Anonymous wrote:BASIS clearly needs more competition for the strongest DC public school middle school students.

Without any test-in/GT MS programs in the city, comparable rigor is impossible to find, particularly for math and science, even at Deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

\

The strongest BASIS MS students mostly leave for happier high schools. The joyless building, ridiculous grade pressure and weak extra-curricular offerings dissuade many families from staying. As somebody who has volunteered at BASIS, grew up in a working-class family and loved my studies as a teen and 20-something (Ivies for BA, MA and PhD), I can't understand for the life of me why BASIS insists that the program be a grind for most of the kids. They're shooting themselves in the foot for no good reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

It also reflects the lack of choices too many famlies have in DC. BASIS may be an awful fit, but they stay because the alternatives available to them are far worse (Coolidge,
Ballou, Roosevelt ...).

What do you mean, pp?
These students are still there because they were able to be successful throughout middle school, knowing about what to expect in high school. Shouldn't 5 years of being taught at high level math, science and humanities be enough to get a 3?

I don't know. Not every student still enrolled in BASIS DC does particularly well in the middle school; what if you were passing science or math or humanities classes with a C or C-, or worse? You would not be held back, but you are not exactly on track to get a good score on the AP exam either (this is a hypothetical; I've no idea what everyone's grades look like).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the current head of school is making sure that the interests of certain specific students are served. The attrition rate of teachers has been between 15-18% all these years. Many have left because they did not want to be part of the system and how it operates regardless of the promised bonus pays.

All charters have pretty high attrition rates. To put BASIS' rate in context:

Washington Latin - 14%
Cap City ES - 25%
Cap City MS - 17.6%
Cap City HS - 13.5%
EL Haynes - 20%
DCI - 27%

http://www.dcpcsb.org/report/evaluating/charter-school-annual-reports

Are the charters higher than regular DCPS? Wonder why DCI is so much higher?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the current head of school is making sure that the interests of certain specific students are served. The attrition rate of teachers has been between 15-18% all these years. Many have left because they did not want to be part of the system and how it operates regardless of the promised bonus pays.

All charters have pretty high attrition rates. To put BASIS' rate in context:

Washington Latin - 14%
Cap City ES - 25%
Cap City MS - 17.6%
Cap City HS - 13.5%
EL Haynes - 20%
DCI - 27%

http://www.dcpcsb.org/report/evaluating/charter-school-annual-reports

Are the charters higher than regular DCPS? Wonder why DCI is so much higher?

Anonymous wrote:Well the current head of school is making sure that the interests of certain specific students are served. The attrition rate of teachers has been between 15-18% all these years. Many have left because they did not want to be part of the system and how it operates regardless of the promised bonus pays.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

\

The strongest BASIS MS students mostly leave for happier high schools. The joyless building, ridiculous grade pressure and weak extra-curricular offerings dissuade many families from staying. As somebody who has volunteered at BASIS, grew up in a working-class family and loved my studies as a teen and 20-something (Ivies for BA, MA and PhD), I can't understand for the life of me why BASIS insists that the program be a grind for most of the kids. They're shooting themselves in the foot for no good reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

It also reflects the lack of choices too many famlies have in DC. BASIS may be an awful fit, but they stay because the alternatives available to them are far worse (Coolidge,
Ballou, Roosevelt ...).

What do you mean, pp?
These students are still there because they were able to be successful throughout middle school, knowing about what to expect in high school. Shouldn't 5 years of being taught at high level math, science and humanities be enough to get a 3?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

It also reflects the lack of choices too many famlies have in DC. BASIS may be an awful fit, but they stay because the alternatives available to them are far worse (Coolidge,
Ballou, Roosevelt ...).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

EXACTLY -- you'd think the Darwinian struggle to get past 7th grade would leave a really strong cohort but it just ensures the relatively few families gulping the kool aid remain in the fold

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?

And folks on other threads keep claiming we have so many gifted & talented children in the District,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SMH, BASIS doesn't have consistency, I'd be worried to send me kid there.

Since BASIS does not accept new students past 6th grade, the current sophomores and juniors have had at least 5 years of rigorous world class education in every subject. So how is the school justifying the fact that many students are not getting at least a "3" on the AP exam? Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the SAT scores are in general quite mediocre two years in a row. Since the school has the upside down pyramid model and the weak students have been weeded out or left, shouldn't the majority of the students who survived score well?