Reply to Why are kids dropping out of BASIS DC starting in 7/8th grade?

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[quote=Anonymous]I've been an Ivy interviewer in this area for quite a while. I am also a DCPS parent, so I'm lookingcarefully at potential schools. Some things about BASIS concern me.

One is acceleration for acceleration's sake. Acceleration is something you do for kids who are bored. It's important that the kids be held to the same standard as older kids in terms of mastering the material. It's not clear to me that that is happening at BASIS. Lots of 11th graders at Wilson and Walls get 5's on AP tests; I see their scores  when I interview them. If BASIS is having kids take APs in the eighth grade and then is satisfied when they get 3's, they are really disadvantaging these kids at college admissions time. It is much better to get a 5 as an 11th grader than to get a 3 as an eighth grader.

BASIS's proposal for their DC schools is also non committal as to what they will provide post-calculus. Their plan is full of qualifiers like "if there is sufficient student interest".  If they think they can find someone to teach linear algebra competently on a DC charter salary, Godspeed.

The second is the lack of project based science opportunities. BASIS kids are entirely absent from the DC STEM Fair. Selective colleges love kids who do original research. Where are the BASIS Intel and Siemens entries? I'm not sure how they can sell themselves as a school for STEM kids if they don't actually have the kids get in there and DO STEM.

The third is the lack of extracurriculars. If you want to be competitive for admission to a selective college, you need to be performing at a regional / state level in extracurriculars. It can be a sport, music, journalism, Eagle Scout, whatever, but you need to do it in a way that suggests commitment and mastery at a high level.

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