AP Calc AB and/or BC curriculum vs. AP Precalc (Precalc Trig Hns) curriculum in FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was the OP of this thread.

For much of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, my DC had a C+ in AP Precalc. In the 4th quarter, he did well enough to make the final grade a B! He got a 5 on the AP Precalc exam. The only reason he took it (and I paid the extra $40 for late fee) was because it looked like he was going to be getting a C- or D in the class, and I wanted is record to have a counter-weight showing that he actually did know the College Board's precalc curriculum.

That said, DC's teacher told kids in Jan/Feb that only those getting an A or A- in AP precalc should go on to AP Calc BC. Since DC had such a hard time through the year (with practices being easy and tests being much harder), he is taking AP Calc AB.

DC had a perfect score on PSAT math. He had over a 700 on the SAT math (I don't remember the exact score). And yet, the AP precalc curriculum at his FCPS HS was brutal.

So, he has no desire to take AP Calc BC.

He's going into a major that will require Calc I, II and III and beyond... so he's not against math. This class turned him off.

Thankfully, the grading system allows kids to show "mastery" at the end and it can help their grade.

As I understand it, the SAT is based on math up through Algebra II, there is no trig or Calculus on it. A student strong in those specific classes should do well on the math section of the SAT. Calculus is a different approach to math and is objectivly harder then the Algebra and Geometry sequences. It is a culling class for many majors in college for a reason. It takes a different type of approach and reasoning. Most HS students won't take Calculus for a good reason, I was one of those.

What I have read about the AP Precalc has been that it is not a very rigorous class or test and it would not do a good job preparing students for Calculus. The Teachers at schools who know students are planning on taking Calculus BC have adjusted the course to make sure that students are prepared for AP Calc BC class. FCPS did a disservice to students when they removed Honors PreCalc because it forced students into a one size fits all class where Teachers knew that they need to be teaching to the students aiming for the higher level Calc BC while having students who wanted to stop at PreCalc. There should be two classes offered with the Honors class focused on the material for AP and the AP Class on the material for BC and schools should be very clear about that difference. Kids in the Honors class should still be in a good place to get a 4 or 5 on the AP exam.