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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]IME, most of the time when kids don't pass a class, the class is math, physics, or chemistry.  If your kid is intellectually above average in STEM subjects, and if your kid is reasonably motivated, he'll be fine at Basis.

Also, by the time the kids get to the upper school, [b]there is a lot more applied knowledge and a lot less memorization[/b].  [/quote]

Not our experience. The entire BASIS curriculum/focus is AP prep. Since AP/the College Board doesn't test group work, research or presentation skills, or participation in class discussions, the focus remains on memorization and rote learning in the HS to prep for multiple-choice heavy AP exams (including language exams). BASIS STEM teaching to prep for those AP exams is undeniably impressive.

We moved on from the BASIS MS to a competitive admissions IB Diploma program. IB exams don't include multiple choice questions so the difference in the teaching and learning from BASIS has been night and day. Not as strong for math, much stronger for humanities + more applied science.[/quote]

I won't say you're wrong, but I think you're underselling the AP exams and the jump in sophistication from middle to high school. It's not just "memorization and rote learning." For example, the history and government APs multiple choice are text based: They have a short text, and based on the text AND the history they learned, they answer the question. My child actually thought it was a waste to study because so much of the test was based on analysis rather than facts. 
E.g.  https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-world-history-ced-practice-exam.pdf
And of course the humanities courses focus on analysis of texts and writing.

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