Middle Schools for Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

Sure, but that is for all grades. BASIS is 100% lottery for 5th grade so you would expect the 5th grade PARCC scores there to be relatively lower than, say, 8th grade.

The fair comparison is to look at 8th grade PARCC scores, when kids have been at BASIS for at least 3 years. Looking at those scores, BASIS has the top PARCC scores in both reading and math in DC (82% 4+ ELA and 82% 4+ math).

We’re headed to BASIS but why would it be more fair to compare 8th grade, after BASIS weeded out the kids who can’t hack it, instead of 5th grade, where BASIS is stuck with all the kids who lottery in, just like Jefferson?

Because the 5th grade results reflect what the kids learned at their previous school not Basis.

How does that make sense? Testing occurs 7-8 months after school starts.

Are you that dense?

What best represents how a school is doing? A test of kids who attended other schools for years and then took a test 7-8 months into a new school or a test that occurs after the kids have attended the same school for 3 1/2 years?

That would be like saying you should judge Harvard's education by how well freshman at Harvard test.

Still, regardless, BASIS has great scores compared to other schools. Maybe that is due somewhat to self-selection for 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

BASIS 5th graders get the scores they do mainly because they're mostly upper-middle class kids, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS 5th graders get the scores they do mainly because they're mostly upper-middle class kids, period.

Why are their scores so low, then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS 5th graders get the scores they do mainly because they're mostly upper-middle class kids, period.

Why are their scores so low, then?

Low? BASIS and Deal compete for the highest math scores in the city for every subgroup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS 5th graders get the scores they do mainly because they're mostly upper-middle class kids, period.

Why are their scores so low, then?

The scores are among the highest in DC even in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

Sure, but that is for all grades. BASIS is 100% lottery for 5th grade so you would expect the 5th grade PARCC scores there to be relatively lower than, say, 8th grade.

The fair comparison is to look at 8th grade PARCC scores, when kids have been at BASIS for at least 3 years. Looking at those scores, BASIS has the top PARCC scores in both reading and math in DC (82% 4+ ELA and 82% 4+ math).

We’re headed to BASIS but why would it be more fair to compare 8th grade, after BASIS weeded out the kids who can’t hack it, instead of 5th grade, where BASIS is stuck with all the kids who lottery in, just like Jefferson?

Because the 5th grade results reflect what the kids learned at their previous school not Basis.

How does that make sense? Testing occurs 7-8 months after school starts.

Are you that dense?

What best represents how a school is doing? A test of kids who attended other schools for years and then took a test 7-8 months into a new school or a test that occurs after the kids have attended the same school for 3 1/2 years?

That would be like saying you should judge Harvard's education by how well freshman at Harvard test.

Still, regardless, BASIS has great scores compared to other schools. Maybe that is due somewhat to self-selection for 5th grade.

How many BASIS kids who score 1s and 2s on PARCC in 5th are still there by 8th? Keep trying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

My kid is in 7th now at Basis - I think she will stay for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

Sure, but that is for all grades. BASIS is 100% lottery for 5th grade so you would expect the 5th grade PARCC scores there to be relatively lower than, say, 8th grade.

The fair comparison is to look at 8th grade PARCC scores, when kids have been at BASIS for at least 3 years. Looking at those scores, BASIS has the top PARCC scores in both reading and math in DC (82% 4+ ELA and 82% 4+ math).

We’re headed to BASIS but why would it be more fair to compare 8th grade, after BASIS weeded out the kids who can’t hack it, instead of 5th grade, where BASIS is stuck with all the kids who lottery in, just like Jefferson?

Because the 5th grade results reflect what the kids learned at their previous school not Basis.

How does that make sense? Testing occurs 7-8 months after school starts.

Are you that dense?

What best represents how a school is doing? A test of kids who attended other schools for years and then took a test 7-8 months into a new school or a test that occurs after the kids have attended the same school for 3 1/2 years?

That would be like saying you should judge Harvard's education by how well freshman at Harvard test.

Still, regardless, BASIS has great scores compared to other schools. Maybe that is due somewhat to self-selection for 5th grade.

How many BASIS kids who score 1s and 2s on PARCC in 5th are still there by 8th? Keep trying.

You asked a question to which available data suggests an answer. And it doesn't suggest the outcome you think it does.

ELA:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 10 kids (7.2% of 139)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 3 kids (3.4% of 89)
Math:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 15 kids (10.7% of 140)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 6 kids (6.6% of 89)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

My kid is in 7th now at Basis - I think she will stay for HS.

How can that be? The poster to whom you replied doesn't know anyone who plans to stay so DCUM logic says that it simply cannot be so.

In all seriousness, can you imagine being so self centered that you think the fact that your circle of friends doesn't experience or know something means it doesn't exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

Many BASIS MS parents claim this. But in reality, at least half BASIS MS families stay on for HS and I won't be surprised if more do as time goes on, especially from the Hill.

Unless parents can afford private HS, or are prepared to move to the burbs, where else will the Hill MS kids at BASIS land? Walls admissions has become much more of a crap shoot in the last couple years, Eastern is going nowhere for in-boundary families, OOB spots at Jackson-Reed (Wilson) are almost impossible to come by these days, and the new HS in Ward 3 on McArthur Blvd (not an easy commute from the Hill, like the BASIS schlep) may or may not materialize within the next few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

Sure, but that is for all grades. BASIS is 100% lottery for 5th grade so you would expect the 5th grade PARCC scores there to be relatively lower than, say, 8th grade.

The fair comparison is to look at 8th grade PARCC scores, when kids have been at BASIS for at least 3 years. Looking at those scores, BASIS has the top PARCC scores in both reading and math in DC (82% 4+ ELA and 82% 4+ math).

We’re headed to BASIS but why would it be more fair to compare 8th grade, after BASIS weeded out the kids who can’t hack it, instead of 5th grade, where BASIS is stuck with all the kids who lottery in, just like Jefferson?

Because the 5th grade results reflect what the kids learned at their previous school not Basis.

How does that make sense? Testing occurs 7-8 months after school starts.

Are you that dense?

What best represents how a school is doing? A test of kids who attended other schools for years and then took a test 7-8 months into a new school or a test that occurs after the kids have attended the same school for 3 1/2 years?

That would be like saying you should judge Harvard's education by how well freshman at Harvard test.

Still, regardless, BASIS has great scores compared to other schools. Maybe that is due somewhat to self-selection for 5th grade.

How many BASIS kids who score 1s and 2s on PARCC in 5th are still there by 8th? Keep trying.

You asked a question to which available data suggests an answer. And it doesn't suggest the outcome you think it does.

ELA:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 10 kids (7.2% of 139)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 3 kids (3.4% of 89)
Math:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 15 kids (10.7% of 140)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 6 kids (6.6% of 89)

The raw numbers (10 to 3 and 15 to 6 suggest a pretty big dropoff in low-scoring kids at the school). The class size changes are pretty striking as well...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

Many BASIS MS parents claim this. But in reality, at least half BASIS MS families stay on for HS and I won't be surprised if more do as time goes on, especially from the Hill.

Unless parents can afford private HS, or are prepared to move to the burbs, where else will the Hill MS kids at BASIS land? Walls admissions has become much more of a crap shoot in the last couple years, Eastern is going nowhere for in-boundary families, OOB spots at Jackson-Reed (Wilson) are almost impossible to come by these days, and the new HS in Ward 3 on McArthur Blvd (not an easy commute from the Hill, like the BASIS schlep) may or may not materialize within the next few years.

BASIS middle school kids and parents should really try to talk to BASIS high school kids and parents. HS is so different than MS. Senior Project presentations are next week. You should go and see what the kids have accomplished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

Sure, but that is for all grades. BASIS is 100% lottery for 5th grade so you would expect the 5th grade PARCC scores there to be relatively lower than, say, 8th grade.

The fair comparison is to look at 8th grade PARCC scores, when kids have been at BASIS for at least 3 years. Looking at those scores, BASIS has the top PARCC scores in both reading and math in DC (82% 4+ ELA and 82% 4+ math).

We’re headed to BASIS but why would it be more fair to compare 8th grade, after BASIS weeded out the kids who can’t hack it, instead of 5th grade, where BASIS is stuck with all the kids who lottery in, just like Jefferson?

Because the 5th grade results reflect what the kids learned at their previous school not Basis.

How does that make sense? Testing occurs 7-8 months after school starts.

Are you that dense?

What best represents how a school is doing? A test of kids who attended other schools for years and then took a test 7-8 months into a new school or a test that occurs after the kids have attended the same school for 3 1/2 years?

That would be like saying you should judge Harvard's education by how well freshman at Harvard test.

Still, regardless, BASIS has great scores compared to other schools. Maybe that is due somewhat to self-selection for 5th grade.

How many BASIS kids who score 1s and 2s on PARCC in 5th are still there by 8th? Keep trying.

You asked a question to which available data suggests an answer. And it doesn't suggest the outcome you think it does.

ELA:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 10 kids (7.2% of 139)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 3 kids (3.4% of 89)
Math:
5th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 15 kids (10.7% of 140)
8th graders scoring 1 or 2 - 6 kids (6.6% of 89)

The raw numbers (10 to 3 and 15 to 6 suggest a pretty big dropoff in low-scoring kids at the school). The class size changes are pretty striking as well...

You seem...not smart. At this point even you don't know WTH you are trying to say.

You noted the drop in class size but couldn't grasp that percentages applied to smaller classes result in smaller raw numbers? Also, if you didn't know that Basis class sizes drop over time then you must know nothing about Basis. They don't back fill slots (except for a couple of sibs in 6th). Combine that with kids who leave vs having to repeat, the academic rigor and pressure and kids who just prefer another more traditional school and of course classes get smaller. The sun also rises every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

I don’t know too many people who plan to stay at Basis for high school. I chose it got middle school only.

Many BASIS MS parents claim this. But in reality, at least half BASIS MS families stay on for HS and I won't be surprised if more do as time goes on, especially from the Hill.

Unless parents can afford private HS, or are prepared to move to the burbs, where else will the Hill MS kids at BASIS land? Walls admissions has become much more of a crap shoot in the last couple years, Eastern is going nowhere for in-boundary families, OOB spots at Jackson-Reed (Wilson) are almost impossible to come by these days, and the new HS in Ward 3 on McArthur Blvd (not an easy commute from the Hill, like the BASIS schlep) may or may not materialize within the next few years.

This is all true. But also, the more our middle-school DC gets peeks of the high school experience, the more it’s starting to seem appealing. As long as a kid is ok with lots of AP classes and a small school, high school at Basis seems like it might be a genuinely enjoyable experience.