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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agre that this is not a fight for Eyerman, since it would be better for him to have students stay on, not have an easy way to transfer out.
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The BASIS MODEL IS PREDICATED UPON ATTRITION. 
Basis DC 2012-6th grade started out with 175 kids
2015-9th grade and there are 40-50 kids left. Extrapolate out further using the following information.

Basis Scottsdale ranked #2 in the country by US News & World Report- the attrition continues all the way through senior year.
9th Grade 	91 Students
10th Grade 	47 Students
11th Grade 	40 Students
12th Grade 	32 Students
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To be fair, from 11th to 12th, those 8 students probably decided to graduate early and not do senior projects.  But the rest of the attrition is part of the plan.  Basis schools are the best because the end up only with the best kids. I do think this is a fight for Eyerman, on behalf of the 30-40% of his students expected to leave after 8th. It is a pyramid model predicated on the departure of the vast majority of the students before 9th or 10th grade, and I do think Basis owes it to those students (most of whom will have completed precalculus by 8th) to get them out of Geometry and World History if they took the AP in 8th and got a certain score, whatever score you want to set.  They may not have liked that so many of the top kids left last year after 8th grade in DC - that, according to the founder, is not part of the plan, but maybe they can turn that around. But according to Saxon they will have completed Geometry. And an AP exam?

In the lower grades, they don't seem to care who stays or leaves because they start out here with a pool of 150 or so 5th graders (now we are up to 11th grade, which has about 25).  And I am sure the way students feel about leaving depends on when they leave, why they leave, and whether they choose to leave - if they are forced out or if they flunk out. I doubt any other school in this country but Basis schools have such a high attrition rate accomplished in this manner, which is quite likely to stress some kids out both at the top and the bottom - fear of failure or fear of not succeeding sufficiently, losing friends.

There are public awards ceremonies for grades at the end of each period, so everyone in your class knows if you are in the top 5%, top 15%, had a GPA of 90 or above, or not.  Just to explain why, especially in the space it is in, without a drama program or school newspaper or other normal student activities that most schools offer that kids can be good at, including sports, it can be an academic pressure cooker.  More competitive in 5th than normal among the top kids and it obviously gets worse the closer college gets. When people say "Basis is not for everyone" I hope they are talking about the entire atmosphere.  Because otherwise they deserve everything that gets thrown at them.  And it is an adjustment even if you love it.

But for many of us there is no better middle school in DC, the kids learn so much that most of them can get into Walls if they want to, where they then have to take Geometry and World History all over again!  Mr. Eyerman expects that number of kids to leave. It is part of the Basis model. He should help them land well if they have stuck it out until 8th grade and go to DCPS after. It might improve our reputation as well.
Yes the Saxon system does actually teach the kids Geometry by the end of Precalculus.  Yes 8th graders can get 5s on AP World History exams and you should not be able to force them to take the class over.[/quote]

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