Stanford 9 scores led by BASIS
6th-graders rank first in state in all 3 tests
Ofelia Madrid
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 21, 2004 12:00 AM

SCOTTSDALE - A typical day for a seventh-grader at BASIS Scottsdale, a charter middle school, looks a lot like a college student's schedule.

Monday: history and geography, English, Mandarin Chinese, algebra, biology, tae kwon do and physics. Tuesday: physics, English, music, algebra, public speaking, history and geography and chemistry.

The students at BASIS received the No. 1 scores in the state for sixth grade in math, reading and language, with scores in the 95th, 91st and 84th percentiles. Seventh-grade reading was in the 92nd percentile, and eighth-grade language was in the 89th percentile, also No. 1.

"The rigorous curriculum is designed to make the student responsible for his own learning," said Michael Block, who founded and runs the Scottsdale charter school with his wife, Olga.

It is similar to a Tucson charter school that the couple founded several years ago. The Tucson school also had top scores this year.

The public school, which has fifth through eighth grade, has 177 students this year. Most are from Scottsdale, but the school also attracts kids from Tempe and Fountain Hills.

The plan is to continue adding a grade until 12th grade. The high school will offer advanced placement and college prep classes, school director Diane Moser said.

The school is 9128 E. San Salvador Drive.

The state Department of Education released the Stanford 9 results Monday.