Start calculus in high school, dont enter college calculus cold

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s the advice from DC, who had a tough time with calculus during their freshman year of college. Looking back, they really wished they’d taken calculus in high school—not to ace it, but just to get a first look. Jumping straight into a half year, semester-based college Calculus 1 course without any prior exposure felt overwhelming. A full-year high school course like AP Calculus AB could’ve been a helpful preview, giving them a solid starting point and making the transition much smoother. While many of DC’s peers skipped Calc 1 and went straight into Calc 2, DC learns at a slower pace and felt that even getting a B in high school calculus would’ve been far better than going in cold.

There’s been a lot of debate here about whether it’s better for students to wait until college to take calculus. I just wanted to share some feedback based on DC’s experience.

Who doesn't have their kid take calculus in HS?

Even the kids not great in math take it at our local public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

Taking the highest level of math your high school offers is important if you want to be a STEM major. (I think this is more of an issue with small weird privates than publics in rural areas.)

[Anonymous]

In this area? All the above average kids will take calculus in high school, given their math track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

Taking the highest level of math your high school offers is important if you want to be a STEM major. (I think this is more of an issue with small weird privates than publics in rural areas.)

Sure, but Pre-Calc is the highest available in multiple down state VA public school systems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

Taking the highest level of math your high school offers is important if you want to be a STEM major. (I think this is more of an issue with small weird privates than publics in rural areas.)

Sure, but Pre-Calc is the highest available in multiple down state VA public school systems.

Those schools would have dual enrollment calc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

Taking the highest level of math your high school offers is important if you want to be a STEM major. (I think this is more of an issue with small weird privates than publics in rural areas.)

Sure, but Pre-Calc is the highest available in multiple down state VA public school systems.

So what? Families in Northern Virginia have invested years of effort to move from rural communities, both local and international, and build access to advanced learning. I’m part of that story, UMR family with resolve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

Taking the highest level of math your high school offers is important if you want to be a STEM major. (I think this is more of an issue with small weird privates than publics in rural areas.)

Sure, but Pre-Calc is the highest available in multiple down state VA public school systems.

Those schools would have dual enrollment calc

Maybe they should, but in reality many don't. Think about former coal counties in SW Virginia as an example.

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure all the parents here whose children are AAP will at least take calc AB by 10th grade…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure all the parents here whose children are AAP will at least take calc AB by 10th grade…

The bottom twenty percent of AAP as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure all the parents here whose children are AAP will at least take calc AB by 10th grade…

The standard AAP track is algebra in 7th or 8th grade, which means calculus in 11th or 12th grade if the student doesn't accelerate by taking summer math. And since only 4 years of math are required and calculus isn't required at schools other than TJ, many AAP
students will not take calculus at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

DP.

Many HSs in Virginia still do not offer HS Calculus - think about the many rural VA counties with 1 smallish HS. Same in other states across the USA.

So Calculus is common in FCPS or MCPS, but in lots of rural areas in most states, students do not have calculus as a HS math option.

I find this hard to believe. Even our public school that has abysmal graduation rates and avg SAT of 930 offers AP calc AB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure all the parents here whose children are AAP will at least take calc AB by 10th grade…

The standard AAP track is algebra in 7th or 8th grade, which means calculus in 11th or 12th grade if the student doesn't accelerate by taking summer math. And since only 4 years of math are required and calculus isn't required at schools other than TJ, many AAP
students will not take calculus at all.

No way. Any kid in AAP is doing calc at least in 11th. 8th grade Alg I is not AAP. That is standard “honors” track that majority of non AAP kids will do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure all the parents here whose children are AAP will at least take calc AB by 10th grade…

The standard AAP track is algebra in 7th or 8th grade, which means calculus in 11th or 12th grade if the student doesn't accelerate by taking summer math. And since only 4 years of math are required and calculus isn't required at schools other than TJ, many AAP
students will not take calculus at all.

No way. Any kid in AAP is doing calc at least in 11th. 8th grade Alg I is not AAP. That is standard “honors” track that majority of non AAP kids will do

Until last year you have to qualify for Alg 1 in 6th grade tests and some in AAP did not. So they took Alg 1 in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are probably better off posting this in the FCPS forum because most of the kids in AAP will take calculus in HS. AAP kids will have Algebra no later then 8th grade and should be taking Calculus as a senior, with a good number taking it as a Junior and a few earlier. The ones who don’t take calculus in HS are the ones who are less likely to need calculus in college or will take one of the calculus classes designed for non engineering or math majors.

+1 all AAP kids take calculus as a junior or senior. Dumb post, OP.

Not necessarily. I know an AAP kid who retook Algebra in 9th because they got a C in 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school calculus is absolutely standard for academic STEM majors in college. What is the point of this post?

+1

If you don't take the highest level of math your hs offers, you probably aren't the kind of person who would be engaged enough to stick with a stem major. I hold the same view about humanities. If you don't take AP English, extra foreign language, and elective himanities courses in hs, assuming your school offers such things, are you really cut out for a humanities major in college?

Funny how there wasn't a push like this 20 years ago