Basis DC feedback sought

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

Agree 10,000+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

NP here.
Maybe this is one of the reason why Walls is requesting for the APs to be retaken. Walls has a good reputation and a student who has mastered a college-level subject by scoring a "5" should not be struggling in the same subject. Isn't this why colleges give credit for AP courses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

NP here.
Maybe this is one of the reason why Walls is requesting for the APs to be retaken. Walls has a good reputation and a student who has mastered a college-level subject by scoring a "5" should not be struggling in the same subject. Isn't this why colleges give credit for AP courses?

I'm the PP whose kid chose to stay at BASIS for high school for this reason.

Walls just doesn't want to juggle its schedules. They talked about how AP World History is a core class, everyone should have the same experience. They told my DS that retaking the class and exam shouldn't be a big deal since he'd get an easy A/5.

As for the gossipy TA's anecdote, surely anyone who is at a university knows that taking AP classes and passing an AP exam is not a guarantee of success in college classes, regardless of where one attended high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

NP here.
Maybe this is one of the reason why Walls is requesting for the APs to be retaken. Walls has a good reputation and a student who has mastered a college-level subject by scoring a "5" should not be struggling in the same subject. Isn't this why colleges give credit for AP courses?

Walls could just test the incoming BASIS students who have passed the AP exam. Ask them to take a practice AP exam and prove they have mastered the subject (or not), the same as they do for math now.

But they won't.

[Anonymous]

All DCPS needs to give a credit in a math course is a full year of that subject. Basis could put a full year of Algebra I, Geometry, etc. on their transcript and DCPS would give the kids credit when they transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All DCPS needs to give a credit in a math course is a full year of that subject. Basis could put a full year of Algebra I, Geometry, etc. on their transcript and DCPS would give the kids credit when they transfer.

BASIS' transcripts say:

Alg 1/Geometry
Alg 2/Geometry
PreCalculus

The math curriculum covers Geometry over 2 years. Until a year ago, the word "Geometry" didn't show up on the transcript which did create issues.

Last year BASIS changed the class name to reflect the content and help students who leave BASIS for other schools. But DCPS doesn't care about what's on the transcript. They still require students to test out of Alg 1, Geometry and Alg 2, precalc by taking multiple unit tests (not just a final exam).

To be fair, I was told they does the same thing to students coming from any charter (not just BASIS) or private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

NP here.
Maybe this is one of the reason why Walls is requesting for the APs to be retaken. Walls has a good reputation and a student who has mastered a college-level subject by scoring a "5" should not be struggling in the same subject. Isn't this why colleges give credit for AP courses?

Walls could just test the incoming BASIS students who have passed the AP exam. Ask them to take a practice AP exam and prove they have mastered the subject (or not), the same as they do for math now.

But they won't.

Retesting is fine for <4 on the AP, but why in the world wouldn’t a DCPS high school accept a student with a 5? Arrogant or lazy or both?

[Anonymous]

Oh, maaaayyybbeee SWW teaches Wold History AP so well that they should all earn 6s on the AP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a TA in a very reputable college. One of her students is a top BASIS DC graduate with very high recommendations. She is totally confused as the young man who has passed multiple APs with "5" s is struggling in a subject which he supposedly excelled in.

Your friend should lose her position for discussing a student’s performance with you. University faculty and staff can’t even discuss a student’s performance with the students’s parent without the student’s explicit permission.

She is in violation of federal laws and her university’s policies. It reflects far more poorly on her than on the supposedly struggling student.

NP here.
Maybe this is one of the reason why Walls is requesting for the APs to be retaken. Walls has a good reputation and a student who has mastered a college-level subject by scoring a "5" should not be struggling in the same subject. Isn't this why colleges give credit for AP courses?

Walls could just test the incoming BASIS students who have passed the AP exam. Ask them to take a practice AP exam and prove they have mastered the subject (or not), the same as they do for math now.

But they won't.

Retesting is fine for <4 on the AP, but why in the world wouldn’t a DCPS high school accept a student with a 5? Arrogant or lazy or both?

Actually a 3 is passing. Most colleges - including elites - give credit for a 4 or 5. But yeah DCPS knows better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All DCPS needs to give a credit in a math course is a full year of that subject. Basis could put a full year of Algebra I, Geometry, etc. on their transcript and DCPS would give the kids credit when they transfer.

BASIS' transcripts say:

Alg 1/Geometry
Alg 2/Geometry
PreCalculus

The math curriculum covers Geometry over 2 years. Until a year ago, the word "Geometry" didn't show up on the transcript which did create issues.

Last year BASIS changed the class name to reflect the content and help students who leave BASIS for other schools. But DCPS doesn't care about what's on the transcript. They still require students to test out of Alg 1, Geometry and Alg 2, precalc by taking multiple unit tests (not just a final exam).

To be fair, I was told they does the same thing to students coming from any charter (not just BASIS) or private school.

It seems fair to me that a transferring student from BASIS to a DCPS high school should take a math test to place out of Algebra 1 & 2, Geo, etc. They get a chance to test out and if they don't, it seems like it would be good for them to repeat the class. These are important core classes that every student should master. However, shouldn't all incoming students be tested in Math for the same reason, even including students from DCPS Middle schools? Or is this too costly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is in the upper school at BASIS and has been doing well. For sure it's been a lot of work. 5th wasn't bad but it ramped up considerably over the next couple of years but surprisingly now DC has less homework than in previous years despite having a pretty big number of AP courses. I think those first couple of years laid down a good foundation and DC built up organizational skills and self discipline along with getting a good handle on essay writing and mechanics of AP testing. We honestly don't know what good alternative there'd be. We know a few families that left for Walls, but there are distinctly mixed reviews there - in many cases, Walls actually had kids going backward and retaking stuff they had already mastered which bewildered and frustrated families, I suspect because Walls can't really support accelerated students.

At least in math, some of those Basis students transferring to Walls are reTaking classes because they couldn’t perform on the placement tests. Perhaps basis taught it too fast, too young and the material wasn’t retained.

This is bullshit. I heard the assessment test was only 10 questions which to is not an accurate assessment. Also, many of these kids took Algebra several year prior to taking the SWW test. Frankly, I think SWW should honor the passing grades in math from BASIS and allow the student to take the next logical class if they passed the classes at BASIS. It should be apparent within a few weeks whether the placement was correct or not which would still be time enough to move to another math class if needed.

Also, BASIS math classes are proven and tried and true. The curriculum has been used since the BASIS inception in Arizona about 2 decades ago. The students average 3000 to 3500 problems in math a year, weekly assessments, pre-term comps, and final comps. Their have an excellent track record for students passing AP calculus too. Enough said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All DCPS needs to give a credit in a math course is a full year of that subject. Basis could put a full year of Algebra I, Geometry, etc. on their transcript and DCPS would give the kids credit when they transfer.

BASIS' transcripts say:

Alg 1/Geometry
Alg 2/Geometry
PreCalculus

The math curriculum covers Geometry over 2 years. Until a year ago, the word "Geometry" didn't show up on the transcript which did create issues.

Last year BASIS changed the class name to reflect the content and help students who leave BASIS for other schools. But DCPS doesn't care about what's on the transcript. They still require students to test out of Alg 1, Geometry and Alg 2, precalc by taking multiple unit tests (not just a final exam).

To be fair, I was told they does the same thing to students coming from any charter (not just BASIS) or private school.

It seems fair to me that a transferring student from BASIS to a DCPS high school should take a math test to place out of Algebra 1 & 2, Geo, etc. They get a chance to test out and if they don't, it seems like it would be good for them to repeat the class. These are important core classes that every student should master. However, shouldn't all incoming students be tested in Math for the same reason, even including students from DCPS Middle schools? Or is this too costly?

Again this is bullshit. If a student comes from a DCPS or DCPCS and has passing scores in these classes then why not try them in the next logical class. Same goes for geometry at BASIS which BASIS clearly teaches with Algebra 1 and 2. Also BASIS students have a good track record on the PARCC math scores as well. This rule is just DCPS being stupid and inflexible. So much for attracting students away from charters Not!

[Anonymous]

Basis DC is a lot of fun but it is a joke school. My average child (3s on every PARCC since 3rd grade, struggles with math) had received all 90s-99s for 2.5 years. This year there is a play. He does Latin, art, drama, music and gets exposed to some STEM subjects. It gets press as the smart kid school but that's just compared to other DC public schools. If I had a truly gifted student, I'd pay for BASIS McLean but my kid is doing fine here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All DCPS needs to give a credit in a math course is a full year of that subject. Basis could put a full year of Algebra I, Geometry, etc. on their transcript and DCPS would give the kids credit when they transfer.

BASIS' transcripts say:

Alg 1/Geometry
Alg 2/Geometry
PreCalculus

The math curriculum covers Geometry over 2 years. Until a year ago, the word "Geometry" didn't show up on the transcript which did create issues.

Last year BASIS changed the class name to reflect the content and help students who leave BASIS for other schools. But DCPS doesn't care about what's on the transcript. They still require students to test out of Alg 1, Geometry and Alg 2, precalc by taking multiple unit tests (not just a final exam).

To be fair, I was told they does the same thing to students coming from any charter (not just BASIS) or private school.

It seems fair to me that a transferring student from BASIS to a DCPS high school should take a math test to place out of Algebra 1 & 2, Geo, etc. They get a chance to test out and if they don't, it seems like it would be good for them to repeat the class. These are important core classes that every student should master. However, shouldn't all incoming students be tested in Math for the same reason, even including students from DCPS Middle schools? Or is this too costly?

Again this is bullshit. If a student comes from a DCPS or DCPCS and has passing scores in these classes then why not try them in the next logical class. Same goes for geometry at BASIS which BASIS clearly teaches with Algebra 1 and 2. Also BASIS students have a good track record on the PARCC math scores as well. This rule is just DCPS being stupid and inflexible. So much for attracting students away from charters Not!

Okay, but if a student doesn't pass the assessment test, that is a concern. If the assessment test is not accurate then that is a different story, but these are two separate issues. And just because a BASIS student does ~ 3000+ problems a year does not mean much. The problems are almost all drill and kill. There isn't much critical thinking skills that are being used. In fact, a student can do the homework and get every single problem wrong and still get credit for doing the homework because there is no penalty for wrong answers or at least that is the case with my DC who is now in 6th grade. And the PARCC math scores are not the be all end all in tests. There are a lot of issues with it. Besides, if according to you, a BASIS student does well on the PARCC math test (given the "good" track record at BASIS) then a simple assessment test should be nothing at all to worry about.