BASIS discussions come up whenever a post is about SH for obvious reasons. An enormous percentage of the BASIS student body is coming from Capitol Hill where families chose BASIS over SH. So of course in assessing SH this post is evoking comments from parents explaining why they didn’t choose it. But those parents didn’t forego SH for Deal. By and large folks are not choosing between SH and Deal for the obvious reason that they are two very different boundary locations and the commute between the two boundaries is daunting. So this thread wasn’t going to get too many helpful responses other than the obvious one: if you live in Capitol Hill and are worried about SH, look at BASIS and Latin and if that’s not for you or not an option, choose Deal because it has the better HS feed at the expense of a very long commute if you live on the hill. That’s it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that the commute from the Hill to MacArthur is a real drag during rush hour. The future campus is nowhere near near a Metro stop or a bus route that goes from the Hill. I live near Union Station but used to work near the future campus, where free parking was available to me. Many mornings, it took me nearly an hour to get to work through traffic. Also, Walls is not the safe bet for strong Hill students it once was, now that the entrance exam and PARCC scores have both been dropped in the admissions process. Think twice about a DCPS middle school EotP. Might be better to move.

When was Walls ever a safe bet with waitlist of 100+ kids?

Pre Covid, Walls was quite a safe bet for the strongest 8th graders EotP, coming out of both public and private schools. Before Bowser began pressuring DCPS to admit more low-SES minority students from over the River, and to ditch the entrance exam and standardized test scores requirements (DC-CAS, then PARCC or PSAT or SAT score) the academically able would get in. I've lived on the Hill for 30 years and saw this phenomenon play out over and over, particularly for teens who were very good at math, regardless of race. The Walls entrance exams emphasized fairly tough algebra and geometry. No longer. Admission to Walls has essentially become a lottery in the last several years.

That's a false assumption. There may have been intent to attract more diverse students to Walls, including from EotP, but the school remains overwhelmingly white and/or higher SES and enrolls an extremely small number of students from EotP. Dropping the entrance exam had no impact on the demographics

Dropping the entrance exam has in fact had a small impact on demographics and a larger impact on rigor. Now Walls admits plenty of white kids who are B students, along with those of other races. Sad.

This-- my DC was admitted to Walls from Deal last year...there was zero correlation between the academic merits of the kids who got in and the kids who didn't. In fact, fewer of the kids in geometry or Algebra 2 got in. Given the grade inflation, it was a total crap shoot.

PARCC scores over the next few years are going to be very telling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. BASIS people, you have ruined this thread. Next time, if the thread is not about BASIS, kindly stfu.

Meh. The entire thread was contrived (as if to draw clicks and responses) and it dies a slow death because no one in their right mind would choose SH over Deal.

Just like nobody in their right mind would choose Capitol Hill over Upper NW? We know in-boundary UMC parents who are giving SH a try for 6th grade because they currently lack another remotely acceptable public MS option in this city and decided not to move, at least for the time being. Some of these folks would have gone for BASIS or Latin Cooper if they'd got off either WL. They may or may not return to SH for 7th. Parents EotP do their best by their children, just like the smuggest of you Upper NW'esters.

What? You just made my point for me. No one "chooses" SH. If they could choose Deal over SH they would 100% of the time if for no other reason than JR. I agree with you that SH is the option when Latin and BASIS lotteries don't come home. I am also not suggesting SH isn't a great school for many who attend. The question, however, is about choosing between SH and Deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that the commute from the Hill to MacArthur is a real drag during rush hour. The future campus is nowhere near near a Metro stop or a bus route that goes from the Hill. I live near Union Station but used to work near the future campus, where free parking was available to me. Many mornings, it took me nearly an hour to get to work through traffic. Also, Walls is not the safe bet for strong Hill students it once was, now that the entrance exam and PARCC scores have both been dropped in the admissions process. Think twice about a DCPS middle school EotP. Might be better to move.

When was Walls ever a safe bet with waitlist of 100+ kids?

Pre Covid, Walls was quite a safe bet for the strongest 8th graders EotP, coming out of both public and private schools. Before Bowser began pressuring DCPS to admit more low-SES minority students from over the River, and to ditch the entrance exam and standardized test scores requirements (DC-CAS, then PARCC or PSAT or SAT score) the academically able would get in. I've lived on the Hill for 30 years and saw this phenomenon play out over and over, particularly for teens who were very good at math, regardless of race. The Walls entrance exams emphasized fairly tough algebra and geometry. No longer. Admission to Walls has essentially become a lottery in the last several years.

That's a false assumption. There may have been intent to attract more diverse students to Walls, including from EotP, but the school remains overwhelmingly white and/or higher SES and enrolls an extremely small number of students from EotP. Dropping the entrance exam had no impact on the demographics

Dropping the entrance exam has in fact had a small impact on demographics and a larger impact on rigor. Now Walls admits plenty of white kids who are B students, along with those of other races. Sad.

This-- my DC was admitted to Walls from Deal last year...there was zero correlation between the academic merits of the kids who got in and the kids who didn't. In fact, fewer of the kids in geometry or Algebra 2 got in. Given the grade inflation, it was a total crap shoot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. BASIS people, you have ruined this thread. Next time, if the thread is not about BASIS, kindly stfu.

Meh. The entire thread was contrived (as if to draw clicks and responses) and it dies a slow death because no one in their right mind would choose SH over Deal.

Just like nobody in their right mind would choose Capitol Hill over Upper NW? We know in-boundary UMC parents who are giving SH a try for 6th grade because they currently lack another remotely acceptable public MS option in this city and decided not to move, at least for the time being. Some of these folks would have gone for BASIS or Latin Cooper if they'd got off either WL. They may or may not return to SH for 7th. Parents EotP do their best by their children, just like the smuggest of you Upper NW'esters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. BASIS people, you have ruined this thread. Next time, if the thread is not about BASIS, kindly stfu.

Meh. The entire thread was contrived (as if to draw clicks and responses) and it dies a slow death because no one in their right mind would choose SH over Deal.

Both of these are true.

Jeff should post a sticky just for the BASIS debaters.

Anonymous wrote:Omg. BASIS people, you have ruined this thread. Next time, if the thread is not about BASIS, kindly stfu.

Meh. The entire thread was contrived (as if to draw clicks and responses) and it dies a slow death because no one in their right mind would choose SH over Deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

What???!!! That's round the bend conspiracy theory even for DCUM. Where, exactly, are all of those "high-achievers" going to go for MS? MS parents don't care about attrition until 9th when they would prefer more kids stick around for HS.

By and large BASIS parents aren't claiming perfection. They like the school. It does a great job for their kids. It is not a good fit for every kids and every single BASIS parent will tell you that. Noteworthy of recent the best BASIS haters can do is "it isn't as good as [insert NY application schools] [insert suburban schools] [insert TJ].

People like you are so very odd. I know why BASIS parents are invested in the school. Why are YOU so invested in trying to take the school down a peg? Why does it anger you that people like the school? Respectfully, you might want to examine your own insecurities.

I’m not trying to take the school down a peg. I know a bunch of great kids there. I’m just explaining the dynamic on here. Current parents want as many kids as possible to stay for high school, prospective parents are trying to get candid info to determine fit. That’s the dynamic.

My lord. You think BASIS families are on DCUM speaking to other BASIS to convince them to remain? That's bananas.

Well then, why are you here?

It isn't to tell current parents what the school is like! Why is that such a hard concept?

Omg. BASIS people, you have ruined this thread. Next time, if the thread is not about BASIS, kindly stfu.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

What???!!! That's round the bend conspiracy theory even for DCUM. Where, exactly, are all of those "high-achievers" going to go for MS? MS parents don't care about attrition until 9th when they would prefer more kids stick around for HS.

By and large BASIS parents aren't claiming perfection. They like the school. It does a great job for their kids. It is not a good fit for every kids and every single BASIS parent will tell you that. Noteworthy of recent the best BASIS haters can do is "it isn't as good as [insert NY application schools] [insert suburban schools] [insert TJ].

People like you are so very odd. I know why BASIS parents are invested in the school. Why are YOU so invested in trying to take the school down a peg? Why does it anger you that people like the school? Respectfully, you might want to examine your own insecurities.

I’m not trying to take the school down a peg. I know a bunch of great kids there. I’m just explaining the dynamic on here. Current parents want as many kids as possible to stay for high school, prospective parents are trying to get candid info to determine fit. That’s the dynamic.

My lord. You think BASIS families are on DCUM speaking to other BASIS to convince them to remain? That's bananas.

Well then, why are you here?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

What???!!! That's round the bend conspiracy theory even for DCUM. Where, exactly, are all of those "high-achievers" going to go for MS? MS parents don't care about attrition until 9th when they would prefer more kids stick around for HS.

By and large BASIS parents aren't claiming perfection. They like the school. It does a great job for their kids. It is not a good fit for every kids and every single BASIS parent will tell you that. Noteworthy of recent the best BASIS haters can do is "it isn't as good as [insert NY application schools] [insert suburban schools] [insert TJ].

People like you are so very odd. I know why BASIS parents are invested in the school. Why are YOU so invested in trying to take the school down a peg? Why does it anger you that people like the school? Respectfully, you might want to examine your own insecurities.

I’m not trying to take the school down a peg. I know a bunch of great kids there. I’m just explaining the dynamic on here. Current parents want as many kids as possible to stay for high school, prospective parents are trying to get candid info to determine fit. That’s the dynamic.

My lord. You think BASIS families are on DCUM speaking to other BASIS to convince them to remain? That's bananas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

What???!!! That's round the bend conspiracy theory even for DCUM. Where, exactly, are all of those "high-achievers" going to go for MS? MS parents don't care about attrition until 9th when they would prefer more kids stick around for HS.

By and large BASIS parents aren't claiming perfection. They like the school. It does a great job for their kids. It is not a good fit for every kids and every single BASIS parent will tell you that. Noteworthy of recent the best BASIS haters can do is "it isn't as good as [insert NY application schools] [insert suburban schools] [insert TJ].

People like you are so very odd. I know why BASIS parents are invested in the school. Why are YOU so invested in trying to take the school down a peg? Why does it anger you that people like the school? Respectfully, you might want to examine your own insecurities.

I’m not trying to take the school down a peg. I know a bunch of great kids there. I’m just explaining the dynamic on here. Current parents want as many kids as possible to stay for high school, prospective parents are trying to get candid info to determine fit. That’s the dynamic.

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

Wait...so your theory is that BASIS parents are on DCUM speaking mainly to current parents to convince them that BASIS is great? How does that make any sense? Do you think parents who have kids at a school are ignoring their kid's experience and what they see every day in favor of anonymous DCUM posts?

You are "Exhibit A" for what I hereby deem BASIS Derangement Syndrome (DRS).

Anonymous wrote:BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.

What???!!! That's round the bend conspiracy theory even for DCUM. Where, exactly, are all of those "high-achievers" going to go for MS? MS parents don't care about attrition until 9th when they would prefer more kids stick around for HS.

By and large BASIS parents aren't claiming perfection. They like the school. It does a great job for their kids. It is not a good fit for every kids and every single BASIS parent will tell you that. Noteworthy of recent the best BASIS haters can do is "it isn't as good as [insert NY application schools] [insert suburban schools] [insert TJ].

People like you are so very odd. I know why BASIS parents are invested in the school. Why are YOU so invested in trying to take the school down a peg? Why does it anger you that people like the school? Respectfully, you might want to examine your own insecurities.

BASIS generates these conversations because prospective parents are trying to determine fit before filling out their lottery cards, while current parents are trying to prevent voluntary attrition by high-achievers. The result is constant demand for candid assessments, and bottomless energy to deny every alleged weakness. And round we go.