Basis fills a gap that shouldn’t exist.
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Anonymous
Hundreds of kids didn't get an offer for fifth grade this year. |
Anonymous
Almost half of the people who applied to BASIS this year were offered a spot. Those are *fantastic* odds for a lottery school. Latin offers spots to about 10 percent of its applicants. |
Anonymous
And compare it to Jackson Reid/Deal/Hardy/MacArthur, where we auction off the seats in the form of housing prices. |
Anonymous
That is cold comfort for the kids who got spots at neither school. My point is it would be nice if they had another shot. |
Anonymous
Really, it's the math. Basis 7th graders take Algebra. Basis 9th graders take pre-calc, etc. If a kid is trying to enter in 7th, and they were already on a track to take Algebra in 7th, they would be fine at Basis. A lot of kids in DC are on that track and would be fine. A lot aren't, and entering Basis would entail completely skipping pre-algebra and then likely failing Algebra because they weren't ready. Almost all of the kids who are academic wash-outs from Basis either entered in 5th with extremely shaky math foundations, or needed a slower pace of math instruction and were not going to be ready for Algebra in 7th anywhere. Not only is basis prohibited from using any admissions tests in the upper grades, but also they're not allowed to admit or not based on transcripts from previous schools. So they can't even set "passing pre-algebra in a previous school" as a criterion for 7th grade entry. Since Basis can't do anything at all to ensure that the kid would have a reasonable shot of succeeding at Basis, they don't admit in the higher grades. Take it up with DC politicians if you disagree with the laws governing charter schools. |
Anonymous
Not quite. Percent who matched or were offered a seat off the waitlist: BASIS 5th: 54% (197 left on the waitlist) Hardy 6th: 48% MacArthur 9th: 99% Deal 6th: 1% Jackson-Reed 9th: 0% |
Anonymous
It wouldn't be that hard to differentiate the math if they wanted to. |
Anonymous
In Fairfax, 6th graders who are ready routinely take Algebra. We have no students like that here in DC? I don't believe it. Many BASIS students aren't ready for 7th grade algebra. They memorize their way through. We thought that my eldest would be a top math student at his private school after getting As in math at BASIS for several years. He wasn't, not by a long shot. The system needs to change. |
Anonymous
It actually would be very difficult, as it would create all kinds of scheduling issues. They would also have to differentiate the science for each grade level, as both the chemistry and physics classes are aligned with the math level. A tiny school can't be everything for everyone. Public schools throughout DC offer opportunities for *less* rigor. There's no need for Basis to do so as well. |
Anonymous
Call your city councilmember. They made the rules. |
Anonymous
Good grief. Obviously, there are plenty of students ready for Algebra in 7th or even 6th in DC. That's not the issue. It has been explained ad nauseam in this thread that Basis is not allowed to test for or examine transcripts for math readiness. Every single other Basis school backfills in higher grades, but they are allowed to test incoming kids for math readiness. Every single other Basis is thrilled to accept academically talented/prepared kids into higher grade levels. The issue here isn't with DC students. It also isn't with Basis. It's the laws prohibiting any sort of testing for charter admissions. No one likes to admit this, but natural math aptitude matters a lot more than any instructional system. The kids at Basis who aren't ready for 7th grade Algebra weren't going to be ready anywhere. Memorizing algorithms and getting decent grades in math courses without really understanding the material has been a thing everywhere for many, many years. Basis, like many schools, has a model of the teacher lecturing based on a reputable textbook, kids doing homework, and taking exams. Beyond that, how well the kid truly understands the material depends mostly on the kid's natural aptitude. |
Anonymous
No one should have to roll the dice like this. If you get into BASIS in 5th, the school should have to teach to your level. Which means if a kid needs a slower pace of math, the school should offer it. Think how damaging that could be to a perfectly bright kid who enters BASIS with the right foundations but simply cannot keep up with the pace, is then told that rather than just moving to a slower paced math track, they must repeat the same higher paced math, and that the math acceleration will never let up while they are at the school so it's sink or swim. To say "oh well that 10/11 year old couldn't hack it, tough luck kid" is an unserious attitude that does not belong in public education. We're not even talking about a kid with a learning disorder or other disability (though BASIS wants nothing to do with those kids unless they can medicate the issues away so they don't impact the BASIS approach to education in any way). We're talking about a kid who may be perfectly intelligent, on grade level in math coming into BASIS, but simply not able to keep up with the accelerated pathway. And we are acting like it's fine for the school to chew up that kid and spit them back out (no consideration to the impact that could have on that child's confidence academically moving forward, a child who isn't even in 6th grade yet). That's messed up. BASIS is not an applications school but they act like they are, and that's the problem. If you want an application school, get DC to change the rules to permit a charter to be application only. But the current situation serves a tiny number of students *at the expense* of other students. That is not in keeping with the goals of the system. |
Anonymous
Latin manages it. Last year's 8th grade had about ~25% in Geometry, ~40% in Algebra I, and ~35% in 8th grade math. |
Anonymous
Please save your outrage to the vast majority of school in DC, which don't meet the needs of advanced students. As in 20 out of the 25 public middle schools would be completely deficient and inappropriate for a student who needs advanced math. Thos kid would get it in the suburbs, or Deal/Hardy/BASIS/Latin/DCI but not in the MAJORITY of public middle schools in DC. That's the failure of our system, and the point of this thread. |
Anonymous
| This thread is simultaneously "'BASIS is the worst school ever" and "It's so unfair I can't send my kid to BASIS" |