BASIS Lottery ONLY for 5th grade?

[Anonymous]

At least on the MY school DC site, it seems they made no offers at all this year. Anyone know of kids making it in 9th?

[Anonymous]

Never.

[Anonymous]

I think in some years an extremely few number of kids have been offered spots for 6th.

[Anonymous]

No one received a post-5th grade lottery slot this year. In the past a few kids have received a slot (usually 6th grade). This was because of sibling preference, son/daughter of staff member, and the like. That didn't happen this year. If you miss the lottery window for 5th grade, it seems like you have no chance to get in.

[Anonymous]

yep, it's 5th or bust.

But the odds of getting in at 5th are very good. They almost clear the waitlist every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yep, it's 5th or bust.

But the odds of getting in at 5th are very good. They almost clear the waitlist every year.

That's hardly true! They do not clear their waitlist at all!!! It's 5th grade or bust!

[Anonymous]

According to the data, 85 kids never received a 5th grade WL offer.

So, while the odds of getting a 5th grade spot are still high, plenty of kids don’t get offers.

[Anonymous]

I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

^ I meant BASIS, not Latin. But as I said many schools could be affected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the data, 85 kids never received a 5th grade WL offer.

So, while the odds of getting a 5th grade spot are still high, plenty of kids don’t get offers.

Is the data there accounting for where you place Basis on your list?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yep, it's 5th or bust.

But the odds of getting in at 5th are very good. They almost clear the waitlist every year.

That's hardly true! They do not clear their waitlist at all!!! It's 5th grade or bust!

I know many who are still on the waitlist. If you get a decent number, you are in good shape. But they didn't clear it this year for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with no middle school spots after 5th most years, BUT I kind of wonder if there will be just a little bit of attrition at all schools, including Latin, next year considering the change in administration (to Biden, not school admin) and some people leaving DC once their company decides they can mostly work from home indefinitely (meaning people no longer trying to minimize commute time may move further out).

Right or wrong, they don't want to admit after 6th because it would be tough for some kids to catch up, particularly in the sciences. What BASIS students cover in Chem and Bio and Physics (they take all 3 every year of MS) really doesn't align to anything in other schools.

Some kids could catch up, others will not but that's the rationale behind their enrollment strategy. It does cost them $ each year since they can't really backfill students who leave after 6th or 7th.

Oh come on. BASIS could backfill with 7th and 8th graders kids who could handle the curriculum if they spelled out exactly what the curriculum entails and bothered to provide learning resources to students who arrive after 6th grade. 7th and 8th graders who got spots could be sent the resources with a disclaimer/warning stating that if you haven't mastered this content, you won't be able to pass end of year comps in 7th and 8th grade. Hence, you will be forced to repeat the entry year.

BASIS just isn't great at innovating, as a franchise or a DC campus. BASIS is hardly the only program in which middle school kids can cover chem, bio and physics. Mine currently take on-line science courses through Johns Hopkins CTY and Stanford's on-line middle school program covering roughly the same science content.

Ok, but why should they spend extra resources to bring new kids up to speed - what you propose is setting them up to fail. And they can't select based on what classes a kid has taken before ore not.

They seem comfortable with their set up, so it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the data, 85 kids never received a 5th grade WL offer.

So, while the odds of getting a 5th grade spot are still high, plenty of kids don’t get offers.

Is the data there accounting for where you place Basis on your list?

No, because that's not how the lottery works. Ranking a school number 1 doesn't increase your chances of getting in.