Reply to PSA on math classes for kids who switch from BASIS to Walls for 9th

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DCPS will accept credit for Geometry as long as the kid’s transcript says they took one year of Geometry.  There’s no checklist of topics, no test to determine mastery, etc.  Basis wouldn’t need to change their curriculum or rigor at all. They would need to code geometry as a full credit independent course on the transcript.  They’ve known this for almost a decade now and refuse to do it.[/quote]

Refuse?  Basis has the same curriculum at all the Basis schools around the US.  Why would they water it down to a 1 year course in DC just to make it easier for kids to go to Walls?[/quote]

PP and please re read what I wrote.  It just has to say a full credit of geometry on their transcript.  Basis doesn’t have to change the curriculum or cut it down to a one year course.  They have to have one full Carnegie unit of geometry.  That could be coded as two .5 credit courses over two years.  No one cares, it just has to say one full credit of geometry.  Basis could do that but they won’t do it.  DCPS is already giving exceptions to basis kids on algebra I and algebra II.  This is on Basis.[/quote]

Sorry your kid had to retake Geometry at Walls but I have to disagree.

Basis offers an advanced curriculum and kids complete Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry in 7th and 8th grades.  Those classes are 250 minutes a week, which is basically 2 Carnegie units (120 hours a year).  To graduate, Basis requires kids to take math every year from 5th grade to 12th grade, with many kids taking Calc BC as a junior and Multivariable Calculus as a senior.

DCPS requires 4 units of math to graduate, which must include Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry.  A lot of kids stop with Precalculus.

DCPS/Walls already gives Basis kids credit for Algebra I and II, and it could easily give credit for Geometry.  In fact, DCPS/Walls already lets kids place out of 9th grade Geometry by taking a 3-week online summer class the summer before 9th grade.  A 3-week online course counts but two years of geometry doesn’t count?  That makes zero sense.  DCPS can easily credit Basis kids with the Geometry they took in 7th and 8th grade but it refuses.

Any other non-DCPS school is not going to make a Basis kid re-take geometry in 9th grade, a class that they started in 7th grade.  A Basis kid going to a Big 3 or TJ will take Precalculus or some more advanced class.

Why should Basis change what it does around the United States to accommodate DCPS/Walls’ overly rigid interpretation of its graduation requirements?

This is on DCPS/Walls.
[/quote]

Again, no. In 7th and 8th, Basis [b]claims[/b] the kids are taking Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry. DCPS is giving them credit for two of those year-long course, but not three year-long courses within 2 years. DCPS seems reasonable to me in this instance. Basis wants to claim credit for Alg 1 and Alg 2 in 7th and 8th. DCPS says okay. [b]Then they also want to claim credit for Geometry in 7th and 8th[/b]. [/quote]

Yes.  The point is BASIS teaches three years worth of material in two school years - so Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry  - all are covered in 7th and 8th grade at BASIS (this is not a "claim" - it is a fact).  And they are covered well  - the kids (at least mine) really learned the material!  That DCPS refuses to acknowledge this doesn't make it untrue. Which is why Geometry in 9th at Walls is repetitive and a total snooze-fest (not even as challenging as what was covered in BASIS 7th/8th) and[b] "honors" precalculus in DCPS (in 9th) is also not very taxing for a former BASIS student [/b](perhaps AP pre calculus - what your kid will take if they remain at BASIS actually is difficult/a challenge - I don't know).  Anyway, to circle back to the PSA - if your kid decides to switch from BASIS to Walls for 9th and your kid enjoys/is good at math, do your kid a favor and get pre-approval for CTY 3 week summer Geometry course (or whatever course DCPS has blessed) so kid doesn't have to waste a year/elective on Geometry in 9th.[/quote]

Interestingly, my kid is in a top DC private high school and had several 9th graders from Basis in his/her 10th grade honors pre-calc class.  The Basis kids struggled.  The other 2 kids who were out-of-sequence for math were from FCPS and they did fine. 
I'm sure people will jump all over me for posting this but my kid saw it play out for a year.

If Basis grads are breezing through DCPS honors pre-calc I think it's more a reflection of the low standards of DCPS than it is on the quality of Basis.  [/quote]

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