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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]That was just mid year. I bet it will be at least a 10% attrition rate by year end.

BASIS doesn't return the per pupil funding when the students leave after the count day in October.

To be honest, I'm pleasantly surprised the Charter School Board is doing anything at all. Interesting.

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BASIS does not engage in social promotion.  Starting in 6th grade, every student must pass comprehensive exams in all core subjects at the end of the year in order to advance to the next grade.

To provide kids with mid-year feedback on their chances for advancement, BASIS administers pre-comprehensive exams in February.  These "pre-comps" are just as hard as the year-end comps, but only cover the material taught through February.

The 6% attrition noted in the article is probably due in large part to this year's pre-comp results.  If a kid fails his pre-comps, is unlikely to catch up by the end of the year, and does not want to repeat the grade, then it's time to switch schools.

Most of the kids still at BASIS today did well enough on their pre-comps that they are likely to pass their comps and be promoted.  There is little reason for them to leave now.

It is unlikely that the attrition will increase to 10% by the end of the year.[/quote]

Whoops there. Looks like the BASIS attrition rate is already at 10%.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-charter-board-rejects-request-from-basis-to-expand/2013/04/16/32a735ee-a69a-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html

Nice to see the PCSB finally figuring out where they left their car keys though.[/quote]

This is a very misleading post and the 10% number is being treated as gospel in other posts.

On October 5, the enrollment at BASIS was 443.  According to the Examiner article, the enrollment was 417 recently.  Since (443 - 417) / 443 =  26 / 443 = 0.059, the attrition rate at BASIS 6%.  (Dictionary.com: attrition rate: the rate of shrinkage in size or number.)

According to the Post, 43 of the 443 students enrolled on October 5 have left.  However, 17 new students have enrolled since October 5.  The Post's failure to note that 40% of the departing students were replaced is particularly troubling, since the article goes on to assert the following:

[quote]The city’s funding rules allowed BASIS to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in per-pupil allotments for the students it lost after Oct. 5, while the schools that received those students got no additional money. [/quote]

BASIS received no additional funding for the 17 students who enrolled after October 5.  A more balanced presentation of the facts would have note that, by taking on 17 kids who left other charters (or DCPS) after October 5, BASIS itself is one of the schools who received students but got no additional money. 
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