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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]help me understand this: is there any prohibition on BASIS pulling in students from outside the DC area, who would PAY tuition? I had heard that other charters accepted out-of-staters with tuition...that might make up the numbers as attrition hits the upper grades[/quote]

I don't think that new kids join BASIS after 6th grade.  Beginning in 6th grade, BASIS students must pass comprehensive exams to advance to the next grade.

I suspect that the school will not admit kids into the 7th grade or higher unless they can demonstrate mastery of the material covered in the prior grade by passing the same comprehensive exams, and kids who are not able to pass the comprehensive exams are offered spots in the lower grades.  Of course, by the 7th or 8th grade, due to the rigorous curriculum, the likelihood that a student transferring into BASIS can pass those exams approaches 0.

The enrollment data presented in the following article support my hypothesis:

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/03/blog-post.html

While enrollment occasionally increases from 5th to 6th grade, enrollment only decreases from that point on.  In particular, enrollment decreases significantly from 8th to 9th grade, presumably due to large numbers of students choosing neighborhood high schools over BASIS.

I don't get the impression that BASIS cares much about keeping numbers up.  They seem to be focused on the quality of the students they graduate, not the quantity.

In any case, they can keep enrollment up in the face of high attrition simply by admitting many more students in the lower grades.  That is, if they want to maintain enrollment at about 500 students for a 8-year program, rather than admit 60 student in the 5th grade, they would admit about 100.

It appears that this the approach they've taken.
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