BASIS--opinions please

[Anonymous]

Most of the kids prioritized scholarships and merit aid. The list will reflect that when it comes out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your opinion re the ED college admissions of <17 kids you don't know. I'd be happy if my DC got into Boston College (35% acceptance rate) and thrilled with Barnard (16%).

Not to mention these are early admission acceptances. It will be interesting to see what the final college list will be for this very first senior class.

Um, I said that it is entirely possible that things changed between that email in December you were claiming showed the many of the graduating class being admitted in oresteguous schools and today, but it wasn't like a lot of the 17 kids got into prestigious colleges according to the December like you claimed-of course, Princeton is prestegious, but most of the other ones (Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Johnson and Wales, High Point, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh) are not even ones many have heard of, and are certainly not prestigious.

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your opinion re the ED college admissions of <17 kids you don't know. I'd be happy if my DC got into Boston College (35% acceptance rate) and thrilled with Barnard (16%).

Not to mention these are early admission acceptances. It will be interesting to see what the final college list will be for this very first senior class.

Um, I said that it is entirely possible that things changed between that email in December you were claiming showed the many of the graduating class being admitted in oresteguous schools and today, but it wasn't like a lot of the 17 kids got into prestigious colleges according to the December like you claimed-of course, Princeton is prestegious, but most of the other ones (Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Johnson and Wales, High Point, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh) are not even ones many have heard of, and are certainly not prestigious.

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

The person said "many of the (17) students got into prestigious colleges" according to/by the December email. The same kid got into Barnard and Princeton and one student in two colleges isn't "many", and the other schools are not considered prestigious by anyone's eyes, they may be considered good, worthy of attending, etc, by others, but they aren't prestigious, nor is a school with a 35% acceptance rate considered prestigious. Just don't mislead people who aren't privy to the email, that's all...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your opinion re the ED college admissions of <17 kids you don't know. I'd be happy if my DC got into Boston College (35% acceptance rate) and thrilled with Barnard (16%).

Not to mention these are early admission acceptances. It will be interesting to see what the final college list will be for this very first senior class.

Um, I said that it is entirely possible that things changed between that email in December you were claiming showed the many of the graduating class being admitted in oresteguous schools and today, but it wasn't like a lot of the 17 kids got into prestigious colleges according to the December like you claimed-of course, Princeton is prestegious, but most of the other ones (Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Johnson and Wales, High Point, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh) are not even ones many have heard of, and are certainly not prestigious.

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

The person said "many of the (17) students got into prestigious colleges" according to/by the December email. The same kid got into Barnard and Princeton and one student in two colleges isn't "many", and the other schools are not considered prestigious by anyone's eyes, they may be considered good, worthy of attending, etc, by others, but they aren't prestigious, nor is a school with a 35% acceptance rate considered prestigious. Just don't mislead people who aren't privy to the email, that's all...

No. The kid who got into Princeton is a boy, and obviously the kid who got into Barnard is a girl. The student who got into BC got into the Honors College program, which is more selective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two kids there, and my older is opting to stay for high school. They complain (like I did when I was their age) about work, but I never see them working incessantly on school stuff. My kids have a robust social life with many mixed activities and plenty of sleep. I am very happy that nothing gets dumbed down at Basis. Kids KNOW their stuff. The academic program is great... I do not love the shifting of staff so much. The mid year hires don't seem to do as good a job as the ones who have been there for a while. I recommend the program, but I feel as a parent that what has made it successful for us is that I do not project stress onto my kids. They get out of the program what they choose to with a clear understanding of what this program can give them (an edge on college applications/ options) and what it is not designed to give (lifegiving a-ha moments). School does the teaching, parents do the shepherding. It's very unproductive to get on to the school to do a parents' job and plant seeds of frustration in kids' minds that make them resent the wor . IMHO. So, get behind the school and enroll, or don't send your child. Don't send your kid there confused yourself and project those feelings on the children. That messes kids up!

devils advocate here. if it takes a motivated and well organized kid to thrive at BASIS, couldn't that same kid seek out extra enrichment at a normally paced school (ie Kahn Academy, CTY, tutor, etc)? i wouldn't hold my DC back, but I'm not sold that DC needs to be placed in the gladiator ring even if I like the odds of survival.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids there, and my older is opting to stay for high school. They complain (like I did when I was their age) about work, but I never see them working incessantly on school stuff. My kids have a robust social life with many mixed activities and plenty of sleep. I am very happy that nothing gets dumbed down at Basis. Kids KNOW their stuff. The academic program is great... I do not love the shifting of staff so much. The mid year hires don't seem to do as good a job as the ones who have been there for a while. I recommend the program, but I feel as a parent that what has made it successful for us is that I do not project stress onto my kids. They get out of the program what they choose to with a clear understanding of what this program can give them (an edge on college applications/ options) and what it is not designed to give (lifegiving a-ha moments). School does the teaching, parents do the shepherding. It's very unproductive to get on to the school to do a parents' job and plant seeds of frustration in kids' minds that make them resent the wor . IMHO. So, get behind the school and enroll, or don't send your child. Don't send your kid there confused yourself and project those feelings on the children. That messes kids up!

devils advocate here. if it takes a motivated and well organized kid to thrive at BASIS, couldn't that same kid seek out extra enrichment at a normally paced school (ie Kahn Academy, CTY, tutor, etc)? i wouldn't hold my DC back, but I'm not sold that DC needs to be placed in the gladiator ring even if I like the odds of survival.

Sure they could. The thing is, many of us are not IB for, or didn't have lottery luck, a 'normally paced school.'

My BDC child isn't particularly motivated or organized, and is doing fine. Not in the most advanced math classes, and not in the grade level either. It's truly not a gladiator ring unless the parents turn it into that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is mastery defense?

It's the process that BASIS' math department uses to allow students to demonstrate mastery of questions/standards they miss on a test. It enables them to show that they have mastered the content, be tested on new questions on that topic, and if they get it right the second time, earn credit back.

A student that is diligent about attending the after or before school sessions can ultimately earn back nearly all the points they miss on a unit test. There is no mastery defense available for the mid-year pre-comprehensive exams or the end of year comprehensive exams.

It's a scam that allows BASIS to keep MS kids who can't handle the math from flunking out before 9th grade, when most will leave anyway.

Here's how it works: Your DC is diligent about math homework and studies for the weekly or bi-weekly math tests. The material is hard, so he/she misses say 20% questions on a typical test. Many of your DC's classmates race through their math homework and take their math tests cold. However, they listen in class some of the time and, since some of the questions are multiple choice, they guess correctly some of the time. They miss only say 50% of the questions on a typical test.

If the tests were curved, your DC would get an A on tests and the classmates would get Cs or Ds. However, those classmates can attend "Mastery Defense" sessions every week. They don't have to retake entire tests at these sessions. They only have to retake questions addressing the standards they missed. Furthermore, at each session they can pick which standards to retake. So, if the classmate missed the "applying the formula for the area of a circle" standard, he/she can retake just that standard and continue to do so until he/she gets it right or until the end of the grading period. The question given during "Mastery Defense" will be very similar to the one given on the test, except that the radius of the circle will be, say, 3 m instead of 2 m.

The net result is that your DC's classmates will raise their test averages to 90% or higher over the course of the grading period, and your DC will end up with a B- math test average even though your DC is one of the few who could demonstrate mastery of the material in one testing session. So much for preparing kids for high-stakes testing such as the SAT or the AP.

Your DC, then, has no choice but buy into the "Mastery Defense" scam and must retake all of the questions answered incorrectly on math tests. This means that he/she will have to stay after school at least one day a week. Furthermore, to ensure that you and your DC do not complain about this obvious subversion of the testing process, the math teachers will not give your DC partial credit on any math questions. So, if your DC correctly applies the formula for the area of a circle but write m instead of m^2 for the units, he/she will get 0 out of 5 points and you will both be happy that there is "Mastery Defense."

Appreciate this analysis. System sounds deeply flawed. Thanks, PP.

Wow, pp sounds a little too involved and needs to tell their student to not stress over homework and go with the system. Grading is different in many learning environments and students need to learn to adapt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your opinion re the ED college admissions of <17 kids you don't know. I'd be happy if my DC got into Boston College (35% acceptance rate) and thrilled with Barnard (16%).

Not to mention these are early admission acceptances. It will be interesting to see what the final college list will be for this very first senior class.

Um, I said that it is entirely possible that things changed between that email in December you were claiming showed the many of the graduating class being admitted in oresteguous schools and today, but it wasn't like a lot of the 17 kids got into prestigious colleges according to the December like you claimed-of course, Princeton is prestegious, but most of the other ones (Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Johnson and Wales, High Point, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh) are not even ones many have heard of, and are certainly not prestigious.

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

The person said "many of the (17) students got into prestigious colleges" according to/by the December email. The same kid got into Barnard and Princeton and one student in two colleges isn't "many", and the other schools are not considered prestigious by anyone's eyes, they may be considered good, worthy of attending, etc, by others, but they aren't prestigious, nor is a school with a 35% acceptance rate considered prestigious. Just don't mislead people who aren't privy to the email, that's all...

No. The kid who got into Princeton is a boy, and obviously the kid who got into Barnard is a girl. The student who got into BC got into the Honors College program, which is more selective.

It will be interesting to see the final list of college acceptances for the senior class. Also would be interesting to know the amount of scholarships/merit received ultimately by the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids there, and my older is opting to stay for high school. They complain (like I did when I was their age) about work, but I never see them working incessantly on school stuff. My kids have a robust social life with many mixed activities and plenty of sleep. I am very happy that nothing gets dumbed down at Basis. Kids KNOW their stuff. The academic program is great... I do not love the shifting of staff so much. The mid year hires don't seem to do as good a job as the ones who have been there for a while. I recommend the program, but I feel as a parent that what has made it successful for us is that I do not project stress onto my kids. They get out of the program what they choose to with a clear understanding of what this program can give them (an edge on college applications/ options) and what it is not designed to give (lifegiving a-ha moments). School does the teaching, parents do the shepherding. It's very unproductive to get on to the school to do a parents' job and plant seeds of frustration in kids' minds that make them resent the wor . IMHO. So, get behind the school and enroll, or don't send your child. Don't send your kid there confused yourself and project those feelings on the children. That messes kids up!

devils advocate here. if it takes a motivated and well organized kid to thrive at BASIS, couldn't that same kid seek out extra enrichment at a normally paced school (ie Kahn Academy, CTY, tutor, etc)? i wouldn't hold my DC back, but I'm not sold that DC needs to be placed in the gladiator ring even if I like the odds of survival.

Sure they could. The thing is, many of us are not IB for, or didn't have lottery luck, a 'normally paced school.'

My BDC child isn't particularly motivated or organized, and is doing fine. Not in the most advanced math classes, and not in the grade level either. It's truly not a gladiator ring unless the parents turn it into that.

+1 - same with my kid. DC is not highly organized and is doing fine. I don't see a gladiator ring either. Not to say that it doesn't exist but I don't really care about it and it doesn't impact my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your opinion re the ED college admissions of <17 kids you don't know. I'd be happy if my DC got into Boston College (35% acceptance rate) and thrilled with Barnard (16%).

Not to mention these are early admission acceptances. It will be interesting to see what the final college list will be for this very first senior class.

Um, I said that it is entirely possible that things changed between that email in December you were claiming showed the many of the graduating class being admitted in oresteguous schools and today, but it wasn't like a lot of the 17 kids got into prestigious colleges according to the December like you claimed-of course, Princeton is prestegious, but most of the other ones (Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Johnson and Wales, High Point, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh) are not even ones many have heard of, and are certainly not prestigious.

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

The person said "many of the (17) students got into prestigious colleges" according to/by the December email. The same kid got into Barnard and Princeton and one student in two colleges isn't "many", and the other schools are not considered prestigious by anyone's eyes, they may be considered good, worthy of attending, etc, by others, but they aren't prestigious, nor is a school with a 35% acceptance rate considered prestigious. Just don't mislead people who aren't privy to the email, that's all...

No. The kid who got into Princeton is a boy, and obviously the kid who got into Barnard is a girl. The student who got into BC got into the Honors College program, which is more selective.

It will be interesting to see the final list of college acceptances for the senior class. Also would be interesting to know the amount of scholarships/merit received ultimately by the students.

The last of the acceptances are coming in. Some students are still negotiating scholarship and aid packages -- a couple are lucky enough to have schools in a bit of a bidding war.

I think they are hoping to 'release' both the acceptances list and the scholarship/merit at this weekend's Basis auction.

[Anonymous]

Two kids. One in 7th happy at Basis. Another liked it for middle school but changed to a DCPS high school when a bunch of classmates decided to go to different high schools. Still he knows classmates who stayed at Basis for high school who are happy with their decision..

It really depends on how the school fits the student, and students change rapidly from 5th grade to 9th grade, so we'll see what happens.

That's the great thing about this system: we have a choice now.

[Anonymous]

Are you serious re the December email? At that time, only a handful of colleges were mentioned, and only ONE was prestigious (Princeton). It is absolutely possible that has changed in the interim, but in December, it was nothing to write home about.

According to the young man's FACEBOOK account, he applied to Princeton in September, got accepted in December and started attending it in January.
Is this possible?

[Anonymous]

He's not at Princeton yet. He's doing a senior project in DC.

[Anonymous]

17 kids is a very small sample size but even if 1 kid got into an uber elite school, that is impressive, especially in early admissions. The above schools that you mention may not be in your eyes prestigious, but they are good schools. And I guess Barnard is not a prestigious school either.

Not 17, but 14.
The school year started with 15 seniors but one student left mid-year to Anacostia HS. According to two current seniors many bombed the standardized tests.

[Anonymous]

The current BASIS 12th graders started the program in 8th grade, not 5th. They didn't get the full BASIS experience, not by a long shot.