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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Pretty much anyone can go to college. For some families, particularly at DCI, which has lots of first gen families, going to college at all is a big deal.  But clearly some families are aiming much higher.  BASIS develops the kind of work ethic and executive functioning skills that students aiming high in college admissions can rely on to be competitive. [/quote]

Or it burns kids out and makes them feel like failures and prevents them from having ongoing successful academic careers.

One close friend of the family had to send her daughter to legit therapy because the girl sobbed every night because she said she was a failure because she couldn't keep up with her all AP class schedule as a 15yo. Of course she couldn't, those are classes that are meant for college students. HS students being able to do any of them is a privilege and a real accomplishment—it should never be forced on anyone. Took months of therapy and private school tuition to get her feeling like she could go to college. Eff BASIS—seriously.[/quote]

Oh good grief.   :roll: Basis doesn't jump up that much in difficulty between 9th grade classes and 10th grade AP classes.  The kids who struggle in 10th grade APs are the ones who were also struggling in previous grades.  The parents and kid just buried their heads in the sand and hoped that the school would magically turn into a good fit.  If it took months of therapy to get over Basis, then there were like a hundred red flags flying in the previous few years.

AP classes aren't even college difficulty level anymore.  They're regular classes for bright kids, and tons of kids across the country take a lot of APs with no issue.  With the exception of math advancement, Basis courses are no harder and workloads are no greater than what I had in honors classes 30 years ago.  Grades are no harsher than what I saw in those classes 30 years ago.  The only difference is that most high schools these days have watered down the rigor and puffed up the grades enormously in the last 30 years, while Basis is similar to what we all had when completing high school.  It's not some grand experiment or education for the few.  It's more or less comparable to a solid, old-school education with minimal technology, note taking by hand, exams, and expectations.[/quote]

New poster here. There is something more intense about the culture than the workload. It is the high stakes all or nothing end of year testing at the end of the school year for pre-teens that stokes the fear or failure culture. [/quote]

The end of year tests are very generously curved, and the baseline for passing is pretty low.  They also spend a lot of time at the end of the year reviewing for the tests.  Almost everyone's grade increases after the comp exams.  The kids who fail usually were struggling all year.

I can see why it would be too intense for kids with anxiety or other issues, but for most kids, it really shouldn't be a big deal.  It's honestly not dissimilar to final exams and other high stakes testing that we all had 30 years ago.  The main difference is that kids these days are much more fragile.  [/quote]

This kind of testing is the norm in the rest of the world.

Lack of rigor and comprehensive testing is one reason the US is far behind many other developed countries in math, science, and reading.

If you don’t like the Basis system, don’t send your kid.
[/quote]
This.  Basis is definitely too intense for families that expect As to be handed out just for showing up to class and putting in a tiny amount of work.  It's amazing to me how asking kids to do 1-2 hours of homework per night, holding kids accountable for their work, and not inflating grades is seen as child abuse to some.  [/quote]

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