TJ Calculus BC - Junior Year - Finding it difficult

[Anonymous]

It really just sounds like they need more practice. They get the concepts, but aren't completely confident. I'd suggest a study group and doing more problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has been at A in Calculus BC until last few tests and now is finding it very difficult and in last 2 tests has scored between 80 - 82 / 100 which is bringing her overall percentage down. How are kids finding Calculus BC at TJ? Any tips/help would be appreciated. Thank you

I would find a tutor for your daughter who can help her work through the concepts one on one and shore up her understanding of the material. These are not easy classes, there is no shame in askign for help and getting a little more focused attention.

+1. TJ teachers tend to teach to the top of the class. It can be demoralizing if you hit a difficult point. Get that extra help - knowing when you need it is a life skill that translates long after TJ.

The kid is being taught fine. She's just a little shaky. Things are easier or harder for different people at different times.

Learning is the student's job.

[Anonymous]

DC says TJ math is harder than what they are used to in middle school. Apparently for a good chunk of students Calc AB is where they stop. About half of the class takes Calc BC and beyond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has been at A in Calculus BC until last few tests and now is finding it very difficult and in last 2 tests has scored between 80 - 82 / 100 which is bringing her overall percentage down. How are kids finding Calculus BC at TJ? Any tips/help would be appreciated. Thank you

I would find a tutor for your daughter who can help her work through the concepts one on one and shore up her understanding of the material. These are not easy classes, there is no shame in askign for help and getting a little more focused attention.

+1. TJ teachers tend to teach to the top of the class. It can be demoralizing if you hit a difficult point. Get that extra help - knowing when you need it is a life skill that translates long after TJ.

The kid is being taught fine. She's just a little shaky. Things are easier or harder for different people at different times.

Learning is the student's job.

Sure, learning is the student's job. But sometimes that means asking for extra help, doing extra practice, or getting extra teaching. And that's OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is TJ Calculus BC and is it a required course? For students the complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade, in what year would they be taking this course?

A Algebra 1 in 8th grade student entering TJ is unlikely to reach TJ Calculus BC unless they skip a level or take a summer math course.

It's a stretch to get to Calculus BC if student enters having done Algebra 1 level as we have found it. Geometry at TJ is much more difficult than doing it at middle school. TJ math any level is tough as is, skipping a level would make the next level that much more difficult.

To the person saying it's OK to get a B in math, that's being too optimistic. There are a significant number of students that get C especially in Calculus AB, and it the minimum required to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC says TJ math is harder than what they are used to in middle school. Apparently for a good chunk of students Calc AB is where they stop. About half of the class takes Calc BC and beyond.

Sort of reassuring to see nothing has changed in 20 years. This is how it was then too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is TJ Calculus BC and is it a required course? For students the complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade, in what year would they be taking this course?

A Algebra 1 in 8th grade student entering TJ is unlikely to reach TJ Calculus BC unless they skip a level or take a summer math course.

It's a stretch to get to Calculus BC if student enters having done Algebra 1 level as we have found it. Geometry at TJ is much more difficult than doing it at middle school. TJ math any level is tough as is, skipping a level would make the next level that much more difficult.

To the person saying it's OK to get a B in math, that's being too optimistic. There are a significant number of students that get C especially in Calculus AB, and it the minimum required to graduate.

What are you talking about?

Geometry being hard doesn't make calculus harder. If anything, it makes calculus easier
TJ Math 1,2,3,4,5, Calc BC (with RS1 in there somewhere) isn't skipping anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is TJ Calculus BC and is it a required course? For students the complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade, in what year would they be taking this course?

A Algebra 1 in 8th grade student entering TJ is unlikely to reach TJ Calculus BC unless they skip a level or take a summer math course.

It's a stretch to get to Calculus BC if student enters having done Algebra 1 level as we have found it. Geometry at TJ is much more difficult than doing it at middle school. TJ math any level is tough as is, skipping a level would make the next level that much more difficult.

To the person saying it's OK to get a B in math, that's being too optimistic. There are a significant number of students that get C especially in Calculus AB, and it the minimum required to graduate.

What are you talking about?

Geometry being hard doesn't make calculus harder. If anything, it makes calculus easier
TJ Math 1,2,3,4,5, Calc BC (with RS1 in there somewhere) isn't skipping anything.

skipping Calc AB, and going directly from Math 5 to Calc BC is a challenge for advanced students themselves. Quite unlikely a student entering at lowest level Math1, would skip and enroll in Calc BC. The utmost these students would take on is Calc AB, and that's a struggle by itself, but unavoidable minimum graduation requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is TJ Calculus BC and is it a required course? For students the complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade, in what year would they be taking this course?

A Algebra 1 in 8th grade student entering TJ is unlikely to reach TJ Calculus BC unless they skip a level or take a summer math course.

It's a stretch to get to Calculus BC if student enters having done Algebra 1 level as we have found it. Geometry at TJ is much more difficult than doing it at middle school. TJ math any level is tough as is, skipping a level would make the next level that much more difficult.

To the person saying it's OK to get a B in math, that's being too optimistic. There are a significant number of students that get C especially in Calculus AB, and it the minimum required to graduate.

What are you talking about?

Geometry being hard doesn't make calculus harder. If anything, it makes calculus easier
TJ Math 1,2,3,4,5, Calc BC (with RS1 in there somewhere) isn't skipping anything.

skipping Calc AB, and going directly from Math 5 to Calc BC is a challenge for advanced students themselves. Quite unlikely a student entering at lowest level Math1, would skip and enroll in Calc BC. The utmost these students would take on is Calc AB, and that's a struggle by itself, but unavoidable minimum graduation requirement.

That's not skipping. That's how the courses go. SMH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is TJ Calculus BC and is it a required course? For students the complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade, in what year would they be taking this course?

A Algebra 1 in 8th grade student entering TJ is unlikely to reach TJ Calculus BC unless they skip a level or take a summer math course.

It's a stretch to get to Calculus BC if student enters having done Algebra 1 level as we have found it. Geometry at TJ is much more difficult than doing it at middle school. TJ math any level is tough as is, skipping a level would make the next level that much more difficult.

To the person saying it's OK to get a B in math, that's being too optimistic. There are a significant number of students that get C especially in Calculus AB, and it the minimum required to graduate.

What are you talking about?

Geometry being hard doesn't make calculus harder. If anything, it makes calculus easier
TJ Math 1,2,3,4,5, Calc BC (with RS1 in there somewhere) isn't skipping anything.

skipping Calc AB, and going directly from Math 5 to Calc BC is a challenge for advanced students themselves. Quite unlikely a student entering at lowest level Math1, would skip and enroll in Calc BC. The utmost these students would take on is Calc AB, and that's a struggle by itself, but unavoidable minimum graduation requirement.

It should be considered absolutely normal to take only Calculus BC without AB first. It's hard, but hardly insurmountable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All schools in FCPS teach AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC. BC is the harder of the two courses. A student who takes Algebra 1 in 7th grade would be in a position to take AP Calculus as a Junior. They can choose between AB or BC, dependent on their math ability and how confident they are in their math skills. I would guess that Pre-Calc Teachers will provide guidance to students when selecting which Calculus to take. Some kids will take Calculus AB as a Junior and then Calculus BC as a Senior but I think that is normally discouraged since BC contains the material from AB with extensions.

There is a good amount of talk that all of the math classes at TJ are more difficult then the traditional classes at base schools. I can fully see that with many of the classes since they are taught as semester long classes so students are moving through the material more quickly. I am not sure how TJ handles the AP Calculus class, it is possible that there are a lot of extensions to the class so it moves through more material then a regular AP class.

In my experience, they overteach everything at TJ, then the kids get 5s on every AP exams practically doing them with their eyes closed. Same with multivariable - in my kid's time, the George Mason final for dual enrolment credit was so much easier than the TJ tests during the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really just sounds like they need more practice. They get the concepts, but aren't completely confident. I'd suggest a study group and doing more problems.

If you do study groups, will the honor code gods descend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has been at A in Calculus BC until last few tests and now is finding it very difficult and in last 2 tests has scored between 80 - 82 / 100 which is bringing her overall percentage down. How are kids finding Calculus BC at TJ? Any tips/help would be appreciated. Thank you

Some teachers offer extra sessions during lunch or 8th period. Can you tutor her at home?

I don't know if it's true, but I heard some kids take the math course privately in the summer preceding the school year, which may be why they already understand the concepts.

One problem my kid faced was that their teacher was not one of the ones setting the tests. That teacher even voiced frustration at what their colleagues were putting in tests.

Even if she gets a B at TJ, your daughter will get a 5 on the AP exam and probably an 800 on the SAT II.

[Anonymous]

I have a junior in Calc BC at TJ. It has been brutal. Kid can’t get his hands on enough TJ test type practice problems. Said the last test was entirely hard problems (beyond what’s required for AP) and he couldn’t finish in time. Kid was recommended for this class with all As in TJ Math 4 and 5. But barely holding a B in BC at this point. Not sure he’ll have one after the final. I wish he hadn’t taken the teacher recommendedation. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

There is no point entering TJ with basic 8th algebra 1. It's been a nightmare, remedial hasnt made a difference. If student is somewhat doing well at middle school, stay at base school for good sleep and piece of mind.