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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Too many questionable practices go unchecked at BASIS. For example, it's not uncommon for kids who leave on good form academically at whatever stage to be forced to retake math at other schools.  This happens after they couldn't pass placement tests testing math they supposedly learned at BASIS. We had a couple middle school teachers who cried in front of classes they couldn't handle multiple times. The more desperate you are for a decent school, the more BS you put up with.   [/quote]

That's every school system. DC, for instance, requires Algebra II for graduation. Less than 10% of the kids who take the algebra PARCC in high school score proficient, but they're all getting passed through. And the broader phenomenon of title inflation in math classes and kids requiring remediation in college for math classes they took in high school is nationwide. It's not good. It would be great if BASIS were the only public school in DC not doing this. [b]But also, your objection is not with BASIS specifically. [/b][/quote]
Yes, my objection is with BASIS specifically for requiring 7th grade algebra when at least half the kids aren't ready for it. These kids would probably be fine if they took 8th grade algebra.
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They can do that in every other school in DC. The problem isn't the one school that's only appropriate for kids who are advanced at math, it's the lack of options for kids who are at grade level or slightly ahead.[/quote]

The problem is more complex. Just because a BASIS middle school kid isn't ready for accelerated math at age 10, or 11 or 12, doesn't mean that they won't be able to handle seriously advanced math later on. What BASIS does is push acceleration on too many kids with strong math aptitude but aren't necessarily ready for algebra developmentally.  I watched my own kid memorize his way through 7th grade algebra, without grasping some of the concepts. When he was forced to repeat algebra in 8th grade, he aced it and went on to score a 5 on BC Calc in high school.  20 or 30 years ago, educators didn't see kids who couldn't handle 7th grade algebra as math challenged.  Indeed, 8th grade algebra was the norm for advanced math students through the 90s.  [/quote]

Your post exhibits no ownership or sense of personal responsibility. You go through great pains to set up that "kids aren't ready" and BASIS "pushes things on kids". In the end your kid had to repeat Algebra. That's not BASIS's or any school's fault. Your kid didn't actually learn the material (whatever the heck "memorizing algebra" means). No part of your post puts on your child (or your parenting) any responsibility. The reason BASIS is anomalous in DC is that it actually challenges kids and holds them to account for failure. Sounds like you want to have our cake and eat it too. Also sounds like you didn't do any due diligence before you sent your kid to BASIS. Based on your post I'm guessing you blame BASIS for your failures in that regard as well.[/quote].

Maybe. But the problem of many BASIS middle schoolers who go on to their high school being dramatically overraccelerated in math is real.  Blaming poor parenting only gets you so far. [/quote]

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