Data Goldmine: YoY Enrollment Patterns by School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bigger news to me would be the massive bleed of Basis kids in general. They enroll 150 at 5th I think? So 35 kids leave after the first year. By 9th grade only FIFTY kids are left? Yikes.

Those numbers are not new. The challenge is trying to assess the attrition without data from other schools. Because BASIS doesn't backfill, seats that empty are not replaced. Most other schools backfill so the numbers remain pretty constant. Latin, for instance, adds 15 kids in 9th and an average of 4 every year from 6th on up.

Before you and others with a hard on for BASIS chime in, this is a value neutral observation about data and NOT a discussion of whether they can or should backfill. It is a logical, data driven response to PP who is looking at a number that cannot be measured against other schools because other schools don't publish the number of kids who started in 5th/entry year.

Well, it seems that BASIS high school does lose less than 10 kids per year, it's just that they were all to schools outside the public DC system. That kind of surprises me, I would have expected a few to JR now and then. If a school has 59 9th graders and only 50 stay for 10th, that's not super wow. If a school has 51 9th graders and 50 stay for 10th, that's good.

I think people's argument about BASIS isn't that the students who attend it are miserable and they leave. It's that BASIS isn't anywhere near as good as its boosters would like others to think, and that it doesn't do a fair share of the more difficult work of the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, interesting that the folks who say Maury is increasingly sending kids to E-H appear to be right! 27 kids went from Maury to E-H last year?? Only 12 from Payne though, which is interesting...

S-H has decent buy-in from across its feeders, if still quite Watkins slanted (27 L-T, 29 JOW, 56 Watkins). That's definitely a foundation to grow from though.

Jefferson... all the people claiming Brent families were going there in any kind of numbers? Not even a little. Sub-10. Wow.

You beat me to this! This is "Exhibit A" for why people who post with certainty on DCUM are often times blowing BS and hope. More kids left DCPS/charters (17) than went from Brent to Jefferson. Compared to where rising 5th graders went in 22-23, Brent lost more kids to 5th grade in Latin I, Latin II and BASIS than went to Jefferson (<10) in 6th*.

*I realize these are two different class years, but the data still tells an incredible story. One not told by DCUM Brent boosters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bigger news to me would be the massive bleed of Basis kids in general. They enroll 150 at 5th I think? So 35 kids leave after the first year. By 9th grade only FIFTY kids are left? Yikes.

Those numbers are not new. The challenge is trying to assess the attrition without data from other schools. Because BASIS doesn't backfill, seats that empty are not replaced. Most other schools backfill so the numbers remain pretty constant. Latin, for instance, adds 15 kids in 9th and an average of 4 every year from 6th on up.

Before you and others with a hard on for BASIS chime in, this is a value neutral observation about data and NOT a discussion of whether they can or should backfill. It is a logical, data driven response to PP who is looking at a number that cannot be measured against other schools because other schools don't publish the number of kids who started in 5th/entry year.

Well, it seems that BASIS high school does lose less than 10 kids per year, it's just that they were all to schools outside the public DC system. That kind of surprises me, I would have expected a few to JR now and then. If a school has 59 9th graders and only 50 stay for 10th, that's not super wow. If a school has 51 9th graders and 50 stay for 10th, that's good.

I think people's argument about BASIS isn't that the students who attend it are miserable and they leave. It's that BASIS isn't anywhere near as good as its boosters would like others to think, and that it doesn't do a fair share of the more difficult work of the school system.

So, to summarize, BASIS parents are often defending BASIS and trying to explain that, notwithstanding the DCUM haters, BASIS families are often times quite happy and kids choose to remain for HS and are happy to have done so. Someone shows you data that says kids don't leave the HS for other charter or DCPS schools (as in zero) and your conclusion is that BASIS isn;t as good for those families (none of whom leave) as they say it is?

Also, BASIS families don't give a dam if you think BASIS does "its fair share". We're trying to get our kids educated. And, with all due respect, if you are IB for JR I don't really have patience for your commentary about what BASIS isn't doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

If you don't understand why it would be relevant to know whether kids leave for private schools and/or the district entirely vs DCPS/charters then you are blinded by your BASIS hater-aid and I can't help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

What does that even mean? A school isn't great for a kid if it is a bad fit for that kid. If the academics are too hard, it is a bad fit. If the kids wants to focus on music, it is a bad fit. If the kid wants to prioritize sports, it is a bad fit. If the commute makes holding down a job impossibe, it is a bad fit. What you don't seem to understand is that's ok. Everything doesn't have to be for everyone. If a kid left any school because it was a bad fit for that kid, that's a good thing for that kid and that school. Why is this concept so hard for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

What does that even mean? A school isn't great for a kid if it is a bad fit for that kid. If the academics are too hard, it is a bad fit. If the kids wants to focus on music, it is a bad fit. If the kid wants to prioritize sports, it is a bad fit. If the commute makes holding down a job impossibe, it is a bad fit. What you don't seem to understand is that's ok. Everything doesn't have to be for everyone. If a kid left any school because it was a bad fit for that kid, that's a good thing for that kid and that school. Why is this concept so hard for you?

BASIS boosters attribute any disenrollment to kids not being able to keep up academically. In my experience that is sometimes the reason, but not always. Sometimes people just don't think BASIS is that great.

[Anonymous]

I mean, from this data it looks like by the time high school rolls around most of the Basis kids have left the school already. (Having not dug into what sizes past cohorts were). If your kid can handle the middle school I guess they know what they’re getting for another 4 years of high school and thus would necessarily leave after 9th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

If you don't understand why it would be relevant to know whether kids leave for private schools and/or the district entirely vs DCPS/charters then you are blinded by your BASIS hater-aid and I can't help you.

I do think it's relevant, but I also think that if people want to attend JR, they're likely to leave BASIS for Deal or Hardy before 9th. So it doesn't really shock me that BASIS' high school enrollment is pretty stable. They have attrition from the middle school to other city public schools. Why do you think that happens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

What does that even mean? A school isn't great for a kid if it is a bad fit for that kid. If the academics are too hard, it is a bad fit. If the kids wants to focus on music, it is a bad fit. If the kid wants to prioritize sports, it is a bad fit. If the commute makes holding down a job impossibe, it is a bad fit. What you don't seem to understand is that's ok. Everything doesn't have to be for everyone. If a kid left any school because it was a bad fit for that kid, that's a good thing for that kid and that school. Why is this concept so hard for you?

BASIS boosters attribute any disenrollment to kids not being able to keep up academically. In my experience that is sometimes the reason, but not always. Sometimes people just don't think BASIS is that great.

Do you not know how to read? Post you replied to just laid out a bunch of different reasons kids might leave a school. You literally made their point for them that you can't see past your single mindedness and hatred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bigger news to me would be the massive bleed of Basis kids in general. They enroll 150 at 5th I think? So 35 kids leave after the first year. By 9th grade only FIFTY kids are left? Yikes.

Those numbers are not new. The challenge is trying to assess the attrition without data from other schools. Because BASIS doesn't backfill, seats that empty are not replaced. Most other schools backfill so the numbers remain pretty constant. Latin, for instance, adds 15 kids in 9th and an average of 4 every year from 6th on up.

Before you and others with a hard on for BASIS chime in, this is a value neutral observation about data and NOT a discussion of whether they can or should backfill. It is a logical, data driven response to PP who is looking at a number that cannot be measured against other schools because other schools don't publish the number of kids who started in 5th/entry year.

Well, it seems that BASIS high school does lose less than 10 kids per year, it's just that they were all to schools outside the public DC system. That kind of surprises me, I would have expected a few to JR now and then. If a school has 59 9th graders and only 50 stay for 10th, that's not super wow. If a school has 51 9th graders and 50 stay for 10th, that's good.

I think people's argument about BASIS isn't that the students who attend it are miserable and they leave. It's that BASIS isn't anywhere near as good as its boosters would like others to think, and that it doesn't do a fair share of the more difficult work of the school system.

So, to summarize, BASIS parents are often defending BASIS and trying to explain that, notwithstanding the DCUM haters, BASIS families are often times quite happy and kids choose to remain for HS and are happy to have done so. Someone shows you data that says kids don't leave the HS for other charter or DCPS schools (as in zero) and your conclusion is that BASIS isn;t as good for those families (none of whom leave) as they say it is?

Also, BASIS families don't give a dam if you think BASIS does "its fair share". We're trying to get our kids educated. And, with all due respect, if you are IB for JR I don't really have patience for your commentary about what BASIS isn't doing.

Typical BASIS booster anger and aggression. I do care about all the kids in the city, and the functioning of the system as a whole, and if you don't, well, that's between you and your conscience.

I believe that BASIS isn't that great a school. I believe that it's so-called "success" is the result of its demographics rather than of excellent teaching or whatever else. I believe that if you took a matching slice of JR students (those who have attended a well-performing school starting in 5th grade and who were on grade level almost every year since), it would look no worse than BASIS does. I am not IB for JR, rather I'm a parent who researched BASIS for my kid and decided not to apply at all.

I also believe that parents often stay at schools that aren't that great, or aren't that good a fit, for lack of a better option and because it's hard to move teenagers away from their friends. Like any other school in the city, some of its families are more satisfied than others, and I don't assume retention indicates actual satisfaction.

[Anonymous]

I was watching a clip of Jordan Klepper on TDS where Trump supporters make statements that they just KNOW are based on facts. When Jordan shows them evidence that their hardened opinions are based in provably false beliefs these people don't slow down. They double down, or try and just shift the narrative a tiny bit to say, well, what about [insert a separate topic here]. I'm watching the usual DCUM suspects react when faced with data and it is very much the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No student left BASIS for another DCPS or Charter school from 9th grade forward

Latin lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
Coolidge (after 9th)
LAYC Career Academy (after 10th and 11th)
Ballou STAY (after 11th)
Luke C Moore (after 11th)

SWW lost kid(s) (who stayed in DCPS/charter) to:
JR (after 9th, 10th and 11th)
Latin (after 11th)

Seems like the handwringing on DCUM is a lot of noise, but the actual data says that kids who attend these schools are content.

Huh? When I select BASIS and grades 9-12, I see at least one leaving for Coolidge, and some to Walls and Ellington.

BASIS high school retained student count:
8th into 9th: 78
9th into 10th: 50
10th into 11th: 63 (must have been a bigger cohort?)
11th into 12th: 42

That doesn't really spell satisfaction in my view.

Maybe double check your work my friend? You are sorting backwards, not forwards. The kids who left for Coolidge, Walls and Ellington did so after 8th. You also fundamentally misunderstand snapshot data; you can't look at numbers from different grades in the same year and conclude enrollment drops since those kids are only in one grade in 22-23.

Ironically, you just made my point for me. People like you with strong beliefs and big mouths draw conclusions that don't comport with facts. Even with the actual data in hand you still screw it up.

I do understand those things, I thought that when you said "from 9th grade forward" you meant to include the 8th-into-9th group. But it seems you did not.

I also do understand that BASIS cohorts are of varying sizes and that this is not retention data. That is why I added the parenthetical about cohort size. Even so, this is not a resounding endorsement of BASIS.

100% of kids who start 9th stay (or move out of the district schools). You would prefer higher retention?

It doesn't really matter to me whether they're leaving for schools in the district or in another state. We don't know how many kids are in that N<10 category, and since BASIS high school isn't that big a school, if they're losing 9 kids a year they have a problem. If it's just 1 kid a year, fine.

If you look at BASIS middle school retention, there data set is bigger. Kids rising from BASIS 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leave for DCI, Deal, Stuart-Hobson, Jefferson, Truth, Latin, Washington Global, CHML, Eliot-Hine, Sousa, Digital Pioneers, and Two Rivers. I suppose BASIS advocates would say that offloading low performers is what makes BASIS so great for the remaining kids. But we don't know from this data whether these kids left due to BASIS' wonderful "rigor", or whether they left because BASIS isn't really that great.

What does that even mean? A school isn't great for a kid if it is a bad fit for that kid. If the academics are too hard, it is a bad fit. If the kids wants to focus on music, it is a bad fit. If the kid wants to prioritize sports, it is a bad fit. If the commute makes holding down a job impossibe, it is a bad fit. What you don't seem to understand is that's ok. Everything doesn't have to be for everyone. If a kid left any school because it was a bad fit for that kid, that's a good thing for that kid and that school. Why is this concept so hard for you?

BASIS boosters attribute any disenrollment to kids not being able to keep up academically. In my experience that is sometimes the reason, but not always. Sometimes people just don't think BASIS is that great.

Do you not know how to read? Post you replied to just laid out a bunch of different reasons kids might leave a school. You literally made their point for them that you can't see past your single mindedness and hatred.

Ah BASIS parents, so angry and defensive. Yes, people leave schools for various reasons. So true. But one reason people leave BASIS is because it isn't actually that great. It just looks good because they're refusing to do things that might bring down their scores.

[Anonymous]

Not a single person from CMI got into Walls?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Bigger news to me would be the massive bleed of Basis kids in general. They enroll 150 at 5th I think? So 35 kids leave after the first year. By 9th grade only FIFTY kids are left? Yikes.

Those numbers are not new. The challenge is trying to assess the attrition without data from other schools. Because BASIS doesn't backfill, seats that empty are not replaced. Most other schools backfill so the numbers remain pretty constant. Latin, for instance, adds 15 kids in 9th and an average of 4 every year from 6th on up.

Before you and others with a hard on for BASIS chime in, this is a value neutral observation about data and NOT a discussion of whether they can or should backfill. It is a logical, data driven response to PP who is looking at a number that cannot be measured against other schools because other schools don't publish the number of kids who started in 5th/entry year.

Well, it seems that BASIS high school does lose less than 10 kids per year, it's just that they were all to schools outside the public DC system. That kind of surprises me, I would have expected a few to JR now and then. If a school has 59 9th graders and only 50 stay for 10th, that's not super wow. If a school has 51 9th graders and 50 stay for 10th, that's good.

I think people's argument about BASIS isn't that the students who attend it are miserable and they leave. It's that BASIS isn't anywhere near as good as its boosters would like others to think, and that it doesn't do a fair share of the more difficult work of the school system.

So, to summarize, BASIS parents are often defending BASIS and trying to explain that, notwithstanding the DCUM haters, BASIS families are often times quite happy and kids choose to remain for HS and are happy to have done so. Someone shows you data that says kids don't leave the HS for other charter or DCPS schools (as in zero) and your conclusion is that BASIS isn;t as good for those families (none of whom leave) as they say it is?

Also, BASIS families don't give a dam if you think BASIS does "its fair share". We're trying to get our kids educated. And, with all due respect, if you are IB for JR I don't really have patience for your commentary about what BASIS isn't doing.

Typical BASIS booster anger and aggression. I do care about all the kids in the city, and the functioning of the system as a whole, and if you don't, well, that's between you and your conscience.

I believe that BASIS isn't that great a school. I believe that it's so-called "success" is the result of its demographics rather than of excellent teaching or whatever else. I believe that if you took a matching slice of JR students (those who have attended a well-performing school starting in 5th grade and who were on grade level almost every year since), it would look no worse than BASIS does. I am not IB for JR, rather I'm a parent who researched BASIS for my kid and decided not to apply at all.

I also believe that parents often stay at schools that aren't that great, or aren't that good a fit, for lack of a better option and because it's hard to move teenagers away from their friends. Like any other school in the city, some of its families are more satisfied than others, and I don't assume retention indicates actual satisfaction.

I honestly feel sorry for you. This is a school you have never attended, have no first hand experience with and one you claim you didn't even want to attend, and yet you frequent DCUM to lecture parents who have kids at the school that the school their kids are at is not great? Because your research tells you more about what is a good school for their kids than their personal experience? Really? Wow.