'd pushed for 7th grade math, which the school's science teacher is prepared to teach to 5th graders. Really.

Talk about an eye roll comment.

[Anonymous]

Not nearly as cringe worthy as “my kid goes to Basis, ergo she is far ahead of all her DCPS peers in math”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not nearly as cringe worthy as “my kid goes to Basis, ergo she is far ahead of all her DCPS peers in math”

Both cringey. But the advanced part re BASIS applies to science; for math not necessarily.

[Anonymous]

We bailed on BASIS for Deal after 6th because only the science was advanced. The extra curriculars were weak, the ELA and other humanities subject was mediocre, and the foreign language policy was regressive.

Our nearly bilingual Spanish-speaking student wasn't permitted to take advanced Spanish. She was going to be forced to take beginning language classes in another modern language from 7th grade.

Don't buy into parent hubris about how advanced BASIS students are in math, OP. More kids at Deal take advanced math than at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not nearly as cringe worthy as “my kid goes to Basis, ergo she is far ahead of all her DCPS peers in math”

Both cringey. But the advanced part re BASIS applies to science; for math not necessarily.

Can't see what's wrong with a parent pointing out that advanced math instruction is now available to upper grades students in the odd DCPS elementary school.

The assumption all the DCPS 5t graders are behind all the BASIS 5th graders in math is obnoxious. It's also typical.

[Anonymous]

I am sure that you can find opportunities for advanced math at any DCPS school. However, there is no question that, generally speaking, the BASIS math curriculum is advanced compared to other schools. And the numbers seem to bear that out. If you look at the math PARCC scores for 8th grade at BASIS and Deal from 2018-2019 (last year available), you will see that BASIS students scored far higher than Deal.

[Anonymous]

I recall hearing that the PARCC math test isn’t a good basis for comparison after a certain grade. Don’t a lot of the kids start taking specialized PARCC tests like Algebra by 8th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bailed on BASIS for Deal after 6th because only the science was advanced. The extra curriculars were weak, the ELA and other humanities subject was mediocre, and the foreign language policy was regressive.

Our nearly bilingual Spanish-speaking student wasn't permitted to take advanced Spanish. She was going to be forced to take beginning language classes in another modern language from 7th grade.

Don't buy into parent hubris about how advanced BASIS students are in math, OP. More kids at Deal take advanced math than at BASIS.

Most kids at Basis are not inbound for Deal. Basis is leaps and bounds better than most DCPS middle schools (and high schools).

But Deal might be an exception (though Basis is likely better for some).

[Anonymous]

There is always an exodus of kids from
basis to Deal in 6th grade. My daughter met two friends at Deal who had come from Basis after 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is always an exodus of kids from
basis to Deal in 6th grade. My daughter met two friends at Deal who had come from Basis after 5th.

Exodus is not the word you’re looking for unless Deal is again taking OOB students.

https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/BASIS-DC-PCS.pdf