BASIS attrition after middle school- why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP above is making a valid point that you guys don't want to deal with.

BASIS DC is an ultra-conservative school academically built on a limited AP curriculum--they teach about half of the 32 AP subjects--run by admins chosen by franchise leaders in Arizona. The franchise runs off a hidebound formula for elite college admissions which is almost military in they way it's implemented. Deviate openly from the narrow BASIS AP success path and your family will no longer be welcome in high school. If the BASIS approach works for your family, fantastic.

For example, if the kid wants to study an "obscure" or "exotic" language, like Japanese (AP language), Russian or Arabic, or to prep for Cambridge Islamic Studies or Marine Biology exams, BASIS admins will discourage the kid.

I'm not saying this isn't true, it just seems like a very specific criticism that isn't very relevant to a big group of parents, given that the other places we'd send our kids mostly have the same issues. In the category of "criticisms of BASIS", the building, pressure, and extracurricular limitations are a lot more relevant to me as the parent of a fourth grader because those are things I actually can do better for my kid somewhere else (at the cost of missing out on the things BASIS does better than those other schools.)

Specific criticism or acknowledgement of a limiting overarching philosophy/world view? Yes, most BASIS DC parents are happy to roll with admins' narrow-mindedness and outdated thinking about elite college admissions. Fact is, the franchise still meets with reasonable success doing what they're doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an Ivy alum who's interviewed DC applicants, mostly public school students, since the late 90s. My spouse has long interviewed for a different Ivy.

As far as we can tell, no question that impressive off-beat interests and achievements give academically solid applicants a leg up in Ivy admissions these days.

BASIS doesn't seem to get it. I'd wager that more BASIS DC students would be admitted to our Ivies if the school encouraged singular interests and quirky academic achievement. Marine biology, yes. Hint: TJ in Fairfax has a marine biology research lab.

I am a long-time Ivy interviewer as well, and have interviewed lots of kids in DC.

A number of BASIS students have been admitted to the college.

As far as I can tell, BASIS certainly doesn’t seem to have discouraged those kids from doing anything.

[Anonymous]

Not buying it. Case in point:

Two or three dozen 5th graders enter BASIS DC with high proficiency in a language tested by AP, generally having learned it in a DC charter ES immersion program.

Come 8th grade, they're forced to study a language (generally the one they learned when they were small, to keep things simple) at the beginning level. For years.

[Anonymous]

No option at BASIS to study a language at school in 5th-7th grade, or in 8th or 9th grades beyond the beginning level. The MS "linguistics" classes don't cut it. No self-study language options supported by BASIS using commonly available language software either. That's the way BASIS does business.

Sure thing, your Ivy loves one-size-fits all curricula. Ours, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you are writing more as a former BASIS parent with a chip on your shoulder, not an Ivy interviewer.

Your kid found the language classes too easy and BASIS refused to pay for a Duolingo subscription for some other language? I don’t think any college, Ivy or not, would care about that.

BASIS requires 5 years of a single foreign language (Chinese, Spanish, French, or Latin). DCPS high school only requires 2 years of a foreign language. Granted that middle/high school foreign language instruction in the US tends to be pretty bad but I don’t really think that colleges are discounting BASIS for de-emphasizing foreign languages.

Plus, a recent BASIS grad went to an Ivy after self-studying a language that they didn’t take at BASIS and after acing the AP exam for that language. BASIS supported that fully. I don’t see any evidence that BASIS is discouraging kids from pursuing languages or interests outside of school. In fact, the opposite is true.

[Anonymous]

Former high school parent, not an Ivy interviewer. Post above is more than a little biased. BASIS is an exam prep factory, little more. It's a good factory, but still a factory. No, BASIS doesn't support anything they're not teaching, "fully" or otherwise, not under the current HoS. In our experience, if your kid wants to take an unusual exam, you book it at another school well in advance. Their dumb language policy makes it tough for kids to take and ace AP exams before 11th grade (vs. math APs, taken as early as 8th grades) or 2 AP languages. You can take what you can get from BASIS for your family for as long as you can stand the place.

[Anonymous]

The lack of ability to take a foreign language at a more advanced level sooner than 8th grade at BASIS is disappointing. But it wasn’t a deal breaker for us when we considered that schools that do emphasize foreign language studies around here seem to do so at the expense of other subjects that we happen to value more. Families who value foreign language above all else should not choose BASIS. This has been discussed on DCUM ad nauseam.

Don’t come to BASIS and complain about the foreign language program - they don’t hide the info on this so you make a knowing choice to come to BASIS. Lots of students learn languages and other subjects of interest outside of school. It can be tricky when DC has lots of traffic and BASIS has lots of studying or homework, but it can be done.

I’ll note that so many middle school students love the linguistics class and the teacher for that class is phenomenal.

[Anonymous]

I suspect that nobody much would complain about the BASIS foreign language program if uptight DC admins had the good sense to leave you alone when you're on track for a high score in an AP language as early as 9th grade. My sibling's kids attend a BASIS AZ school where they have permission for self prep on AP Mandarin (native-speaking family) without having to take the silly middle school linguistics class or any language at a beginning level. Apparently, the BASIS DC approach to language learning isn't universal in the the franchise's national constellation of middle schools and high schools. DC's problem is mainly leadership vs. policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect that nobody much would complain about the BASIS foreign language program if uptight DC admins had the good sense to leave you alone when you're on track for a high score in an AP language as early as 9th grade. My sibling's kids attend a BASIS AZ school where they have permission for self prep on AP Mandarin (native-speaking family) without having to take the silly middle school linguistics class or any language at a beginning level. Apparently, the BASIS DC approach to language learning isn't universal in the the franchise's national constellation of middle schools and high schools. DC's problem is mainly leadership vs. policy.

Oh goodie! Have we reached that point where people who don't send their kids to BASIS chime in tell us what schools 2300 miles away with vastly different funding models, resources and admissions policies do? My brother sends his kids to schools in Edgemont (the ritzy part of Scarsdale). Wanna hear about how much better their schools are? No, you don't, because YOU DON'T LIVE THERE!!!

[Anonymous]

Note to all the I'm an "Ivy interviewer" folks. I worked for 15+ years in undergraduate admissions at an Ivy league school (I won't name it but I can tell you it is in Cambridge, MA). I really wish you people could hear how we talked about you. Long ago (until maybe the early 90s I'm told) the alumni/a interview was a meaningful part of the admissions assessment. That hasn't been true for decades. Now it is an exercise perpetuated by inertia and our alumni office's desire to continue to keep a bunch of self important jerks engaged with their school. If you aren't a member of one the boards and/or a 7 figure donor the school doesn't give a damn what you say. It never fails that the interviewers who are least important always think they are the most essential voices in admissions. You work in some government office next to people with degrees from UMD or UMass and you think the fact that you majored in English Lit in 2004 from "an Ivy" means a thing? You go through life thinking you are special. Trust me, the admissions officers see you as self centered, self-important jerks desperately clinging to degrees from days long ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Note to all the I'm an "Ivy interviewer" folks. I worked for 15+ years in undergraduate admissions at an Ivy league school (I won't name it but I can tell you it is in Cambridge, MA). I really wish you people could hear how we talked about you. Long ago (until maybe the early 90s I'm told) the alumni/a interview was a meaningful part of the admissions assessment. That hasn't been true for decades. Now it is an exercise perpetuated by inertia and our alumni office's desire to continue to keep a bunch of self important jerks engaged with their school. If you aren't a member of one the boards and/or a 7 figure donor the school doesn't give a damn what you say. It never fails that the interviewers who are least important always think they are the most essential voices in admissions. You work in some government office next to people with degrees from UMD or UMass and you think the fact that you majored in English Lit in 2004 from "an Ivy" means a thing? You go through life thinking you are special. Trust me, the admissions officers see you as self centered, self-important jerks desperately clinging to degrees from days long ago.

Bitter much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Note to all the I'm an "Ivy interviewer" folks. I worked for 15+ years in undergraduate admissions at an Ivy league school (I won't name it but I can tell you it is in Cambridge, MA). I really wish you people could hear how we talked about you. Long ago (until maybe the early 90s I'm told) the alumni/a interview was a meaningful part of the admissions assessment. That hasn't been true for decades. Now it is an exercise perpetuated by inertia and our alumni office's desire to continue to keep a bunch of self important jerks engaged with their school. If you aren't a member of one the boards and/or a 7 figure donor the school doesn't give a damn what you say. It never fails that the interviewers who are least important always think they are the most essential voices in admissions. You work in some government office next to people with degrees from UMD or UMass and you think the fact that you majored in English Lit in 2004 from "an Ivy" means a thing? You go through life thinking you are special. Trust me, the admissions officers see you as self centered, self-important jerks desperately clinging to degrees from days long ago.

Love this

[Anonymous]

As a BASIS parent I got tired of hearing from admins that almost all of the academic policies in force at the DC campys were set in Arizona, by franchise leaders. I stopped believing it after a point. Yes, campus leadership matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Note to all the I'm an "Ivy interviewer" folks. I worked for 15+ years in undergraduate admissions at an Ivy league school (I won't name it but I can tell you it is in Cambridge, MA). I really wish you people could hear how we talked about you. Long ago (until maybe the early 90s I'm told) the alumni/a interview was a meaningful part of the admissions assessment. That hasn't been true for decades. Now it is an exercise perpetuated by inertia and our alumni office's desire to continue to keep a bunch of self important jerks engaged with their school. If you aren't a member of one the boards and/or a 7 figure donor the school doesn't give a damn what you say. It never fails that the interviewers who are least important always think they are the most essential voices in admissions. You work in some government office next to people with degrees from UMD or UMass and you think the fact that you majored in English Lit in 2004 from "an Ivy" means a thing? You go through life thinking you are special. Trust me, the admissions officers see you as self centered, self-important jerks desperately clinging to degrees from days long ago.

Bitter much?

Not at all. My colleagues and I found you all amusing and tragic. You read what I wrote and you saw "bitterness"?

Thanks for illustrating my point for me.

[Anonymous]

If you are an elite college alumni interviewer, you see each year which of the kids in the sample that you interview are admitted, waitlisted, or rejected. It is a window into admissions even if the alumni report and recommendations is given little to no weight.