Anonymous wrote:So Algebra I ~ 5th grade

Algebra II ~ 6th

Precalc (trig, etc) ~ 7

Calculus AB ~ 8?

Calculus CD ~ 9?

Linear Algebra ~ 10?

Is that correct? Either way, very impressive.

How are their foreign language offerings?

There are other post AP math offerings as well to take a kid through 12 th grade at BASIS.

As for foreign languages, they offer Latin for 5th and 6th grade and a student may opt to continue with Latin or choose Mandarin, Spanish, or French from 7th grade and up. They also offer foreign language as an afterschool activity 3 times a week for 5th and 6th graders so far with classes directed to beginners and another directed toward advanced with certificates of completion.

https://basisdc.org/phocadownload/publications/brochure2012-2013.pdf

So Algebra I ~ 5th grade

Algebra II ~ 6th

Precalc (trig, etc) ~ 7

Calculus AB ~ 8?

Calculus CD ~ 9?

Linear Algebra ~ 10?

Is that correct? Either way, very impressive.

How are their foreign language offerings?

Anonymous wrote:Going back a step, what is the point of doing Algebra in 5th grade?

If a child is ready then why not? BASIS DC offers lots of supports and offers the full complement of courses up to and including AP Calculus as well as post AP math courses. Each student is assessed for where they are at in math and language arts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, Algebra 1 in fifth. Algebra 2 in sixth. This is the program for the most advanced math students (two years ahead).

The average BASIS student does "Math 7/8" in fifth, Pre-Algebra in sixth, Algebra 1 in seventh and Algebra 2 in eighth.

When do they take geometry?

The Saxon books incorporate a full year of geometry between the Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus (Advanced Mathematics) books if the editions are used are the same that BASIS uses. The author believed that a full year of geometry should be done in conjunction with the 3 courses mentioned above instead of separately.

Anonymous wrote:Going back a step, what is the point of doing Algebra in 5th grade?

If your child can do algebra in 5th grade, what is the point of waiting to do it in 8th grade?

Anonymous wrote:No, Algebra 1 in fifth. Algebra 2 in sixth. This is the program for the most advanced math students (two years ahead).

The average BASIS student does "Math 7/8" in fifth, Pre-Algebra in sixth, Algebra 1 in seventh and Algebra 2 in eighth.

When do they take geometry?

Going back a step, what is the point of doing Algebra in 5th grade?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My son would benefit from that small setting you are talking about, PP. What you are saying is indeed very encouraging. Today he is falling through the cracks, because he is a quiet, unobtrusive boy. He never gives the teacher any troubles, so from her vintage point, there is no problem. From mine, there is. He is getting the short end of the stick. He is only reluctantly rising his hand at school. He is getting bored, while getting used to the idea that he is at best average, just because he is not making noise at all cost, like some kids do, whom the school system seems to favor. I feel he would adapt to a huge school like Deal, but would thrive and really let his talents blossom in a smaller setting like Basis.

I posted from another thread, about my quiet child going to Deal versus BASIS or Latin, so I was so glad to find your post as well. We are moving ahead with our plans to have him attend BASIS next year, and although I think it will be quite a transition, what I want for him is more than they can offer at Deal. He's simply too quiet to make a fuss about it, and I do believe will simply fall through the cracks. I know raising his hand is not part of his grade, but the teachers are always mentioning it at conferences. I'm so over that. And since Wilson is not an option for us, I will only be looking for HS after 3 years of Deal, so why not hold him to the higher standards that BASIS offers and have him eventually enjoy school? I will go and look at Latin, just to compare, but I pretty much have my mind set on sending this child to a place that will encourage more from him, expect more for him, in a way that will eventually give him some internalized satisfaction with his academic skills. Or at least that's my hope!!!!

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you are kind person.

Anonymous wrote:It is pointless to try to explain high-performing charter schools to people who teach in Fairfax or MoCo.

The teacher was pretty flippant herself.

Wow, you are kind person.

Anonymous wrote:It is pointless to try to explain high-performing charter schools to people who teach in Fairfax or MoCo.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My son would benefit from that small setting you are talking about, PP. What you are saying is indeed very encouraging. Today he is falling through the cracks, because he is a quiet, unobtrusive boy. He never gives the teacher any troubles, so from her vintage point, there is no problem. From mine, there is. He is getting the short end of the stick. He is only reluctantly rising his hand at school. He is getting bored, while getting used to the idea that he is at best average, just because he is not making noise at all cost, like some kids do, whom the school system seems to favor. I feel he would adapt to a huge school like Deal, but would thrive and really let his talents blossom in a smaller setting like Basis.

It is also important to remember for people with kids like yours is that except for Drama, class participation is not a part of the grade in any of our dc classes. Homework also counts for very little in most, but makes sure that the kids are really mastering the subject - if you don't do it, they will come down on you and fix whatever the problem is. But what really matters is performance on the tests and quizzes. I guarantee he will not be bored, and he will not have to make ANY noise to excel.

We have met three people in our dc grade that pulled their kids out of private schools, including the British School, and they are very happy as well, and had no guarantee their kids would get back in if it did not work out. We made the choice to pull ours out of Latin, because even if as some assert the high school is fantastic, you cannot just waste middle school and then get an excellent high school education even if it is offered. All of these schools will thrive without our kids. And our kids are thriving at Basis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what kind of math are they doing at Basis? More advanced than geometry in 8th grade which appears to be the standard for advanced math students at area privates.

Algebra 1 and Algebra II.
Algebra I is a very speedy pace, much faster than the academies in MoCo (Takoma Park, Eastern). For many students, week-ends are spent reviewing the five chapters covered during the week.

Just to comment on the above post, the five chapters covered during the week is not what 5 chapters of a math book usually means. Its Saxon math so there are about 120 lessons/chapters in the book, each is short. So compare that to the number of "chapters" in your child's book to get about 4 lessons a week similar to a chapter in some texts. But it does move at a good pace with lots of referencing to past work. Also, it seems each homework or test has most of the questions from past chapters.

We did choose BASIS even though we are in boundary for Deal.

Just to chime in and second what others are saying.

Algebra is indeed the standard class for 7th Grade. There is the possibility of taking it in 5th grade as 4 kids are doing and some if not all getting A's. At least one full class of kids are taking Algebra in 6th Grade (this is the class the 5th graders sit in).

For us we chose BASIS because we felt that in the 8th grade and above we could select from a variety of advanced classes depending on our child's strengths, not just math which you can select in 5th, 6th and 7th.

OP here. My son would benefit from that small setting you are talking about, PP. What you are saying is indeed very encouraging. Today he is falling through the cracks, because he is a quiet, unobtrusive boy. He never gives the teacher any troubles, so from her vintage point, there is no problem. From mine, there is. He is getting the short end of the stick. He is only reluctantly rising his hand at school. He is getting bored, while getting used to the idea that he is at best average, just because he is not making noise at all cost, like some kids do, whom the school system seems to favor. I feel he would adapt to a huge school like Deal, but would thrive and really let his talents blossom in a smaller setting like Basis.