Gene V. Glass, one of the nation’s most eminent researchers, has a passion for honesty. And it outrages him that two BASIS charter schools are listed among the “top ten high schools” in the nation by US News & World Report.
How does BASIS get those high test scores? They admit many students and winnow them out by imposing academic demands that most students can’t meet. They admit hundreds of students in each grade but end up with only a few dozen graduates. If your idea of “best” is the school with the highest scores, then this is the school for you!
Glass publishes a lengthy account from a mother of a student at one of the celebrated BASIS charter schools. Although he is a straight A student at BASIS, she is thinking of switching him back to the public schools. Why?
She writes:
His classes consist of taking notes and then spitting them out on exams. There is no time in any of his core classes for any meaningful discussions about the subject matter. It’s a race to copy the notes and then study the notes to then take the weekly exams given in all core subjects. Two February’s have passed and not one teacher has made mention of Black History Month. Recently we had our very own Arizona astronaut launch into space; again no mention of this. His Language Arts class consists of weekly packets that are not gone over in class yet the kids are expected to complete them on their own at home and then take the unit exam at the end of the week.
What we have found at BASIS is that only the strongest survive. The kids who leave behind all their extra curricular activities and focus solely on their academics. Very smart kids are leaving the school so that they may have a better balance of school and life outside of school. We also have found that the BASIS kids have no idea of current affairs, what’s going on in the world now. They also do little to no community service.
Why are we thinking of taking our son out even though he is a top performer? Because life is short and there is more to life than studying 24/7. We want him to be well rounded. To understand about the world he is growing up in and to care enough about it to grow into a person who wants to make it a better place. It was great for him to go there for 5th and 6th grade because his other charter school could’t keep up with his level of advancement from year to year. He needed the advanced math and sciences. Now that he is going into the 7th grade the Chandler School District can accommodate his educational needs. He’ll be able to be in advanced, honors and AP classes. Even better, he will have a choice of what subjects he will take his AP’s in instead of being forced to take AP exams that are mandated by BASIS. If he stays on the path is on he will still graduate with as many AP classes as the students at BASIS but it will be in subjects he is interested in and at a pace that will allow him to also grow into a responsible person who understands that life is more about what you scored on a exam.
Gene Glass asks:
How long will the State of Arizona continue to pour millions of dollars annually into this “business” known as BASIS charter schools? How many times will US News & World Report blindly publicize this pathetic imitation of a school?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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And now it comes to light that not only is the BASIS corporation a bit of a scam, but they are also upping their state allocation of $ by classifying students as “Autistic” and doing nothing to serve “autistic” students, and their administrative costs are ridiculously out-of-bounds — more than double those of traditional public schools: http://GrandCanyonInstitute.org/
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Your understanding of how “success” is simply euphemism for “skimming” is enlightening.
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Arizona will continue to pump money into this school as long as its elected officials are bought and paid for by the interests served and enriched by doing so.
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“Top ten high schools in the nation” – what a ridiculous notion to begin with. Based on what? And, more to the point, who cares? (Yes, sadly, I realize that far too many do.)
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It always seemed like a scam to me- both this ranking and the Best Colleges edition.
It just seems so obvious that they produce these “editions” so one would have some reason to buy that magazine.
We love rankings in this country, though. There is literally nothing we like better than reductive, over-simplified measures of complicated things, so they sure saw us coming 🙂
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Runs as fast as you can from all ratings of education in US News & World Report.
These are provided by outfits that are friendly to metrics concocted to make make charters and funders of them look good, including sham ratings of teacher preparation programs. The ratings are exactly what Bill Gates LOVES, and help to fund.
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Diane you may want to look at this blog with reactions from parents in Tuscon Basis
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2014/06/06/a-very-frightening-story-from-basis-san-antonio
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Thank you, Gene V. Glass….
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This sounds like an “early college high school” charter that’s in my district. The district actually partially funds it. There are no music and very few art classes, no debate, sports, or other extracurricular activities. Every year I have students go there, and the basically drop out of sight. Even though they are allowed to do extracurriculars at their “home” high school, the vast majority never do. Yes, they get an associate’s degree even before they graduate from high school. But my question to these kids has always been: “Is it worth it?” and, “Why the rush to get a degree so young?” For some I know that it’s financial–that saves on tuition. BUT, they are forced to grow up so fast. I personally don’t think the trade-off is worth it.
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But… they have HIGH SCORES…………..
But… their education is so RIGOROUS…………….
But… OBJECTIVITY…………………….
*Cognitive Dissonance Intensifies*
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Yes. And it’s sad, isn’t it?
But it does serve corporate interests, and produces robot-workers who will serve their corporate employers well. Not questioning anything, not asking for higher wages, sacrificing a normal home life in the interests of doing what the corporations want……….. 😦
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This is amazing. Out of the top ten high schools 2 are charter schools. This comes as a surprise to all charter haters in this blog.
I have known about the Thomas Jefferson school and its rigorous entrance requirements. If you graduate from Thomas Jefferson, you will get admission to the top universities in this country with ease.
Just for the sake of completeness of my understanding, i verified that all the 8 public schools(in the top ten) have extremely rigorous entrance requirements. One has to be the best student in that area to be able to get admission to one of those schools.
On the other hand the charter schools must accept all comers, and if more students than spots are available, they must use a lottery system to select admission. Therefore the student body at start up in no way can be equal to the other 8 public schools that use merit (as determined by high stakes testing) as the only admission criteria and select the best from the larger area. Therefore charter schools start out with a severe handicap as compared the other schools.
This blog states “How does BASIS get those high test scores? They admit many students and winnow them out by imposing academic demands that most students can’t meet. They admit hundreds of students in each grade but end up with only a few dozen graduates. If your idea of “best” is the school with the highest scores, then this is the school for you!”
The last sentence “If your idea of “best” is the school with the highest scores, then this is the school for you!” is valid for all the top public schools not just the charters.
If you want admission to the top 8 public schools you better be a great scholar and if you want admission to the top 2 charters you better be lucky and then better be able to stick it out.
I suppose that a public school practicing some form of discrimination is acceptable, but a charter school the same is forbidden.
I for one would like my grand children attend one of the top high schools, whether it is a charter or a public school.
Kudos for the charters that have broken the top ten barrier.
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“Kudos for the charters that have broken the top ten barrier.”
When the assessing tool is totally flawed and invalid any conclusions derived from such a tool are COMPLETELY INVALID. In other words, the US News & World Report’s bogus ranking scheme merits nothing more than derision and scorn. Any sis boom bahs for any of the crap that is spewed in this ranking are duds at best, cheap trickery at worst.
Don’t fall for the bullshit, Raj, you’re too intelligent for it.
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Raj said: “I for one would like my grand children attend one of the top high schools, whether it is a charter or a public school.”
I would never recommend anyone’s children to this school.
If it makes you feel better, I am also highly suspect of the other “top 10 schools.” Not just the two charters.
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Raj, I wonder if your grandchildren would like to attend a high school like BASIS if they were told that there was only a 40% chance they’d make it to graduation. And if they did, there was only a 40% chance the best friends they made along the way would make it with them.
Do you really think they’d find that appealing? I can tell you that most high schoolers would not.
And the myth that this gives kids an opportunity that those selective public high schools don’t is just that — a myth. The average household income at BASIS is far higher than schools like Stuy, which have a majority of low-income students. BASIS exists only in cities that don’t seem to have their own test in high school. Basically, those cities — with a little help from friendly politicians — outsourced their selective high school to a private entity. It’s ironic, since the one thing public education has never failed to do is educate the gifted kids who could pass 3 AP classes by age 13 or 14. Are you pleased that private individuals are getting rich at the government trough doing the least expensive and easiest part of education?
There is no reason that there should not be more large high schools that have both high achieving and lower achieving students. Edward R. Murrow in Brooklyn is one. The one thing I find most disturbing is when politicians allow private entities to teach only the cheap students while leaving behind any student who they find a bit more expensive to teach. It’s the worst use of public resources – kind of like paying a private hospital huge bucks to treat children with strep throats while paying public hospitals the same dollars to treat every serious illness that costs a bit more money than writing a prescription for an antiobiotic.
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You conveniently forget, Raj, that while charters MAY have to “take all comers” (and many are not required to), charters also quickly get rid of many of those students through a variety of means.
For example, the early high school charter that I referred to upthread only accepts sophomores–no upper classmen. Furthermore, they give all incoming sophomores a math test. If students are found to not be as “proficient” on the math as the school wants, students may have to retake a math class that they have already passed. This drives a lot of kids away from the charter, because they don’t want to have to repeat a class.
Different charters have all kinds of ways to get rid of students that don’t “fit” their set up, hence raising test scores. Plus, keeping the money of the students that leave their charters.
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NYC Parent – don’t worry, no one at BASIS has time for a best friend. Or sports. Or clubs. Or sleeping.
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Duane Swacker,
I have researched Thomas Jefferson, because I have a grandson who would make it one day. It is a great school and its reputation is fabulous. I know a few people whose children have gone through the famous school and are doing great.
Starting with a deep bias, many of you have a great deal of difficulty in accepting known facts and you attempt to put it down using extraneous irrelevant arguments. You need to show proof to support your statements.
US news and World Reports methodology may not be perfect. But the fact of the matter is that Thomas Jefferson has a great reputation and any amount of bad mouthing, the school and the methodology will not change it. It is very difficult to get in, because the competition is intense. Once a school is able to select the best students, it will shine.
I cannot say the same about other schools but just looking at the extremely stringent admission criteria, i have to admit they must be great schools.
I know this is true for great universities such as UC Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Princeton etc. They also rank on the top in the US News and World Report.
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Threatened Out West
“You conveniently forget, Raj, that while charters MAY have to “take all comers” (and many are not required to), charters also quickly get rid of many of those students through a variety of means.”
No I did not forget. By the same token the top selective public schools will not and do not take all comers. They have extremely stringent acceptance criteria. They only accept the best. Take a careful look at the admission criteria for any or all of them. It is all in the open, just takes some time and effort on your part and then tell me.
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Thomas Jefferson is a PUBLIC school. Just like Stuy. They are part of a larger system and if the so-called best and brightest kids are placed together in a single school, that does NOT absolve that public system from educating the remaining kids. Unlike BASIS and the other charter schools, getting a child out of your school does not mean you can absolve yourself of all responsibility.
Are you saying the charter schools should be required to pay for the cost of educating every child who spends a single day in their school for the rest of their time? Or are you afraid that charters would quickly abandon that because they know it’s a money-losing proposition if they can’t cherry-pick the least expensive students? I agree. That’s why we both agree that charters like BASIS and any other charter that rids itself of so many students needs to be shut down pronto.
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Raj: I am not happy with selective admission public schools, either. I much prefer comprehensive high schools, where students of all types and abilities mix together.
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And one or two schools is not indicative of some sort of trend, Raj.
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Raj,
Where is the T. Jefferson school located?
TIA,
Duane
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Nobody condones bad behavior on the part of either public or charter schools. The point is that public education serves all types of students. I personally do not have a problem with selective admission schools, but let’s not pretend they have some miraculous teaching methods to get higher scores than the general population and use these scores to ridicule and demean all the other schools. Teachers are not the curse or messiah to education. Test scores tell you about the students, not necessarily the teachers and the school. Yes, kudos to the high achievers, but they do not boost those at the bottom as the charter cheerleaders pretend.
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Selective admission public schools are part of the entire public system. If the bigger public system directs some high achieving students into them, that same system is still responsible for the education of the students who don’t attend, even if it is in a different school.
But with charters, they are only responsible for the kids in their school and any child who they can make miserable enough to leave — obviously that will be the low-scoring ones and anyone else who doesn’t help their PR — is no longer their responsibility, either financially or in terms of their academic achievement.
Can you imagine if we switched the system? What if public schools could send any child they didn’t want to teach to charter schools? Which schools would be getting good results, and which would be “failing”?
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This is like a hospital claiming to have the best patient outcomes in the nation, only it turns out they transfer all their sick patients to other hospitals and only treat a few healthy people who came in for vaccines.
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Exactly. Only imagine if the people in charge gave MORE money to hospital that transferred out its sick patients as a reward for their “good performance!” (That’s certainly what the SUNY Charter Institute does, as well as Obama’s DOE funding for “high-performing, we don’t care how many kids you get rid of charter school grants”.)
Medical and science reporters recognize how absurd it would be to praise a hospital that transferred its sickest patients. Unfortunately, too many education reporters seem to lack the skill or knowledge to understand the difference. Or maybe they just lack common sense. Not all, but seeing the ones who are charter cheerleaders makes me embarrassed for them.
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Also overlooked is the difference between schools (be they private schools or public schools with selective admission) that screen kids is the effect on kids of being systematically “forced out” — deliberately, as part of a diabolic, but largely unspoken process. Leaving aside for a moment whether selective schools are a good thing or not — a highly troubling aspect of schools like BASIS and Success Academy is the horrible effect that the winnowing process has on the kids. The LUCKY kids are those whose parents wise up to “the game” and shield their kids by not putting them through these meat grinders in the first place. But, for those who have somehow “missed” the message (that their undesirable kid will be drummed out of the school by a mixture of harsh discipline and unyielding demands to conform to specific academic and behavioral criteria), the way “out” comes through systematically making the child so miserable that they either become ill, fail (academically) or become so traumatized and/or anti-social that their behavior deteriorates and they can be serially suspended (each day or each week) until their parents give up.
A similar thing was done, once, to one of my children by a private school that claimed to work in the area of ONE of the child’s learning disabilities — but didn’t want to deal with the others. The games and pretense that ensued (as they pretended to care about my child while consistently undermining his confidence, increasing his frustration levels, belittling him in class and on the playground, and consigning him to hour after hour in the vice principal’s anteroom) were nothing short of breathtaking. This was a child who had never been a behavior problem in school — and who had always loved it. We and he were utterly bewildered as the trips to the hall, the office, the notes home, etc. piled up and his frustration levels increased. I now know it to be “gaslighting,” but had no label for it as we endured it. As SOON as I informed them that we were seeking an alternate placement and would not be back the next year — everything miraculously “improved” for the rest of the year — mission accomplished for them! It was enough to make me gag — had I not been so busy scrambling to find another, better school to undo the harm that I had caused by enrolling my kid there in the first place.
Within 2 years, both his first grade teacher AND the headmistress at the former school were gone — but we would NEVER have gone back. It took half of the next year (and much patience by the next school) to restore him to his formerly happy, enthusiastic, confident self.
There is — or should be — a special place in hell for the teachers and administrators who destroy children’s mental and emotional health (and in some cases, physical health) as part of their business model.
I agree that it can be hard on children to apply to a selective school and not get in. But that is NOTHING compared to the pain inflicted by schools that accept children, then decide to discard them — and do it not directly (which would be bad enough) but indirectly, by intentionally inflicting misery and harm severe enough to force them out.
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Contrast the charter approach of super-selectivity AND the culling of accepted students to the most selective universities in the world which rarely fail students out of their programs once accepted. Charters not only pick their cherries but also throw out the all but the tastiest.
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The responses here have gotten somewhat off the topic. I’d like to point out that US News and World Reports is a primary driver for some of the worst practices in public high schools ever put in place. Over 20 years ago they started ranking public schools by the AVERAGE NUMBER OF AP COURSES TAKEN BY GRADUATES. I say TAKEN, because the average number of students taking the AP exam was irrelevant. The average score of the students was irrelevant.
Those ‘irrelevancies’ caused a surge in the number of AP courses given in high schools. It didn’t matter if NOT ONE KID SAT FOR the exam. If they were registered for the course, it somehow became a metric for USNWR. The number of courses exploded, the number of kids sitting for the test plummeted.
This entire exercise was a sham perpetrated by UNSWR. The entire country fell for it! School boards fell for it!
The concept of advanced placement is flawed. Many college programs want their students to take the sequence taught at THAT institution. Advanced placement often comes with its own issues. BUT the accounting of a schools ‘greatness’ by counting how many courses their kids attended, and not what the scores were or what the percentage of kids sitting for the test was IS JUST A FRAUD!
USNWR has to be exposed for the fraud they have been perpetrating for all these years.
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Not discussed here is the fact that the BASIS schools have very tight ties to the conservative Goldwater Institute. The BASIS schools reflect the kinds of things conservatives value, like”merit bonuses” to teachers for “learning gains.” And, the BASIS schools push relentlessly the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) courses and tests. It’s corporate-style “reform” on steroids.
The Goldwater Institute advocates all the kinds of economic policies that piled up deficits and debt and broke the economy. Incredibly, its directors make the claim that it “is staffed by the brightest minds.” Not likely. The Goldwater Institute’s ideas for education “reform” are more charter schools, merit pay, more testing, and vouchers. It wants to privatize public education. In the meantime, the BASIS schools suffice.
What about the AP emphasis? The research is quite clear. It is grossly overhyped.
A 2002 National Research Council study of AP courses and tests found them to be a “mile wide and an inch deep” and inconsistent with research-based principles of learning.
A 2004 study found that “the best predictor of both first- and second-year college grades” is unweighted high school grade point average, and a high school grade point average “weighted with a full bonus point for AP…is invariably the worst predictor of college performance.”
A 2005 study found AP students “…generally no more likely than non-AP students to return to school for a second year or to have higher first semester grades.” Moreover, the authors wrote that “close inspection of the [College Board] studies cited reveals that the existing evidence regarding the benefits of AP experience is questionable,” and “AP courses are not a necessary component of a rigorous curriculum.”
A 2006 MIT faculty report noted “there is ‘a growing body of research’ that students who earn top AP scores and place out of institute introductory courses end up having ‘difficulty’ when taking the next course.”
The 2010 book “AP: A Critical Examination” noted that “Students see AP courses on their transcripts as the ticket ensuring entry into the college of their choice,” yet, “there is a shortage of evidence about the efficacy, cost, and value of these programs.” And this: AP has become “the juggernaut of American high school education,” but “the research evidence on its value is minimal.”
A newer (2013) study from Stanford notes that “increasingly, universities seem
to be moving away from awarding credit for AP courses.” The study pointed out that “the impact of the AP program on various measures of college success was found to be negligible.” And it adds this: “definitive claims about the AP program and its impact on students and schools are difficult to substantiate.”
What do students actually learn from taking these “rigorous” AP courses and tests? For many, not much. One student remarked, after taking the World History AP test, “dear jesus… I had hoped to never see “DBQ” ever again, after AP world history… so much hate… so much hate.” And another added, “I was pretty fond of the DBQ’s, actually, because you didn’t really have to know anything about the subject, you could just make it all up after reading the documents.”
Another AP student related how the “high achievers” in his school approached AP tests:
“The majority of high-achieving kids in my buddies’ and my AP classes couldn’t have given less of a crap. They showed up for most of the classes, sure, and they did their best to keep up with the grades because they didn’t want their GPAs to drop, but when it came time to take the tests, they drew pictures on the AP Calc, answered just ‘C’ on the AP World History, and would finish sections of the AP Chem in, like, 5 minutes. I had one buddy who took an hour-and-a-half bathroom break during World History. The cops were almost called. They thought he was missing.”
And an AP reader (grader), related this about types of essays he saw: “I read AP exams in the past. Most memorable was an exam book with $5 taped to the page inside and the essay just said ‘please, have mercy.’ But I also got an angry breakup letter, a drawing of some astronauts, all kinds of random stuff. I can’t really remember it all… I read so many essays in such compressed time periods that it all blurs together when I try to remember.”
BASIS may be ranked highly in the US News list. But that doesn’t mean that what it stands for is good policy, or what it does makes sound educational sense. Nor does it mean it’s worth replicating.
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Ah … tabloid passed off as news!
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