Reply to How's basis going so far?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Actually FWIW in my experience here in Tucson (parent here) the strictness of comps has reduced due to increasing size of enrollment and need to retain bodies for financial reasons. So one teacher told me that a kid he failed on the comp AND the re-take in 8th grade nevetheless was promoted to 9th grade. This student just recently transferred out of BASIS voluntarily after receiving straight Fs for a few weeks in 9th grade. Remember, charters earn money by keeping students enrolled. [b]Many hardworking kids still drop out along the way either due to burn out or because they could get much better grades with less work elsewhere. [/b]The original plan mentioned by the poster who was part of the first BASIS class (holding back kids who fail comps) is no longer, in my experience, the norm at the Tucson campus though the policy remains on the books. Some students do voluntarily choose to repeat grades. Some parents will have their child take 5th grade in regular public school and then start BASIS 5th grade to gain more time to prepare.[/quote]

Poster 18:02 again, the graduate.  I was in one of the first classes to graduate, when the policy on passing comps was still strict.  That said, I don't remember many kids being felled by comps - most of those who left did so "of their own accord" between 6th and 9th grades.  Basically, if you weren't the sort of kid who could test into elementary and middle school GT programs taking the top 5-10% of kids--we had some of those in the Tuscon area--you would probably end up so stressed at Basis by 7th grade algebra that you wouldn't return for 8th.  It wasn't uncommon for kids to drop out of almost all their extra curriculars in a vain attempt to cope with the math.  Made miserable enough, they would go.

It was true that some hardworking kids would drop out after burning out, or coming to the conclusion that they could coast elsewhere for better grades.  But it was also the case that a good many kids simply couldn't learn as well, or as fast, as the program demanded, no matter how hard they tried or how much extra help they received (yes, Basis middle-class parents often hire tutors).  What these kids were doing at Basis in the first place was never clear to me.

In the Tuscon area, there are some pretty good "normal" public schools, so having a kid leave Basis generally isn't the end of the world.  With most of us coming from suburbs, we had already "moved to Fairfax" so to speak.  It sounds like things could get messy in DC with family residence choices often riding on how a kid does at Basis.  Sounds highly stressful for all concerned.

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