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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Right, but BASIS weeds out middle school kids subtly but systematically between 6th and 9th grades. Roughly one-third of any given 5th grade cohort remains for 9th grade.

Essentially, the only type of achievement that's celebrated at BASIS is academic (vs. sporting, musical, artistic, theatrical, bilingual/linguistic, creative talents and accomplishments).

If you wind up with an alternative for middle school, think twice.[/quote]

There is nothing subtle about what BASIS does or how they do it. They tell you up front they are there to get every kid admitted to a four year college. They scream to the hilltops about the amount of scholarship money earned by its graduates for college and they are very focused on academic rankings. Starting in 6th grade there is a year end comprehensive exam; if your kid doesn't pass they have to repeat a grade (or leave). There is no social promotion. They are concerned about clubs and other interests, but academics are the #1 priority...period. The classes get smaller because BASIS doesn't fill open spots starting in week 1 of 5th grade. 5th graders take 8 classes. By virtue of the foregoing the 5th grade class is self selecting at the start. The kids who choose to go tend to be more focused on academics.

If that's not something that is a good fit for you or your kid then BASIS is not a good fit for you. And that is ok. It doesn't have to be for everyone. DC has school choice. People like PP are probably the same people who send their kids to Duke Ellington and complain that there's not enough focus on foreign languages or math.  [/quote]

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