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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Many of us on the Hill would care less what the overall proficiency rate of a particular neighborhood middle school might be IF said program offered a full menu of well-taught, at-grade level classes for 6th-8th grades for science, math, social studies and English.  Parents also want a full menu of above grade-level classes for 8th grade and foreign languages taught at appropriates levels for most students (with an opt out of policy for advanced language students receiving instruction outside of school).

With those academic offerings, supported by reasonable and transparent standards for admission to honors/intensified classes, IB parents would flock to those schools in short order.  That's what would be "helpful."  Anything less and most parents won't bite, indefinitely.  Really no more to say.[/quote]

I agree with most of this, but think the weird focus some posters have on opting out of foreign languages if they get outside instruction is bizarre. Schools have no obligation to accommodate that and most parents don't care.[/quote]

Public schools have no obligation to force students who speak, read and write languages well into beginning languages classes either. That's what BASIS does, aggressively. Thankfully, DCPS doesn't In MoCo, Arlington and Fairfax, 6th-12th graders are given the option of placing out of required languages classes if they have the skills.  Apparently, many suburban parents do care. Hint: advanced language skills are prized by colleges. [/quote]

If colleges prize advanced language skills, then why not become advanced in multiple languages?? If your child already knows Spanish well enough to place out, then sign them up for Mandarin at Basis. Then when they apply for college, they’ll be advanced in Spanish and Mandarin. Wouldn’t colleges prize this even more??[/quote]

You speak, read and write Chinese? Chinese is 3,000 characters for basic literacy. Study Spanish, with its difficult grammar, and Mandarin, coterminously as a kid/teen and speak, read and write both badly. CH isn't Switzerland, with several official languages, with at least two of them spoken and understood by almost all citizens. There's an ugly little secret about BASIS and Latin's average AP modern language scores.  They aren't great because the curricula support far too little modern language study too late.  BASIS forces kids who arrive proficient in a language to study it at a beginning level from 8th grade, or to start learning another language. DCPS is flexible, but doesn't take language instruction seriously. Their instruction isn't half as good as it sounds (no native speakers off the Spanish track, no push). Right, most parents don't care. [/quote]

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