The BASIS Experience

In the summer of 2017, two AISG middle school graduates left for Guangzhou’s new BASIS International School without alerting AISG. On September 8, the two decided to return to the AISG community. As one of the two, I’ll reflect and comment on my experience with the facility, people, and fundamental beliefs of BASIS International School.

BASIS Guangzhou is a newly-built international school from the BASIS.ed organization which has 4 out of the 5 best American high schools, according to the U.S. News rankings (here). The Washington Post also listed BASIS Phoenix as the most challenging high school in the U.S. It was big news when the organization announced the opening of a new school on Jiantashan Road, Science Park, and many parents were interested in this top American education program that claimed to teach math two levels higher than regular curricula.

The propaganda was widespread and it indeed worked. There were a number of students from Zhuhai and Shenzhen, a few even from other parts of China. Not to question how the school worked, the reliability of the rankings, and how the rankers evaluated schools, my parents heavily encouraged me to enroll in BASIS, so I did. After weeks of delay and a week of school, I noticed some flaws in the BASIS Guangzhou system, and I was not exactly satisfied with the quality.

First of all, BASIS Guangzhou is a brand new school. Built and opened for operations in a hurry, the school wasn’t well organized in late August, therefore they decided to delay their opening day to September 4. Another questionable aspect is the facility of the school: the classrooms are mediocre and there’s nothing too special about the dorms, except I found a snail eating my paper; the cafeteria provided decent food, yet it was too expensive, pricing at 45 yuan per meal regardless of what you get. What’s more, there aren’t a lot of devices or space for sports, so after school options seem limited and bleak.

Second, the majority of students at BASIS aren’t too good at English, nor are they comfortable in an international school setting—most of them come from a Chinese education system. They are only entering an international school because they purchased a passport from Guinea Bissau, a country in Africa. Knowing this, I suspect that BASIS doesn’t have much influence with actual foreigners, nor fluent English speakers. Due to the lack of English speaking ability among students, class time felt dull and unchallenging to me, because nobody dared to participate or speak up. Another point worth mentioning is in an international education system, many of the Chinese students feel relieved because they can express themselves freely in Chinese without their teachers understanding them, so I often heard unpleasant curse words at school despite warnings from teachers.

Third of all, a number of school policies are unreasonable and are not executed well by the faculty and students. A unique rule is that students are not allowed to bring electronic devices to the campus nor dorms; this makes the communication harder for boarding students and their parents. In addition, book bags are not allowed in classrooms and must be kept in lockers. Furthermore, every class has its textbook, notebook, and binder, so even the lockers are stuffed. For boarding students like me, every morning we woke up to Taylor Swift songs at 6:40, then wasted 40 minutes waiting in the dorms until we could eat. The schedule during the school day is extremely tight, with nine forty-five minute periods every day with five minutes in between classes.

Fourth, I have to question the reliability of the school and the organization behind it. The school claims they have a challenging curriculum, but it seems like it’s only challenging for those who aren’t that good at English. In the American BASIS schools, the schools value English fluency more than the international ones, with a 100% literacy rate and a much lower rate of students from non-English speaking households than regional averages where the schools are located. In addition, the real reason that BASIS is ranked high in the U.S. is because of the tests each student takes. In the 4 years of high school, a student takes 28 AP tests on average, making it more challenging, and if a student fails multiple times, BASIS removes them to raise the average student level which, in my opinion, is a deceptive move to maintain their reputation.

The thing I liked the most about BASIS was the teachers, who were nice and encouraging despite the ability of the students. They’re enthusiastic, compassionate and willing to provide help at most times. Most teachers also have a successful background and teaching experience. On the other hand, their classes proceed quite slowly due to the lack of comprehension of some students.

In conclusion, BASIS Guangzhou still has a good deal to work on in the coming years, and for now, if it’s not the worst choice for students in Guangzhou seeking an international education, it is definitely not a cost-effective decision because most characteristics are subpar for its tuition fees. It’s probably a bit early to make such a harsh judgment, and I tried my best to avoid bias, but I just could not enjoy my time there.