Anonymous wrote:I favor kids being academically prepared to go to the next grade. At the junior high level it's hard to begin to demand this.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What's worse? Being "humiliated" by the wake-up call of possibly having to repeat a grade because a school like Basis holds you to an expectation of actually learning the material (and, that is after all why you are in school in the first place - to learn the material), or suffering the far greater, life-long humiliation that your school didn't care if you learned the material, and just socially promoted you from grade to grade, ultimately flinging you out into the adult world barely functional, barely able to read, add or subtract, and accordingly unprepared and unable to ever get a decent-paying job?
It's frankly mind-boggling that anyone with a bonafide interest in DC's educational would ever defend social promotion. Those who do have in effect already given up on the children's education and future.
The defense of social promotion is that research says that retention is worse. What students need is identification of the need for intervention and intensive remediation. Like every other public school, Basis will be required to provide that.
Anonymous wrote: This is very true in our case. I have a child who has not learned ANY NEW MATH CONCEPTS in his current charter these past 2 years, while no one has worked on improving his English skills. He is an English learner who is performing 2 years below grade level in English but the school has decided not to have him meet with the ELL teacher because he tests well in the DC CAS and ANET. Numerous meetings with admin and teachers have not resulted into anything tangible except his teachers complaining that he has to learn to be an independent learner.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
You correctly answer the minimum number of questions required for placement in the grade you would like to enter.
If you take a placement exam with the intention of being placed in the 7th grade and you are placed in the 7th grade, you have passed the placement exam. If you are placed in the 6th grade you have essentially failed the placement exam. Is this idea so controversial?
The lowest math that will be giving is saxon 8/7. I was also informed that the students are allowed to move up during the school lyear. So you may start in Saxon 8/7 math, but you can move up to Pre-Algebra or Algebra I.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
You correctly answer the minimum number of questions required for placement in the grade you would like to enter.
If you take a placement exam with the intention of being placed in the 7th grade and you are placed in the 7th grade, you have passed the placement exam. If you are placed in the 6th grade you have essentially failed the placement exam. Is this idea so controversial?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
Well, if you do not like where you are placed on the exam you may feel as if you have "flunked" the exam.
I am sure the children don't get the exam results. You are really grasping for straws now!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I haven't read all the post. My understanding is if a child fails a class, they will repeat that class over again. I feel there is nothing wrong with that. If you fail a college class, don't you have to take it again?
Exactly![]()
In college there is no problem-- but what will happen iF lots of kids get held back? Will basis have a separate class for them? Or will the classes at basis sqEw older? So that average age kids are out numbered by older kids?
Seems like an unlikely scenario, PP. I could see a family allowing a child to repeat one year at BASIS, if the child came from an underperforming school and it appeared that the additional year would enable the child to get back on track. However, allowing the child to repeat the same grade multiple times or repeat multiple grades once seems very unlikely.
Eventually, the family will come to the realization that failing repeatedly at BASIS is worse than attending their IB middle school -- even if the IB middle school is underperforming.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
Well, if you do not like where you are placed on the exam you may feel as if you have "flunked" the exam.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can a child enroll into Basis if they have failed grades at other schools?
Of course! The law does not allow for selective admissions!
However, if he wants a spot in the 7th grade or higher, he will have to pass a placement exam. There is no placement exam for 5th and 6th.
(I think the placement exam requirement is waived for the first year the school is in operation, so next year's 7th and 8th graders might not have to test in to those grades.)
How do you pass a PLACEMENT EXAM? It is a placement exam, not an admission exam! All students will take the placement exam.
Anonymous wrote:But what if a kid is super gifted in some subjects but really struggling in another? Would BASIS hold back a child in one subject, but allow them to advance and stay with their peers in the other subjects?