A Question about HS Math
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Anonymous
| Good discussion. As a high school math teacher, I would question taking both Calculus with Applications and AP Calculus AB. There is a huge overlap in content. Students usually don't need a year of limits, derivatives, and integrals, followed by another year of the same general content. If they are seeking an AP course after 11th grade Calculus with Applications, then they might better take AP Stat, which is applicable to more career paths in college. If they see themselves becoming an engineer, physicist, etc., it might be best to take AP Calc AB or BC in 11th and multivariable in 12th. |
Anonymous
ok thanks for the perspective. |
Anonymous
Khan Academy! |
Anonymous
No that's not a helpful tool at this stage, really we've tried. Tutors help and not being in too advanced a Math class helps but Khan academy doesn't. I'm sure it does for some kids / grades / math levels but not mine. |
Anonymous
Can students actually take Calc AB in 11th and then MVC in 12th? I thought Calc BC was a prereq for MVC. What are your opinions on AB in 11th and BC in 12th? |
Anonymous
You will want to check with your specific school regarding going from AP Calculus AB to Multivariable Calculus. We allow this at our school because the Multivariable Calculus teacher will review the relatively few prerequisite skills that are needed for Multivariable but are not taught in the AB course. That said, few students choose this path, as the students most likely to be interested in Multivariable Calculus would have taken AP Calculus BC in the first place. In my opinion, taking both AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC, similar to taking both Calculus with Applications and AP Calculus AB, would not make sense for most students. With the exception of an objective here and there, the first 8 units are identical in the AB and BC courses. The BC course then has 2 additional units. A student going from AB to BC would have to sit through the exact same course content throughout the majority of the BC course. I love calculus, but this seems boring. The student's math knowledge would grow relatively little by doing this. At my school, most 11th grade AB students take AP Statistics in the 12th grade, a few take Multivariable, and no more than one or two - and sometimes zero - will take BC. |
Anonymous
Colleges want to see AP Calculus. For a student who is not interested in math or STEM taking Calc with Applications gives the student a foundation for taking AP Calc. MCPS doesn’t have many options for slowing down the math track but this is one possibility. And Honors Precalc is not actually a foundation for AP Calc. |
Anonymous
Sorry, but I have to kindly disagree on a number of fronts. Colleges do not want to necessarily see AP Calculus any more than any other course (AP Biology, AP History...). If a student is vying for a competitive STEM program in college, then AP Calculus might be an important factor; otherwise, colleges are looking at many things, including GPA, overall rigor of a student's high school courses, letters of recommendation, student essays, extra-curriculars, and work/volunteer experiences. I have written hundreds of college recommendation letters for my students and students who have not taken AP Calculus are accepted to top colleges. A student not interested in math or STEM does not have to take either Calculus with Applications (an honors math course) or AP Calculus. There are other pathways to college and career success. A student who has demonstrated excellence in writing, history, or art, for instance, can still get offers from top colleges - even if their math courses in high school did not include Calculus. For these students, following up Algebra 2 with, just say, Pre-Calculus and Statistics is a fine path to take. Taking Calculus with Applications is not just a "foundation" for AP Calculus as it overlaps much of the same content. It's like saying that on-level U.S. History is a foundation for Honors U.S. History. In most situations, taking Calculus with Applications and then taking AP Calculus is going to be somewhat wasteful, as so much of the content is the same. It would be like taking Spanish 3 one year and then Honors Spanish 3 the next. Although there are some unique student situations out there, taking both the honors and AP Calculus courses is probably not the best path. I'm not sure how you concluded that Honors Pre-Calculus is not a foundation for AP Calculus. AP Calculus certainly builds on the skills learned in Pre-Calculus. It is true that Pre-Calculus is not the ONLY foundation for AP Calculus, as AP Calculus also requires content learned in Algebra and Algebra 2, and to a lesser extent, Geometry. |
Anonymous
In my understanding Multivariable calc, and linear algebra are for kids who have passed BC calc and continued from there. Quantittive literacy is for kids who might have squeaked through Algebra 2, barely, and need a 4th gredit So, Calc with applications, and intro to stats are what you want. I'd also think about intro to stats and then AP stats as a combo, if that's an option. I've never seen an MCPS high school that didn't offer AP Stats. |
Anonymous
See my point above about Quant Literacy. It isn't a course solely designed for kids who squeaked through Alg 2. It has good material. Yes, it does provide a math credit that isn't as difficult as statistics or calculus (either on-level or AP). But this is important material that many kids haven't been exposed to. My DC enjoyed it quite a bit, esp. the unit on the stock market, DC also hated making a budget, but understood the value of "earn more than you spend" at the end of the day. I feel DC really learned from it. I strongly support this class as a 2nd math in senior year. |
Anonymous
A few things: Not all schools offer all courses; for example, magnet and IB schools might have courses other high schools do not. My school has Multivariable, but not Linear Algebra. What is said about Quantitative Literacy is pretty much correct. It is a neat course and has real-life content that all students would benefit from. However, the majority of students who take QL have had a history of weakness in math, whether from issues with basic skills, poor work habits, or attendance issues. Given the initial post about a rising 10th grader who is not a natural math kid and needs extra help to keep up, I recommend that the student NOT take Honors Pre-Calculus. The Honors version of Pre-Calculus is the most difficult of the Honors versions of other math courses. For example, the gap between on-level Pre-Calculus and Honors Pre-Calculus is greater than the gap between on-level Algebra 2 and Honors Algebra 2. Without knowing more (and every student is unique and complex), a good path might be... If they had success in on-level Pre-Calculus and they like math/interested in STEM, a good path might be... 11th grade Calculus with Applications (honors) and possibly AP Calculus AB if they were getting "A's" in on-level Pre-Calc 12th grade Intro to Statistics (honors) or AP Statistics If they had success in on-level Pre-Calculus, but they are just tired of "algebra" work... 11th grade Intro to Statistics (honors) 12th grade AP Statistics (if successful in the prior course) or Quantitative Literacy If they weren't successful in On-Level Pre-Calculus... 11th grade Intro to Statistics (honors; unfortunately, even if a student could go to 11th grade Quantitative Literacy, they would run out of courses for 12th grade) 12th grade Quantitative Literacy Again, every student is an individual. Definitely speak with the counselor, but contacting the math resource teacher might be helpful as well. |
Anonymous
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(follow-up on previous post above)
Quantitative Literacy is a good course, and students should not be dissuaded from taking it if the more "algebraic" track isn't for them. Even so, that course is populated by a large number of students who happen to be weak academically. That should take nothing away from the course itself. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thank you, all this is immensely helpful. |
Anonymous
At our high school, the math honor society provided peer tutors in a classroom during the lunch period once or twice a week all during the school year. Perhaps see if yours does same. |
Anonymous
Thank you we have a tutor. But I know this is a really good option. |