How to help child succeed at BASIS

[Anonymous]

OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

Sure, math is important but you are drawing conclusions based on flawed premises and inaccurate information.

For example, two of the top BASIS DC graduates this year (based on Ivy admissions) plan to pursue liberal arts majors in college.

And frankly I doubt that either of them spent the summer after 4th grade solving differential equations.

Chill out folks and let kids enjoy themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

Sure, math is important but you are drawing conclusions based on flawed premises and inaccurate information.

For example, two of the top BASIS DC graduates this year (based on Ivy admissions) plan to pursue liberal arts majors in college.

And frankly I doubt that either of them spent the summer after 4th grade solving differential equations.

Chill out folks and let kids enjoy themselves.

We know all the BASIS seniors who cracked Ivies this year: case in point. The two you're thinking of took AP Calc in 8th or 9th grade and BC Calc the following year. Little chilling out involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

Sure, math is important but you are drawing conclusions based on flawed premises and inaccurate information.

For example, two of the top BASIS DC graduates this year (based on Ivy admissions) plan to pursue liberal arts majors in college.

And frankly I doubt that either of them spent the summer after 4th grade solving differential equations.

Chill out folks and let kids enjoy themselves.

We know all the BASIS seniors who cracked Ivies this year: case in point. The two you're thinking of took AP Calc in 8th or 9th grade and BC Calc the following year. Little chilling out involved.

ounts
I'm all for accelerated math, but this sounds... insane. I was a very good HS math student who was solid at competition math too. (Not like a superstar, but went to MathCounts Nationals in middle school, qualified for the AIME 3 times and USAMO once.) I went to HYP and majored in a subject that was heavy on math. I took BC Calc in 11th grade and that was considered very accelerated at the time (there were like 5-6 of us at my magnet HS) and there had only been 2 kids in school history (both of whom are now legitimately decorated professors, one of math & one of science) who accelerated more than that. The idea that BASIS would routinely put kids in BC Calc in 9th grade (especially when, AFAIK, BASIS hasn't had any competition math superstars in DC?) seems, frankly, acceleration for acceleration's sake. All the more so if those kids have already decided that they are not actually going on to study anything math related in college? Suggests BASIS just totally burned them out.

For context, BASIS seems like a perfect fit for one of my kids who is already accelerated in math, so I am not a BASIS basher by any stretch. I just had no idea it was so crazy acceleration-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

Sure, math is important but you are drawing conclusions based on flawed premises and inaccurate information.

For example, two of the top BASIS DC graduates this year (based on Ivy admissions) plan to pursue liberal arts majors in college.

And frankly I doubt that either of them spent the summer after 4th grade solving differential equations.

Chill out folks and let kids enjoy themselves.

We know all the BASIS seniors who cracked Ivies this year: case in point. The two you're thinking of took AP Calc in 8th or 9th grade and BC Calc the following year. Little chilling out involved.

ounts
I'm all for accelerated math, but this sounds... insane. I was a very good HS math student who was solid at competition math too. (Not like a superstar, but went to MathCounts Nationals in middle school, qualified for the AIME 3 times and USAMO once.) I went to HYP and majored in a subject that was heavy on math. I took BC Calc in 11th grade and that was considered very accelerated at the time (there were like 5-6 of us at my magnet HS) and there had only been 2 kids in school history (both of whom are now legitimately decorated professors, one of math & one of science) who accelerated more than that. The idea that BASIS would routinely put kids in BC Calc in 9th grade (especially when, AFAIK, BASIS hasn't had any competition math superstars in DC?) seems, frankly, acceleration for acceleration's sake. All the more so if those kids have already decided that they are not actually going on to study anything math related in college? Suggests BASIS just totally burned them out.

For context, BASIS seems like a perfect fit for one of my kids who is already accelerated in math, so I am not a BASIS basher by any stretch. I just had no idea it was so crazy acceleration-wise.

It's not unusual for BASIS 6th graders to test into algebra. In fact, several current seniors took algebra as 5th graders. Top math students are celebrated somewhat slavishly by adults in the building. I don't know about BASIS' competitive math track record, but don't remember an emphasis on competitions. But that was a couple heads ago: there's a new head almost every school year.

My son competes in ms math competitions and does decently. We left BASIS after grandparents offered to pay for a private. Kid was burning out in 7th grade and developing behavioral problems, bouncing off walls in the building (does not have ADHD) and there wasn't nearly enough parental involvement/community spirit for us.

[Anonymous]

^^It actually is unusual for BASIS 6th graders to test into Algebra. A total of four 6th graders are taking Algebra now, so less than 5 percent of the class.

[Anonymous]

They are not doing as much math acceleration as they once were. Still, if you are coming from DCPS doing some intense math work prior to MS is great advice no matter where you are headed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

Sure, math is important but you are drawing conclusions based on flawed premises and inaccurate information.

For example, two of the top BASIS DC graduates this year (based on Ivy admissions) plan to pursue liberal arts majors in college.

And frankly I doubt that either of them spent the summer after 4th grade solving differential equations.

Chill out folks and let kids enjoy themselves.

We know all the BASIS seniors who cracked Ivies this year: case in point. The two you're thinking of took AP Calc in 8th or 9th grade and BC Calc the
following year. Little chilling out involved.

BC Calc in 9th or 10th grade? Yeah, right.

[Anonymous]

Yes, that's right. A couple of this year's Ivy League-bound seniors took AP Calculus AB in 8th grade and BC in 9th grade. They scored high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, that's right. A couple of this year's Ivy League-bound seniors took AP Calculus AB in 8th grade and BC in 9th grade. They scored high.

The regular trajectory at Basis is calculus in 9th grade, right? My 7th grader has algebra this year, I think pre-calc in 8th and then calc in 9th? Which still seems crazy early to me (back in the dinosaur late 80s I took calc in 12th grade - and that was the advanced track).

[Anonymous]

You can take AP Calc AB in 9th grade, AP Calc BC in 10th, multivariable calc in 11th, and college math (differential equations, linear algebra, etc.) in 12th. But you don't have to do that track. Not every kid is super into math. So, you can, say, take AP Calc AB or BC in 11th grade and then statistics in 12th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, far and away the best way to help your child succeed at BASIS is to try to ensure that they're advanced in....math.

I'd spend the summer working to home your rising 5th grader's math skills. I'd look for a math camp, hire a tutor if you're not able to tutor yourself, have the kid work hard on good on-line programs most days. Simply put, advanced math students are celebrated from the get-go. If your kid can crack 6th grade algebra, they will start to enjoy not-so-subtle preferential treatment from faculty and admins.

At BASIS, if a middle school student is average at math, or below average, math homework demands before a burden as early as 6th grade.

It's worth keeping in mind that most of the high school students who are admitted to blue chip colleges--the stars of the program--do so mainly on the strength of their math skills. This is readily apparent with the MIT and Ivy-bound group. BASIS has the staff and resources to support advanced work in math and science theory vs. applied science beyond basic lab work, unless a student were to do an internship at a facility with better labs. What this means is that it's the math stars whose talents are nurtured and lauded more than students with aptitude in other areas.

You seem a little bitter about the focus on math, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, that's right. A couple of this year's Ivy League-bound seniors took AP Calculus AB in 8th grade and BC in 9th grade. They scored high.

The regular trajectory at Basis is calculus in 9th grade, right? My 7th grader has algebra this year, I think pre-calc in 8th and then calc in 9th? Which still seems crazy early to me (back in the dinosaur late 80s I took calc in 12th grade - and that was the advanced track).

Wrong. The regular trajectory is Calculus AB in 10th grade. Very advanced students can do it in 9th, but it is rare to get that placement, and Basis is very upfront about that. They also have a slower track that will have you do Calculus AB in 11th grade.

[Anonymous]

My kid was a math star at BASIS, on track for BC Calc in 9th or 10th grade.

What I'd like to see in DC is the emergence of a BASIS type program that isn't run by a corporate entity thousands of miles away, with an appealing campus, a curriculum that respects achievement outside the realm of math, and leadership that isn't of the revolving door variant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid was a math star at BASIS, on track for BC Calc in 9th or 10th grade.

What I'd like to see in DC is the emergence of a BASIS type program that isn't run by a corporate entity thousands of miles away, with an appealing campus, a curriculum that respects achievement outside the realm of math, and leadership that isn't of the revolving door variant.

What I'd like to see a is a thread in which a poster can ask a simple question, get answers, and not turn into a condemnation-by-anonymous-post of an entire school.