Reply to How to help child succeed at BASIS

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "How to help child succeed at BASIS"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, that's right. A couple of this year's Ivy League-bound seniors took AP Calculus AB in 8th grade and BC in 9th grade.  They scored high.
[/quote]

[b]The regular trajectory at Basis is calculus in 9th grade, right? [/b] My 7th grader has algebra this year, I think pre-calc in 8th and then calc in 9th?  Which still seems crazy early to me (back in the dinosaur late 80s I took calc in 12th grade  - and that was the advanced track).[/quote]

Wrong. The regular trajectory is Calculus AB in 10th grade. Very advanced students can do it in 9th, but it is rare to get that placement, and Basis is very upfront about that. They also have a slower track that will have you do Calculus AB in 11th grade.[/quote]

It's interesting that they super accelerate only to split calculus into two years. At most of the NYC magnets, kids do either AB Calculus or BC Calculus... a advanced math student would never do both. There is roughly a 50% overlap between the two curriculums and you can easily skip right to BC Calc with a strong foundation. (In fact, the BC Calculus AP test gives a subscore for AB Calc.) So I find it an interesting decision to super accelerate math but then drag calculus out. If you're a math kid who is more interested in a facet of math other than calculus (number theory, discrete math, abstract algebra, stats, formal logic), it seems a particularly weird choice (although I've admittedly never understood the absolute obsession with calculus in HS given that engineering, comp sci, etc are actually more discrete math heavy).[/quote]

My guess is it's because Basis ties its grades to AP classes/tests, and there aren't many APs offered in those discrete subjects.[/quote]

Exactly, the BASIS curriculum is geared toward scoring 4s and 5s on AP exams, as many as possible. This is why BASIS doesn't offer advanced language: it's not difficult to score high on an AP language exam junior year, after having studied a language for just 4 years. More than 80% of AP Chinese takers nationwide score 5s. Wilson/Jackson-Reed is the only DC public HS offering both post-AP language and post-BC Calc math.

What BASIS seems to be missing is that it can be very difficult for East Coast high SES white and Asian students to stand out in college admissions without post-AP academics outside math, or impressive school-sponsored/financed extra curriculars either. This is true even if applicants are DC public school students getting something of a break in college admissions that local private students don't enjoy. Many of the highest-achieving UMC white and Asian seniors who reached for colleges admitting in the single digits were shot down this year, something of a rude awakening on the part of parents.[/quote]

Basis does offer post AP math senior year. Currently it offers stats and multivariable calc[/quote]

AP stats is a really valuable course, especially for anyone heading into the social sciences. But it's not post-AP math. It's an AP that is much easier than Calc. [/quote]
Somewhat incorrect.  They offer capstone stats for 12th grade, which has AP Stats and Calc as prerequisites.  My DD will be taking precalc in 9th, AP Calc AB in 10th, AP stats in 11th, and capstone Stats in 12th.  This sequence is ideal for the kids not majoring in math, engineering, or physics.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics