How to help child succeed at BASIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).

You don't have to take AB and BC Calc -- you just have to take 1 AP Calc course. I know in the past they offered Game Theory and Linear Algebra, but not sure if they are going forward. It probably depends on staffing, and how many people are taking these classes.

[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 is people stop using red herrings an meaningless WTU talk tracks to make arguments against something they don't like.

"Corporate entity" - if they educate my kid I don't care what their tax status is. DCPS wastes a heck of a lot more money than Basis. Are you against inefficiency and waste, or bumper stickers? If they get my kid into college with aid, do I care?

"Thousands of miles away" - who cares where the decisions are made? If this was a TX based company forcing TX right wing propaganda into the curriculum then maybe that would be relevant. Otherwise, what difference does it make? Do you think the fact that DCPS is based in DC makes them any more welcoming to feedback? IS that why there are so very many good (or even passable) High Schools in DC right now? The local leadership hasn't helped DCPS, so why should I care where the senior leadership sits?

"Revolving door" - as compared to what? Have you seen how many principal jobs are open in DCPS right now? Or perhaps you'd like to discuss the 6 Superintendents of DCPS in the last 11 years? Besides, the relevant measure isn't turnover it is whether the quality is declining and whether that turnover is the proximate cause of the degradation. Show me where the data suggests any degradation.

Congrats, PP! In a thread filled with nonsense you win the prize for dumbest post. Even "but there's no library or computer lab" lady makes more cogent arguments than you.

[Anonymous]

This Hunter College NYC MS & HS grad and person of color, with no dog in this fight, disagrees strongly.

DC Charter's decision to invite BASIS to set up shop, in a rehabbed office building no less, was a desperate act. The District is in the top 5 jurisdictions on ed spending per capita nationally, yet can't run a single high-performing by-right HS. The only other jurisdictions to work with BASIS Arizona (BASIS Educational Group) have been Texas and Louisiana, hardly bastions of excellence where public school performance is concerned.

A situation where a big East Coast city can't run home-grown advanced high school programs on a par with the best in other cities of similar size demands voter-driven ed reform, not additional BASIS campuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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 is people stop using red herrings an meaningless WTU talk tracks to make arguments against something they don't like.

"Corporate entity" - if they educate my kid I don't care what their tax status is. DCPS wastes a heck of a lot more money than Basis. Are you against inefficiency and waste, or bumper stickers? If they get my kid into college with aid, do I care?

"Thousands of miles away" - who cares where the decisions are made? If this was a TX based company forcing TX right wing propaganda into the curriculum then maybe that would be relevant. Otherwise, what difference does it make? Do you think the fact that DCPS is based in DC makes them any more welcoming to feedback? IS that why there are so very many good (or even passable) High Schools in DC right now? The local leadership hasn't helped DCPS, so why should I care where the senior leadership sits?

"Revolving door" - as compared to what? Have you seen how many principal jobs are open in DCPS right now? Or perhaps you'd like to discuss the 6 Superintendents of DCPS in the last 11 years? Besides, the relevant measure isn't turnover it is whether the quality is declining and whether that turnover is the proximate cause of the degradation. Show me where the data suggests any degradation.

Congrats, PP! In a thread filled with nonsense you win the prize for dumbest post. Even "but there's no library or computer lab" lady makes more cogent arguments than you.

Get a grip, mate. OP asked how to help their child succeed at BASIS. Many useful answers on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).

My guess is it's because Basis ties its grades to AP classes/tests, and there aren't many APs offered in those discrete subjects.

Exactly, the BASIS curriculum is geared toward scoring 4s and 5s on AP exams, as many as possible. This is why BASIS doesn't offer advanced language: it's not difficult to score high on an AP language exam junior year, after having studied a language for just 4 years. More than 80% of AP Chinese takers nationwide score 5s. Wilson/Jackson-Reed is the only DC public HS offering both post-AP language and post-BC Calc math.

What BASIS seems to be missing is that it can be very difficult for East Coast high SES white and Asian students to stand out in college admissions without post-AP academics outside math, or impressive school-sponsored/financed extra curriculars either. This is true even if applicants are DC public school students getting something of a break in college admissions that local private students don't enjoy. Many of the highest-achieving UMC white and Asian seniors who reached for colleges admitting in the single digits were shot down this year, something of a rude awakening on the part of parents.

Basis does offer post AP math senior year. Currently it offers stats and multivariable calc

AP stats is a really valuable course, especially for anyone heading into the social sciences. But it's not post-AP math. It's an AP that is much easier than Calc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This Hunter College NYC MS & HS grad and person of color, with no dog in this fight, disagrees strongly.

DC Charter's decision to invite BASIS to set up shop, in a rehabbed office building no less, was a desperate act. The District is in the top 5 jurisdictions on ed spending per capita nationally, yet can't run a single high-performing by-right HS. The only other jurisdictions to work with BASIS Arizona (BASIS Educational Group) have been Texas and Louisiana, hardly bastions of excellence where public school performance is concerned.

A situation where a big East Coast city can't run home-grown advanced high school programs on a par with the best in other cities of similar size demands voter-driven ed reform, not additional BASIS campuses.

As a Hunter lifer... I don't exactly disagree. But I also plan to lottery my kids for BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).

You don't have to take AB and BC Calc -- you just have to take 1 AP Calc course. I know in the past they offered Game Theory and Linear Algebra, but not sure if they are going forward. It probably depends on staffing, and how many people are taking these classes.

Is AP Calc mandatory?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 is people stop using red herrings an meaningless WTU talk tracks to make arguments against something they don't like.

"Corporate entity" - if they educate my kid I don't care what their tax status is. DCPS wastes a heck of a lot more money than Basis. Are you against inefficiency and waste, or bumper stickers? If they get my kid into college with aid, do I care?

"Thousands of miles away" - who cares where the decisions are made? If this was a TX based company forcing TX right wing propaganda into the curriculum then maybe that would be relevant. Otherwise, what difference does it make? Do you think the fact that DCPS is based in DC makes them any more welcoming to feedback? IS that why there are so very many good (or even passable) High Schools in DC right now? The local leadership hasn't helped DCPS, so why should I care where the senior leadership sits?

"Revolving door" - as compared to what? Have you seen how many principal jobs are open in DCPS right now? Or perhaps you'd like to discuss the 6 Superintendents of DCPS in the last 11 years? Besides, the relevant measure isn't turnover it is whether the quality is declining and whether that turnover is the proximate cause of the degradation. Show me where the data suggests any degradation.

Congrats, PP! In a thread filled with nonsense you win the prize for dumbest post. Even "but there's no library or computer lab" lady makes more cogent arguments than you.

Get a grip, mate. OP asked how to help their child succeed at BASIS. Many useful answers on this thread.

Yes. Many useful answers. And also some dimwits making nonsensical arguments. To which I chose to reply. Don't like? Don't read it.

P.S. Just so we are clear, you objected to me replying to an off topic response because it wasn't responsive to OP's question, and to make that point clear...you replied to my off topic reply? Do you see the irony?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).

You don't have to take AB and BC Calc -- you just have to take 1 AP Calc course. I know in the past they offered Game Theory and Linear Algebra, but not sure if they are going forward. It probably depends on staffing, and how many people are taking these classes.

Is AP Calc mandatory?

If you don't know this and you haven't asked this at one of the 8 open houses or welcome sessions then you (1) don't have a kid at Basis and (2) aren't currently considering Basis. WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU CARE!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This Hunter College NYC MS & HS grad and person of color, with no dog in this fight, disagrees strongly.

DC Charter's decision to invite BASIS to set up shop, in a rehabbed office building no less, was a desperate act. The District is in the top 5 jurisdictions on ed spending per capita nationally, yet can't run a single high-performing by-right HS. The only other jurisdictions to work with BASIS Arizona (BASIS Educational Group) have been Texas and Louisiana, hardly bastions of excellence where public school performance is concerned.

A situation where a big East Coast city can't run home-grown advanced high school programs on a par with the best in other cities of similar size demands voter-driven ed reform, not additional BASIS campuses.

Whether or not I agree with you, I can't wait for DC to get their act together because I need a good education for my child now. I'm glad we have BASIS as an option. Even if it isn't perfect, there is no perfect public school in this town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).

My guess is it's because Basis ties its grades to AP classes/tests, and there aren't many APs offered in those discrete subjects.

Exactly, the BASIS curriculum is geared toward scoring 4s and 5s on AP exams, as many as possible. This is why BASIS doesn't offer advanced language: it's not difficult to score high on an AP language exam junior year, after having studied a language for just 4 years. More than 80% of AP Chinese takers nationwide score 5s. Wilson/Jackson-Reed is the only DC public HS offering both post-AP language and post-BC Calc math.

What BASIS seems to be missing is that it can be very difficult for East Coast high SES white and Asian students to stand out in college admissions without post-AP academics outside math, or impressive school-sponsored/financed extra curriculars either. This is true even if applicants are DC public school students getting something of a break in college admissions that local private students don't enjoy. Many of the highest-achieving UMC white and Asian seniors who reached for colleges admitting in the single digits were shot down this year, something of a rude awakening on the part of parents.

Basis does offer post AP math senior year. Currently it offers stats and multivariable calc

AP stats is a really valuable course, especially for anyone heading into the social sciences. But it's not post-AP math. It's an AP that is much easier than Calc.

Somewhat incorrect. They offer capstone stats for 12th grade, which has AP Stats and Calc as prerequisites. My DD will be taking precalc in 9th, AP Calc AB in 10th, AP stats in 11th, and capstone Stats in 12th. This sequence is ideal for the kids not majoring in math, engineering, or physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This Hunter College NYC MS & HS grad and person of color, with no dog in this fight, disagrees strongly.

DC Charter's decision to invite BASIS to set up shop, in a rehabbed office building no less, was a desperate act. The District is in the top 5 jurisdictions on ed spending per capita nationally, yet can't run a single high-performing by-right HS. The only other jurisdictions to work with BASIS Arizona (BASIS Educational Group) have been Texas and Louisiana, hardly bastions of excellence where public school performance is concerned.

A situation where a big East Coast city can't run home-grown advanced high school programs on a par with the best in other cities of similar size demands voter-driven ed reform, not additional BASIS campuses.

Clearly you are not from here because you lack a fundamental understanding of how the Charter system works and the scale of DC and its schools. I haven't time to explain it all, but here are just a couple of things you got wrong.

*DC didn't "invite" Basis to set up shop here. DC has a process by which charter schools apply to be approved by the PCSB. They applied. They were approved Your turn of phrase implies some sort of improper entanglement.

*DC didn't give Basis (or any Charter) their buildings. Or ask them to set up there. That's not how it works. Charters are required to fund their own physical infrastructure (as start-ups and as going concerns).

*Basis DC was the first Basis school outside of Arizona. It opened here because DC is required by Federal Law to allow charters so it makes sense that an operator would want to locate here. LA and TX are also charter friendly, so, again, makes sense they would set up shop there as well. KIPP is also in those states. KIPP started in NY and TX. What exactly is your point in bringing up those cities?

*DC is NOT a large east coast city. It isn't a large anything. Based on your blind ignorance to our demographics can I assume you don't live in the DC area? Our population in the last census was @700,000. Fairfax County VA has more than a million. PG County has more than 900,000. We aren't even the largest district the DMV!

*School enrollment in your beloved NYC is more than a million kids. There are @50% more kids in NYC schools than residents of DC! Heck, Fairfax county has 178,000 kids compared to the 100,000 in DC (1/2 of which are in charters). You are comparing apples and oranges.

You are entitled to your opinion. Must you so blatantly expose your ignorance on the very topic on which you purport to speak?

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in DC since the 90s, sent my kids to charters and DCPS for the last 9 years. Turned down a BASIS spot. Admins seemed too young, inexperienced yet full of themselves, drank far too much of the Arizona Kool-aid. It’s sad to me that BASIS is the best we can do for our best and brightest EotP. Nothing like the wonderful, joyful, contrarian education I got at Hunter. To each her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in DC since the 90s, sent my kids to charters and DCPS for the last 9 years. Turned down a BASIS spot. Admins seemed too young, inexperienced yet full of themselves, drank far too much of the Arizona Kool-aid. It’s sad to me that BASIS is the best we can do for our best and brightest EotP. Nothing like the wonderful, joyful, contrarian education I got at Hunter. To each her own.

Really curious what your plan is for middle school, since you seem to care about academics. Unless you're inbound for Deal, in which case all this patting yourself on the back is really gross. Or inventing this persona, which seems more likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in DC since the 90s, sent my kids to charters and DCPS for the last 9 years. Turned down a BASIS spot. Admins seemed too young, inexperienced yet full of themselves, drank far too much of the Arizona Kool-aid. It’s sad to me that BASIS is the best we can do for our best and brightest EotP. Nothing like the wonderful, joyful, contrarian education I got at Hunter. To each her own.

What does that mean?