Basis fills a gap that shouldn’t exist.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Other BASIS schools backfill -- the incoming kids take a placement exam and are then placed in an appropriate grade level (which might be lower than they were before, if they were coming from an easy school).

The DC Charter Board does not allow BASIS to do that. So, that's why BASIS DC doesn't backfill. It's not a huge conspiracy.

Can’t they use other standardized test results? Surely there are the rare superspecial unicorn children who could join without dragging down the whole school and ruining the experience for everyone.

BASIS would absolutely do it if they were allowed to (as evidenced by the fact that other schools in the network do.) of course there are kids who are capable of fitting in.

Again, the DC Charter Board is who is stopping this. They don't want placement exams, and they don't want kids placed below their year bc DC is very pro social promotion.

Take it up with the charter board if you want this changed.

But there are schools that do track?

Yes, there are schools that track. There are also schools that have put kids in the right grade. This is just false information that keeps getting repeated. The charter board has no such rule. There are schools that do it (though it counts against some of the report card measures the charter board does have - like 9th grade on track or on time graduation). There's no charter board rule against it.

+1. This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Other BASIS schools backfill -- the incoming kids take a placement exam and are then placed in an appropriate grade level (which might be lower than they were before, if they were coming from an easy school).

The DC Charter Board does not allow BASIS to do that. So, that's why BASIS DC doesn't backfill. It's not a huge conspiracy.

Can’t they use other standardized test results? Surely there are the rare superspecial unicorn children who could join without dragging down the whole school and ruining the experience for everyone.

BASIS would absolutely do it if they were allowed to (as evidenced by the fact that other schools in the network do.) of course there are kids who are capable of fitting in.

Again, the DC Charter Board is who is stopping this. They don't want placement exams, and they don't want kids placed below their year bc DC is very pro social promotion.

Take it up with the charter board if you want this changed.

But there are schools that do track?

Yes, there are schools that track. There are also schools that have put kids in the right grade. This is just false information that keeps getting repeated. The charter board has no such rule. There are schools that do it (though it counts against some of the report card measures the charter board does have - like 9th grade on track or on time graduation). There's no charter board rule against it.

1. Define tracking.

2. Name the schools that track.

3. Name the schools that track that have social promotion.

4. Post the links to the charters for the above schools.

[Anonymous]

AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th.

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

Please reference the legislation, rule, act etc that states this is not allowed in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

Please reference the legislation, rule, act etc that states this is not allowed in DC.

Here you go:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/38-1802.06

(b) Criteria for admission. — A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

It's a high bar in that kids in DCPS grade level math won't have had that material before, and that Basis teaches distinct sciences starting in 5th, so I'm sure there's a lot of material DCPS kids wouldn't have covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

It's a high bar in that kids in DCPS grade level math won't have had that material before, and that Basis teaches distinct sciences starting in 5th, so I'm sure there's a lot of material DCPS kids wouldn't have covered.

It really depends on the grade the kid is seeking to enter. For 6th grade entry, I would expect any bright kid to be able to reach the 60% threshold for passing, especially if they know ahead of time that they will be tested and work through the material using something like Khan academy. For 7th grade entry, a lot of kids in any metro area are on the "algebra in 7th grade track." So, any of them should be able to get a 60% on the Basis pre-algebra final from 6th grade.

Yes, it's true that kids trying to enter in 7th, like mine did, would start out behind in the sciences and might need some extra support. Sciences weren't included in any placement tests. The school just assumed that they might need to support kids entering at later grades, and the material cycles quite a bit. My kid didn't not have any issues with getting decent grades in 7th grade science after missing all of the 5th and 6th grade science content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

Please reference the legislation, rule, act etc that states this is not allowed in DC.

Here you go:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/38-1802.06

(b) Criteria for admission. — A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

You are misinterpreting the rule. You can't limit enrollment in the school on the basis of the factors listed. That has nothing to do with placement in a grade or program within the school. Also, most of the times when it is stated that this is "not allowed", the poster says it is not allowed by the charter board. Neither the charter board nor DC code restrict placement in a grade by public charter schools.

It's odd that this keeps coming up when BASIS has a strategy that seems to work. Is this just a way of answering the BASIS haters by saying it's not the fault of BASIS that it doesn't backfill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

It's a high bar in that kids in DCPS grade level math won't have had that material before, and that Basis teaches distinct sciences starting in 5th, so I'm sure there's a lot of material DCPS kids wouldn't have covered.

It really depends on the grade the kid is seeking to enter. For 6th grade entry, I would expect any bright kid to be able to reach the 60% threshold for passing, especially if they know ahead of time that they will be tested and work through the material using something like Khan academy. For 7th grade entry, a lot of kids in any metro area are on the "algebra in 7th grade track." So, any of them should be able to get a 60% on the Basis pre-algebra final from 6th grade.

Yes, it's true that kids trying to enter in 7th, like mine did, would start out behind in the sciences and might need some extra support. Sciences weren't included in any placement tests. The school just assumed that they might need to support kids entering at later grades, and the material cycles quite a bit. My kid didn't not have any issues with getting decent grades in 7th grade science after missing all of the 5th and 6th grade science content.

The sad reality in DC is that only a small fraction of school offer Algebra in 7th/geometry by 8th. Like, a handful, out of a couple dozen public middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

Please reference the legislation, rule, act etc that states this is not allowed in DC.

Here you go:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/38-1802.06

(b) Criteria for admission. — A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

You are misinterpreting the rule. You can't limit enrollment in the school on the basis of the factors listed. That has nothing to do with placement in a grade or program within the school. Also, most of the times when it is stated that this is "not allowed", the poster says it is not allowed by the charter board. Neither the charter board nor DC code restrict placement in a grade by public charter schools.

It's odd that this keeps coming up when BASIS has a strategy that seems to work. Is this just a way of answering the BASIS haters by saying it's not the fault of BASIS that it doesn't backfill?

I think you're misinterpreting the rule. Charter schools may limit enrollment to specific grade levels, meaning they aren't taking anyone for certain grades. There is nothing to suggest that they may use measures of academic ability to limit enrollment of a specific student to a grade in which they're enrolling other students.

Again, literally every single other Basis school does backfill, and the other Basis schools are quite successful with this practice. There's no strategy to keep kids out of the program by refusing to backfill. Occam's razor suggests that there's something in the DC law preventing the use of placement tests and not that the Basis franchise decided that they didn't feel like backfilling in DC when they're successfully doing so everywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

It's a high bar in that kids in DCPS grade level math won't have had that material before, and that Basis teaches distinct sciences starting in 5th, so I'm sure there's a lot of material DCPS kids wouldn't have covered.

It really depends on the grade the kid is seeking to enter. For 6th grade entry, I would expect any bright kid to be able to reach the 60% threshold for passing, especially if they know ahead of time that they will be tested and work through the material using something like Khan academy. For 7th grade entry, a lot of kids in any metro area are on the "algebra in 7th grade track." So, any of them should be able to get a 60% on the Basis pre-algebra final from 6th grade.

Yes, it's true that kids trying to enter in 7th, like mine did, would start out behind in the sciences and might need some extra support. Sciences weren't included in any placement tests. The school just assumed that they might need to support kids entering at later grades, and the material cycles quite a bit. My kid didn't not have any issues with getting decent grades in 7th grade science after missing all of the 5th and 6th grade science content.

The sad reality in DC is that only a small fraction of school offer Algebra in 7th/geometry by 8th. Like, a handful, out of a couple dozen public middle schools.

Yeah. I'd like to think that with a little bit of self-instruction, a bright and motivated incoming 7th grader on the "algebra in 8th track" would have some chance of scoring 60% or higher on the prealgebra test. A lot of the mathematical concepts spiral before reaching algebra, so a bright DCPS kid might still have a sufficient foundation. I would hope that the parents who really want Basis and were shut out of the 5th grade lottery would take whatever steps they needed for 6th or 7th grade admissions, providing that higher grade level admissions were allowed at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

I know it's not allowed. Basis DC would happily backfill if they were allowed to test the kids and make sure that the kids were academically ready, just like all of the AZ Basis schools. It's not even like the test is a very high bar. Kids entering just have to pass the exact same math and english comp tests that all of the Basis kids had to pass.

It's a high bar in that kids in DCPS grade level math won't have had that material before, and that Basis teaches distinct sciences starting in 5th, so I'm sure there's a lot of material DCPS kids wouldn't have covered.

It really depends on the grade the kid is seeking to enter. For 6th grade entry, I would expect any bright kid to be able to reach the 60% threshold for passing, especially if they know ahead of time that they will be tested and work through the material using something like Khan academy. For 7th grade entry, a lot of kids in any metro area are on the "algebra in 7th grade track." So, any of them should be able to get a 60% on the Basis pre-algebra final from 6th grade.

Yes, it's true that kids trying to enter in 7th, like mine did, would start out behind in the sciences and might need some extra support. Sciences weren't included in any placement tests. The school just assumed that they might need to support kids entering at later grades, and the material cycles quite a bit. My kid didn't not have any issues with getting decent grades in 7th grade science after missing all of the 5th and 6th grade science content.

The sad reality in DC is that only a small fraction of school offer Algebra in 7th/geometry by 8th. Like, a handful, out of a couple dozen public middle schools.

Yeah. I'd like to think that with a little bit of self-instruction, a bright and motivated incoming 7th grader on the "algebra in 8th track" would have some chance of scoring 60% or higher on the prealgebra test. A lot of the mathematical concepts spiral before reaching algebra, so a bright DCPS kid might still have a sufficient foundation. I would hope that the parents who really want Basis and were shut out of the 5th grade lottery would take whatever steps they needed for 6th or 7th grade admissions, providing that higher grade level admissions were allowed at all.

There are plenty of kids in DC who could handle BASIS in 6th, 7th and on up. But they don’t get the chance. The school is basically closed to new students even though they lose so many and graduate so few of the original fifth graders.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:[b]AZ Basis mom here. Just to clarify a few things: my oldest kid entered Basis in 7th grade. They were tested in the summer before 7th using the 6th grade math and language arts comprehensive exams. They passed with no issues, and it was assumed that they’d be able to jump in and handle all of the other subjects. If they had not passed, they would have entered in 6th grade. Basis is not placing kids multiple grade levels below their proper grade. It’s really common out here for kids to enter Basis after 5th. [/b]

Also, it’s hardly a fringe educational program. If anything, most public school programs are fringe with their educational fad of the week and excessive screen time. My kids’ school feels much more like a 1980s-ish traditional education, with textbooks, note taking by hand, exams, homework, minimal grade inflation, and minimal tech. It’s the opposite of being fringe.

This is not allowed in DC.

Please reference the legislation, rule, act etc that states this is not allowed in DC.

Here you go:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/38-1802.06

(b) Criteria for admission. — A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

You are misinterpreting the rule. You can't limit enrollment in the school on the basis of the factors listed. That has nothing to do with placement in a grade or program within the school. Also, most of the times when it is stated that this is "not allowed", the poster says it is not allowed by the charter board. Neither the charter board nor DC code restrict placement in a grade by public charter schools.

It's odd that this keeps coming up when BASIS has a strategy that seems to work. Is this just a way of answering the BASIS haters by saying it's not the fault of BASIS that it doesn't backfill?

I think you're misinterpreting the rule. Charter schools may limit enrollment to specific grade levels, meaning they aren't taking anyone for certain grades. There is nothing to suggest that they may use measures of academic ability to limit enrollment of a specific student to a grade in which they're enrolling other students.

Again, literally every single other Basis school does backfill, and the other Basis schools are quite successful with this practice. There's no strategy to keep kids out of the program by refusing to backfill. Occam's razor suggests that there's something in the DC law preventing the use of placement tests and not that the Basis franchise decided that they didn't feel like backfilling in DC when they're successfully doing so everywhere else.

No charter in DC is allowed to consider academic achievement as part of their admissions process. It's the law.