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][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I view ITS’s policy of not adding kids after Count Day much differently than any school that simply does not allow new students after initial grades. I agree both are bad in a public school— and charters ARE publics, even though they sometimes like to pretend they aren’t. But this ITS policy isn’t nearly as egregious to me. I get the rationale (it really can be tough on classrooms to add new students after the kids have finally settled in, as I know well as a DCPS parent). It’s a reality of school, but it’s tough on everyone.

But [b]schools like BASIS or Latin refusing to backfill [/b]in subsequent years is really craven. Even private schools take kids mid-MS or mid-HS! A good school would not struggle to incorporate them. It really looks like an obvious grab for higher test scores. It’s gross. The ITS thing is annoying but doesn’t offend me in the same way.[/quote]

We have been through this before, people. BASIS is unique in DC because it does not do social promotion. Kids don't have to leave, but they will be required to repeat a grade if they do not pass the comprehensive exam. No exceptions. BASIS wanted to accept kids after 5th. They do at other BASIS schools. But DCPCSB won't allow them to administer a test to put the kids in the proper grade level (without regard to age). It would make no sense to have a school that tells kids that are not meeting the standard they have to repeat a grade but let new kids enter into that higher grade even if they can't show mastery of the material.

You can disagree with whether BASIS should socially promote. But that's the argument/policy disagreement. "Backfilling" is a red herring to avoid talking about BASIS's social promotion policy.   [/quote]

Neighborhood schools have to take kids who are below grade.  Even those who speak literally no English at all.  They have to suck it up and deal with it as best they can.  But wah, BASIS couldn't possibly cope without an entrance test.  Even though other schools have to.

The idea with backfilling is that we don't want to create a system where if your 5th grade lottery number is bad, you have no hope for getting into a good school.  [b]What would the school system be like if every school allowed itself to do what BASIS is doing[/b]?  Do we want to live like that?  BASIS is free-riding on other schools' willingness to handle the tougher kids and do the hardest educational work.  But feel free to pat yourself on the back for those great test scores![/quote]

Your response is all over the map and internally inconsistent. At one point you ask, what would it be like if every school stopped social promotion and required kids to actual master material before moving to the next grade - PERISH THE THOUGHT and clutching my pearls. You aren't even making the case you think you are. If BASIS was allowed to administer the test and put kids in appropriate grades they'd take backfills and then there would be hope of getting in after 5th - problem solved! Neighborhood schools have to take kids who enroll and are forced by DC policies to put them in their grade level by age, regardless of whet they actually know. And then DC makes it impossible to hold a kid back so they get moved along and graduate with a useless degree.

BASIS has higher standards than all other schools. I'm ok with that .  [/quote]

Because people don't want over-age kids in their classes!  Do you want your 5th grader to be with 15 and 16 year olds who aren't doing well?  Come on.  Think about what you are saying.  And because repeating grades doesn't actually solve anything.  If the kid was going to learn the material in a regular classroom setting, they would have learned it the first time.

"Higher standards" my foot, they're just running off the kids who are harder to educate.[/quote]

And because in a system without social promotion kids would simply drop out.  [b]They would grow up into uneducated adults.  [/b]See, this is a school *system*.  The goal isn't just to operate one school and pat yourself on the back for great test scores without any caring for the kids who start but don't finish.  The idea is to educate the residents of the jurisdiction, thinking of *all of them* including those who drop out.  And all schools should be good citizens of the school system and take a fair share of the more difficult educational work.  If BASIS's attitude towards its strugging students is basically "f*ck'em", then yes, people are not going to think well of your school despite its cherry-picked test scores.[/quote]

Bolded section is beyond ignorant of the educational outcomes in DC. Look at HS PARCC scores and tell me the system is educating those kids. How can you be so ignorant of what is happening outside of your Upper NW front door? My lord. [/quote]

So what do you think happens to the kids who leave BASIS because they are trying to find an age-appropriate setting where their needs are actually met?[/quote]

My hope is the find a school and environment that is better suited for them than the academic rigor and pressure filled environment on 8th street. It is not for everyone. Where we diverge is hat I don't think all schools have to be all things to all people. I think Montessori is a joke. That's ok. I chose not to send my kid there.

We have choice. You (and kids who wash out) should make the ones that work for who and what they are. [/quote]

But how could they, if all schools were like BASIS and took nobody after 5th?  Oh, it's soooo hard to bring in new kids!  So inappropriate!  Sorry but they have to go somewhere, why should BASIS get to opt out of the hard work?

Is BASIS owned by a Chinese hedge fund? [/quote]

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