Reply to PARCC results: how will they be communicated to families?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do BASIS students ever leave for academic or social reasons?  If so, where do they go?[/quote]

With all due respect, that is a really dumb question. Of course they do. That's true of every school on earth. If a kid wants a robust arts and theater program then BASIS is a bad fit. If they want to play D1 sports in college it is a bad fit. If they want a large school it is a bad fit.

I was educated in elite prep schools. It was the best education money could buy. And kids left for larger public schools, or better sports programs, or to go to other elite prep schools with larger theater budgets, or because they didn't have the friend groups they wanted/needed. [/quote]

The point is, when comparing PARCC scores, you have to take into account the fact that BASIS controls the composition of their student body in a way that a traditional neighborhood DCPS school cannot. Some students who leave BASIS for academic reasons go to their DCPS school which takes all comers who are IB, whatever their strengths/weaknesses, whenever they show up. BASIS does not have to do this. They don’t even have to backfill with the next student on their lottery waitlist. Their model depends on DCPS being there to absorb at least some of the kids who leave.

BASIS is a good school and does well by its students. It is a particular model that works well for some and it is a good thing it is available for those students who thrive there. BUT comparing BASIS PARCC scores with schools that do not control who sits in their classrooms to the same degree is not useful.

It was not a stupid question; it was a leading question that you followed.[/quote]

Your analysis is a bit off.  True, Basis doesn’t admit after 5th grade (with some previous minor exceptions for 6th grade).  But that doesn’t mean that Basis “controls the composition of their student body.”  Sure, some kids leave because they can’t handle Basis.  But some leave because the parents move or opt for private.  In fact, every year, Basis loses some top students that it doesn’t and can’t replace.  Worse, if top kids want to go to Basis after 5th grade, they can’t.

In comparison, other schools admit all comers, either because the kids are in-bounds or they get in through the lottery.  Some of these are poor students and some are top students; they go to DCPS schools or other charters, not Basis.  If DC allowed Basis to backfill slots with top students admitted through some sort of application/testing process, then you could fairly say that they “control the composition of their student body.”  However, DC doesn’t permit that for charters.[/quote]

Can someone explain this to me? Is this just something that applies to charter middle and high schools? Because you can absolutely lottery into charter elementaries past PK or K, and that's not even very uncommon.

And it doesn't apply to all charter MSs, because for instance ITS takes kids at both 5th and 6th grade.

[b]So DCPS doesn't allow BASIS to backfill[/b]... what about Latin? And what is the reasoning.

Elementary school parent here starting to try and figure out middle school so I have no first hand experience. Talk to me like I'm new here![/quote]

That's not how it works at all.  It's not up to DCPS.  BASIS, since it's a charter, is under the jurisdiction of the DC Public Charter School Board.  And BASIS *chooses* not to backfill.  [b]Why?  Oh, because their program is oh so special and nobody could possibly do well if they entered after 5th.[/b]  Sorry no, it's actually because attritioning out the low performers and not letting anyone in allows BASIS to say it gets good results, when really it's just cherry-picking the kids.

Latin chooses to let in some kids in 9th, not sure why, but that's what they've decided to do.

ITS lets in kids throughout the year, although not after Count Day in early October.  They'll tell you it's oh so hard, oh so disruptive, to let in new kids mid-year, as if DCPS and most schools nationwide don't have to do that as a matter of course.  ITS has to let in new kids for upper elementary and middle school because their attrition is so high, they'd run out of kids if they didn't.

Before you accuse me of being anti-charter, I will say that I'm a parent at one of the 3 schools I discussed.  I just don't believe the excuses they make for avoiding the oh-so-difficult work of incorporating new kids.

[/quote]

No. It is because they don't do social promotion. Kids who can't meet the standard have to repeat the grade. Why would they allow new kids to enter a grade with material they haven't mastered when kids already admitted weren't allowed to promote?

Your snark and self assurance would be easier to take if you had any idea WTF you were talking about.[/quote]

So can all schools just opt out?  "Oh, we don't do social promotion, it's simply a fact of life that we did not choose and cannot alter."  Think about it-- what would the school system be like if all schools behaved like BASIS?  Get a good lottery number in 5th or you're shut out of good schools for the next 8 years, kids!  If you have any academic difficulty you'll be in a developmentally inappropriate setting for the rest of your school years.  Oh, and your kid's classes will be full of older kids who aren't doing very well-- parents are really gonna love that.

Sorry but I think BASIS should be a responsible citizen of the school district and take a fair share of the difficult work.  Saying they don't socially promote is really just a way to get rid of the difficult kids.[/quote]

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