To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a good school but it's ridiculous to claim that you've got a "great" public school in a program with no:

instrumental music program
playing fields or outdoor space
library or media center
stage
gym
serious art instruction
serious sports teams
wide hallways
group study spaces with natural light
cafeteria with windows
head of school who lasts more than 2 years
foreign language instruction before 8th grade

Try again.

We get it! Your kid washed out. You post the same things every year. My favorite part is that the current Head of School has been there more than 2 years!

Nope. You assume that everybody who points out BASIS' deficiencies is the same poster. Um, my kid didn't wash out of anything.

We completed middle school at BASIS (last year) and moved on to Walls.

So, to summarize...

1. You know the Head of School has been there longer than 2 years but you feel the need to make things up
2. The school didn't have windows in the lunchroom, a library (as if that's a think kids care about) or media room (IBID), wide hallways, foreign language in 5th or serious sports teams when you CHOSE to send your kid there (because DC has school choice)
3. Your kid stayed for 4 years in spite of this terrible environment ad deficiencies
4. Your kid was accepted to Walls

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a good school but it's ridiculous to claim that you've got a "great" public school in a program with no:

instrumental music program
playing fields or outdoor space
library or media center
stage
gym
serious art instruction
serious sports teams
wide hallways
group study spaces with natural light
cafeteria with windows
head of school who lasts more than 2 years
foreign language instruction before 8th grade

Try again.

We get it! Your kid washed out. You post the same things every year. My favorite part is that the current Head of School has been there more than 2 years!

Nope. You assume that everybody who points out BASIS' deficiencies is the same poster. Um, my kid didn't wash out of anything.

We completed middle school at BASIS (last year) and moved on to Walls.

OP-
1) There is no basis exam, as people said. It's a lottery; no different from Latin or other schools.
2) The comprehensive exams happen in school, and they don't begin until 6th grade.
3) Do go check out the school in person and get all the info you can.

Anonymous wrote:It's a good school but it's ridiculous to claim that you've got a "great" public school in a program with no:

instrumental music program
playing fields or outdoor space
library or media center
stage
gym
serious art instruction
serious sports teams
wide hallways
group study spaces with natural light
cafeteria with windows
head of school who lasts more than 2 years
foreign language instruction before 8th grade

Try again.

We get it! Your kid washed out. You post the same things every year. My favorite part is that the current Head of School has been there more than 2 years!

Anonymous wrote:It's a good school but it's ridiculous to claim that you've got a "great" public school in a program with no:

instrumental music program
playing fields or outdoor space
library or media center
stage
gym
serious art instruction
serious sports teams
wide hallways
group study spaces with natural light
cafeteria with windows
head of school who lasts more than 2 years
foreign language instruction before 8th grade

Try again.

I could quibble with many of the things on this list (the BASIS soccer team practices at RFK for goodness sakes - so who cares if school doesn't have its own fields??) - but the one that immediately jumps out at me as the parent of a very talented artist - I have been very impressed with the art instruction! What am I missing on that front?

BASIS is obviously a great test prep factory, not a great school. Drink the Kool Aid if you must for lack of a good alternative, OP. No BASIS thread would be complete without a submission from the guy who posts the USNWR link.

It's a good school but it's ridiculous to claim that you've got a "great" public school in a program with no:

instrumental music program
playing fields or outdoor space
library or media center
stage
gym
serious art instruction
serious sports teams
wide hallways
group study spaces with natural light
cafeteria with windows
head of school who lasts more than 2 years
foreign language instruction before 8th grade

Try again.

There is no exam.

BASIS DC is a great school.

If your kid is academically inclined and lucky enough to get into the school through the lottery, enjoy!

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

There are many good things about BASIS, OP. We particularly liked how teachers were expected to hold office hours to give extra help (generally not the case with unionized teachers, wherever you find them). But if you can afford to send your kid to a school with strong academics, extra curriculars/enrichment and good facilities, do it.

Anonymous wrote:Right, but BASIS weeds out middle school kids subtly but systematically between 6th and 9th grades. Roughly one-third of any given 5th grade cohort remains for 9th grade.

Essentially, the only type of achievement that's celebrated at BASIS is academic (vs. sporting, musical, artistic, theatrical, bilingual/linguistic, creative talents and accomplishments).

If you wind up with an alternative for middle school, think twice.

There is nothing subtle about what BASIS does or how they do it. They tell you up front they are there to get every kid admitted to a four year college. They scream to the hilltops about the amount of scholarship money earned by its graduates for college and they are very focused on academic rankings. Starting in 6th grade there is a year end comprehensive exam; if your kid doesn't pass they have to repeat a grade (or leave). There is no social promotion. They are concerned about clubs and other interests, but academics are the #1 priority...period. The classes get smaller because BASIS doesn't fill open spots starting in week 1 of 5th grade. 5th graders take 8 classes. By virtue of the foregoing the 5th grade class is self selecting at the start. The kids who choose to go tend to be more focused on academics.

If that's not something that is a good fit for you or your kid then BASIS is not a good fit for you. And that is ok. It doesn't have to be for everyone. DC has school choice. People like PP are probably the same people who send their kids to Duke Ellington and complain that there's not enough focus on foreign languages or math.

Right, but BASIS weeds out middle school kids subtly but systematically between 6th and 9th grades. Roughly one-third of any given 5th grade cohort remains for 9th grade.

Essentially, the only type of achievement that's celebrated at BASIS is academic (vs. sporting, musical, artistic, theatrical, bilingual/linguistic, creative talents and accomplishments).

If you wind up with an alternative for middle school, think twice.

You are confused. BASIS is a lottery school. There is no entrance exam or interview process.

Anonymous wrote:DS is a new 4th grader at DCPS WOTP feeder to Hardy. We are starting to think about middle school options. Families that we know at Hardy seem happy. DS is not interested in private school. I have not explored charters, but we know some families that are happy at Basis. For Basis families, how did you prepare your 10-year-old for the exam. Did you keep it light hearted, did you prep with a tutor? This is all new territory for us (DS is our oldest child). Thank you for all advice.

There is no entrance exam, its all lottery. There was a math placement test - I am not sure if they still do it, but no prep needed. It's just to see where the kids are

DS is a new 4th grader at DCPS WOTP feeder to Hardy. We are starting to think about middle school options. Families that we know at Hardy seem happy. DS is not interested in private school. I have not explored charters, but we know some families that are happy at Basis. For Basis families, how did you prepare your 10-year-old for the exam. Did you keep it light hearted, did you prep with a tutor? This is all new territory for us (DS is our oldest child). Thank you for all advice.